Do you know the secret of rhinitis and snoring?

When it comes to rhinitis, many friends may say: "I have had rhinitis for many years and I haven't treated it. Anyway, it's not serious, so I just ignore it." Some people always complain for a long time: "It's better during the day, but my nose is a little blocked when I sleep at night! And my snoring is so severe!" Is snoring also related to rhinitis?

It is true that snoring is not only related to rhinitis, but also has a significant relationship. Whether it is an adult or a child, severe rhinitis will inevitably lead to snoring.

Among the many symptoms caused by rhinitis, nasal congestion is the direct culprit of snoring. Whether it is allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinitis or sinusitis, long-term inflammatory stimulation will cause edema of the nasal concha and nasal mucosa in our nasal cavity, followed by hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Our nasal cavity is like a corridor. The air enters from the front nostril, passes through this long corridor, and goes out from the back nostril into the throat. But this corridor is not unobstructed all the way. It is filled with huge "boxes" in the middle, and there is only a tiny gap where you can really pass through. These huge "boxes" are the nasal concha in the nasal cavity, and the inferior turbinate has the greatest impact on ventilation. Some friends, facing the mirror, slightly open their nostrils, and see the red fleshy tissue on both sides. They are so nervous that they want to see a doctor. In fact, this tissue is the inferior turbinate.

The inferior turbinate is extremely important for the physiological function of the nasal cavity. It plays a key role in regulating the temperature, humidity, and air resistance of the nasal cavity. In normal people, the blood vessels under the mucosa of the inferior turbinate on both sides expand and contract alternately every 3 hours on average. Therefore, under normal circumstances, one side of our nasal cavity will be a little more blocked than the other side. The nasal cavities on both sides alternate back and forth, and this cycle is also called the "nasal cycle." The existence of the "nasal cycle" makes us consciously turn over when we sleep at night because of alternating nasal congestion, which helps prevent local limb compression. In patients with recurrent rhinitis, the inferior turbinate is obviously enlarged, and the nasal cavities on both sides become more blocked at night, so there is naturally no "nasal cycle."

Once the ventilation function of our nose is affected, we can only rely on the mouth for breathing. Many people are fine during the day, but their noses are basically blocked at night, so when they sleep, they can only breathe with their mouths open. Because the soft palate, uvula, tongue and other tissues in the mouth are generally relaxed and limp during sleep, and negative pressure is formed locally in the mouth during the inhalation process, the mucous membranes in the mouth are sucked together. When inhaling, the narrow gap causes turbulence in the airflow, and the mucous membrane vibrates, and snoring is produced. So, it seems that nasal congestion is often the initiator of snoring.

Many nasal diseases can cause nasal congestion, but the more common ones are allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinitis, sinusitis and nasal polyps. Allergic rhinitis is often called allergic rhinitis. The typical symptoms are sneezing and runny nose. After repeated attacks, the inferior turbinate will become pale and swollen. For patients with chronic rhinitis and sinusitis, the inferior turbinate is generally red, swollen and enlarged. Over time, many patients also develop nasal polyps. These conditions eventually lead to nasal obstruction, seriously affecting the ventilation function and leading to snoring.

From this we can see that rhinitis and snoring seem to be two problems, but in fact they are closely related. When snoring occurs, you should also check if there is any problem with your nose.