How an artificial nose plug could cure snoring
With high-efficiency filtration medium, an artificial nose can effectively intercept gas, germs or other pathogens in the tube prevent various harmful substances from going into the body which results in the patient-machine cross infection, thus reducing the incidence rate of respiratory tract infection.
A nose plug that restricts air flow during sleep could be a radical new cure for snoring. The plug contains a special valve that allows air to be inhaled as normal through the nostrils, but it then snaps shut to let only some of the air out.
The remaining air is diverted into the throat and upper airways, where it puts pressure on the muscles in the lining of the throat and respiratory tract to keep the airways open during sleep, preventing snoring.
Around three million Britons are diagnosed with the snoring condition sleep apnoea. When we fall asleep, the muscles in the airway relax. But in people with sleep apnoea, the soft tissues collapse completely, which shuts off breathing for up to ten seconds.
As well as disrupting breathing, this can trigger snoring as the air vibrates against the soft tissue that stands in its way.
The most common form of treatment for sleep apnoea has been Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), where a machine pumps air into an attached mask worn over the nose and mouth during sleep, increasing the pressure of the air that is being inhaled and keeping the airways open.
Sufferers have to wear the mask every night. The new Provent nose plug device, developed by Californian firm Ventus Medical, resembles a tiny plastic filter attached to a sticking plaster.
The patient inserts two plugs – one in each nostril – so that the entrance to the nose is completely sealed. Each filter is used once, and a one-month supply costs around £100. A study presented at a sleep medicine conference in San Antonio, Texas, said volunteers who used the nose plugs had significantly fewer breathingrelated sleep disturbances.
Dr Ian Smith, a sleep specialist at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, said the device might help some people with mild sleep apnoea but would not be a replacement for CPAP.
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