NO NEED TO SNORE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 9 April 1924, Page 7

NO NEED TO SNORE

(By a Physician.) A French scientist is reported to have discovered after years of research a remedy for snoring. lie finds that, this objectionable performance is the result of a narrowing of the passages between j the nose and the throat, and adds the I corollary that the condition is more com--1 mon in town than in country dwellers. 1 It is remarkable that it should have ! been found necessary to broadcast such | a finding after the propaganda work ; which has been undertaken during the I past few years. But the idea still per- ! sists that snoring is a habit dependent ! upon want of control on the part of the performer. *• Snoring is caused by the vibration of the soft palate when a sleeper lies with his mouth open. The open mouth is usually due to some form of nasal obstruction preventing ordinary quiet nasal breathing. The attention of the medical profession has been directed to the cure of such a condition for at least 30 years.

The closing of the nasal passages may be a temporary condition; for example, an ordinary cold, or of a more permanent nature where there is chronic nasal catarrh, a twisting of the central partition of the nose occluding one nostril, hypertrophy of the bones of the inner nose or, most common of all, blocking of the back of the nose by adenoid growths.

This interference with nasal breathing is more common than is generally supposed. About one child in every thirty suffers from nasal obstruction at some stage of its career. But in this country there is little evi deuce to support the statement that mouth-breathing is the particular sin of the town dweller.

Arguing from first principles, it would seem that chronic catarrh would be more common among those who breathe unloaded with particles of dust, but analysis of the figures published in the reports of the chief medical officer to the Board of Education demonstrates that nasal obstruction is as common among country children as it is among those who grow up in towns. Removal of the obstruction will bring about quiet sleep for the snorer in most cases, but care exercised during childhood will usually prevent the conditions from arising. Through cleansing of the nasal passages in infant days, early instruction in nos 3 blowing, the abolition ot the dumb teat and thumb-sucking winch encourage breathing through the mouth, will prevent nature from closimpassages for which no useful purpose has been found.