This is part of a series of posts from “Sleep Interrupted” by Dr. Steven Park,a John Hopkins trained ENT.
What I realized was that there are some people who prefer to sleep only on their sides or their stomach.Some absolutely cannot sleep on their backs, and must sleep in the latter positions in order to breathe properly. I concluded that what was happening in these situations was that being forced to sleep on their backs for the first time in decades after surgery or another medical procedure resulted in an inability to breathe properly. This, in turn, placed stress on the heart, increasing their risk of heart attack. The critical issue here is that it’s during REM sleep that the muscles of the throat are most relaxed. If susceptible people are forced to sleep on their backs, they can no longer adjust in a hospital situation by changing their sleeping position. They are simply forced to sleep on their backs as best they can. This realization led to yet another sleepless night for me. The implications were enormous.
Both these events prompted me to think about other curious things I had observed in the previous few years of practice. Almost every patient with a sleep-breathing problem such as UARS or OSA had some degree of throat acid reflux. Furthermore, many of these same people preferred not to sleep on their backs. The kind of acid reflux that we see in an ear, nose and throat practice is different from the typical heartburn acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). When the acid reaches the throat, it is called laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, or LPRD. In most cases, LPRD is silent,the only symptoms being throat clearing, post-nasal drip, a lump sensation in the throat, hoarseness, cough, choking, or difficulty swallowing. This is probably one of the most common conditions that an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor encounters every day.
Did You Know Reflux Guard Could Save Your life?
Based on Dr Park’s observation “Almost every patient with a sleep-breathing problem such as UARS or OSA had some degree of throat acid reflux.” You will see further in the book even a closer direct relationship between snoring and acid reflux. Both could be life threatening for many reasons. It could reduce the quality of life, effect how you feel(groggy and dragging all day long vs. being refreshed), how you react, your relationships,job, health, and safety, etc.
These two paragraphs clearly bring up a which came first scenario, the egg or chicken;please forgive me I forget, or is that the chicken or the egg?. Who cares, lets ask a more pertinent question, which came first acid reflux or the inability to breathe properly. Again, who cares. The solution is Reflux Guard, a simple device specifically designed to deal with both problems. Reflux Guard goes under you mattress and is specifically designed to adjust within medically approved guidelines. Reflux Guard is the only wedge in its price range and ease of use that addresses what concerns Dr. Park.
