Cumulative project

2.- Opinion piece

SNORING:

                                           

Alternative medicine, sure?

In this opinion piece you will find the real arguments to not choose the alternative medicine to treat snoring, after reading, your way of thinking is going to change completely, you are going to end using traditional medicine.

Snoring is a problem produced by the vibration of the respiratory structures during the sleep, when this structures crash together they vibrate and produce the sound.

Traditional medicine is the best option to be cured, they can mesure the periods of time to heal, and they implement the use of technology on their treatments, which do is not occur in the case of alternative medicine. 

There exist many types of treatments and care, but in my opinion the best treatments are of the traditional medicine.

Traditional medicine offered to the person that suffers from snoring, efficient treatments that do not last long and that are very effective.

In some cases, alternative medicine is practiced by charlatans, they don´t serve for this type of illness, they are not effective, you don´t have the certainty to be cured, their treatments with herbs and with other natural drugs are not proved by science and I assure that they will end paying more in every way.

In conclusion, as you can see, is alternative medicine the best option to heal?, think about it, traditional medicine is the best.

226 words

Cumulative project

1.- Research

SNORING:

1.- What are the characteristics of this illness or upheaval?

Snoring is the vibration of the respiratory structures that occurs during the sleep. The result is an annoying sound that disturbs the sleep.

This illness can bring you many malignant effects that affect your organism, not only in the mental, but also in the physical part. 

When the structures of the respiratory system crash together they vibrate and produce the snoring.

The causes of this illness in the most of people are not yet known, but some possibilities are:

• Being overweight.
• Blocking nose.
• Nasal congestion.

Sometimes, snoring can produce a disorder in the sleep name "sleep apnea", this means that the person that suffers from snoring has periods of not breathing.

2.- Why does it occur?

As I said in the previous question, snoring is produced by the vibration of the respiratory structures, this  brings many consequences that can produce malignant effects in the organism. It is not only annoying for the person, but also for the people who are around that person. As a result, snoring brings, sleeping problems and respiratory problems. 

This illness provokes mental and physical problems, the things that happen to you are:

In the physical part:

• High blood pressure.
• Heart problems.

In the mental part:

• Stress.
• Headache.

3.- What types of treatment or therapy can a patient use? How long do they take? What are their pros and cons?

The different treatments oriented to overcome the snoring, depend of its complexity on its magnitude. These treatments can be classified in the following way:

• Self - care

Try to control or eliminate the determinant causes of this illness. You do not have to be overweight, dine too late and preventing fat food, drink alcohol and caffeine, smoke before sleep, sleep with uncomfortable clothes, take naps, sleep with the radio, television or computer on.

If the person chooses this treatment there are little chances to be cured, for this reason there is not a certain time to heal.

• Pharmacological 

They refer to the use of drugs.

With this type of treatment, the time of healing is not determined.

• Surgery

Operation of the respiratory structures to correct the problem that does not work correctly at bedtime.

With this treatment, the person recovers well. As it is a surgery, the results you can be noticed very fast.

• Mechanical support

They refers to the use of a machine wich is known machine CPAP, used for correct the respiratory problems produced in the upper airways.

With this treatment, you can prevent the snoring, because this machine help to you to respire well. The period of time that you have to use this machine they are not determined.

• Alternatives 

Considered other methods non traditional, related to the nature medicine and others.

With this treatment, the period of time to heal is not determined, and it is not a 100% effective.

The pros of these treatments are that you can be cured without risk, except for the surgery. The cons of these treatments, are the long indeterminate periods of application.


4.- What are the real possibilities of recovery if using this type of medicine?

As I said in the previous question, some treatments provide the possibility to heal this illness.

The real possibilities of recovery using the treatments presented in the previous question, with some of them are minimal, but with others you can solve the problem very fast .

Only the mechanical support can prove you to prevent the snoring, but the problem is that you have to use to sleep a lifetime. The surgery can also heal you, but it is risky, with the other treatments the possibilities to heal are minimal.

5.- What type of remedies can a patient take?

There exist several remedies, according to the specific origin of the illness and of his grade of complexity.

Between the more used in present, are those from no invasive type and without contraindications, being the most use the anti - snoring clip. This device is a pin made of silicon, very soft, that is placed in the  nasal partition in the moment of sleep. It regulates the entrance of air to inhale and exhale, improving the breathing and decreasing the risks of apnea, they have two magnetic terminals that stimulate the jitters of partition stating the muscles across the respiratory pathways.


6.- What are the costs involved?

The costs are going to vary depending on the treatment that the doctor recommends to the person that suffers from snoring.

A session to the doctor can vary in the doctor the person goes to, but in general can cost like US 80 dollars. This, plus the exam named polysomnography, serves to detect the best treatment to choose. The cost is about US 120 dollars.

The rest varies in the treatment that the doctor assigned to the person. That can be more expensive.

7.- Do health programs in Chile cover this treatment expenses? How about health programs of the USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia or any European country? (you can refer only one)

Snoring is an illness quite common in Chile. Because of this in Chile and in other countries there exist programs that cover the treatment to heal, in the public part as private, through their pension system  in health, which are the ISAPRES in the private part and FONASA in the public part. However, users commonly must perform a complementary payment to cover the total part of the treatment, particularly in case of drugs and the attention of doctors. Also, there exists the possibility that the person who suffers from the illness finds professional help without using the provisional systems if not paid the service directly in a particular way.

In other countries this and other illnesses are treated of integral ways by the public system. As an example of this we have the case of the European countries, especially the Nordic countries, as an example Norway. In that country the sick citizens have a guaranteed attention and treatment without a direct payment to the health institution, which is completely deducted from taxes.

8.- Refer to one real testimony to support your findings. Include as much information as possible.

For this question we made an interview to one real testimony to support my findings.

1.- How did you realize the problem?

I realized the problem because I made a sound when I slept and during the day I was sleepy, because of this I opted for medical help.


2.- What says the doctor that you have to do?

The doctor said to me that I have to have a medical check at the "Hospital del sueño" for them to study my case.


3.- What exams did they take?

The exam that they took to me was an a electroencephalogram and a sleep control.


4.- What treatments were recommended and what was their cost?

The treatment that I have to follow is the used of the CPAP, the costs of that is US 120 dollars, plus the medical sessions.


5.- Do you suffer sometimes from "sleep apnea", and what do you feel?

Yes, I suffer from "sleep apnea", but I don´t feel it because I was given mild "sleep apnea".


6.- In your case, do you know the causes that provoke the snoring?

Yes, because the respiratory structures in the pharyngeal tube crashed and emit the snoring.

Interview made to Patricio Hornauer