I can’t stop snoring … Do I have to worry? Dr. Ellie Cannon has the answer

I am 78 and I can’t stop snoring. I have type 2 diabetesA pacemaker and also heart failure. Could it be due to my medication?

Dr. Ellie Cannon answers: Snoring is usually not activated by medication.

The sound occurs when air is unable to easily travel through the wind pipe and strongly linked to obesity.

However, other causes are nasal congestion, a different septum, large almonds and adenoids. Alcohol and sleeping on the back also increase the risk of snoring.

Sedativa are linked to snoring, so reducing alcohol and avoiding sleeping pills, as well as losing weight, will all help combat the condition.

Heart failure, however, is another likely trigger, because this can lead to a structure of liquid in the body while it can exert pressure on the wind pipe from the blood vessels. And this is much more difficult to treat.

Trying to sleep on the side instead of the back can help. There are special cushions or wedges that can stop you from turning in your sleep.

It can also be worth discussing with a dentist about suitable medical devices that can help to reduce snoring. These include mouth protectors to keep the jaw firm and open.

Snoring is usually not activated by medication. The sound occurs when air is unable to easily travel through the wind pipe and strongly linked to obesity

A general practitioner can also refer patients with severe snoring for a test known as a sleep study. This includes overnight monitoring to see if snoring is so extreme that it prevents the patient from breathing.

This is a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea and is especially common in patients with heart failure.

Treating it includes a device called a CPAP machine with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) that is under pressure via a mask in the wind pipe to keep it open. This not only improves breathing, but it usually also reduces snoring.

The king’s disease is all too common

My friend Dr. Hilary Jones, resident GP for ITV’s Good Morning Britain, revealed last week that he is fighting the painful arthritis disease gout.

Dr. Hilary Jones, Resident GP for ITV's Good Morning Britain, revealed last week that he is fighting the painful arthritis state gout

Dr. Hilary Jones, Resident GP for ITV’s Good Morning Britain, revealed last week that he is fighting the painful arthritis state gout

I know that some people on social media have spoken about his diagnosis. Gout – who can leave the toes red and painful – is often known as the ‘disease of kings’ because it is associated with a fat and an exaggerated diet.

Did doctors eat way too healthy to get such a condition? Absolutely not.

Gout can influence everyone and it is more common later in life.

It also increases in the UK, with an increase of 70 percent since the 1990s.

However, we know that eating too much red meat and seafood, as well as drinking alcohol, all increase the risk of the condition.

Did you recently have gout? How did you treat it? Please register and let me know.

I am 76 and I suddenly lost part of my hearing. I can still hear people when they talk to me, but the TV sounds muted. I thought it might have been a structure, so I used olive oil in vain. My doctor says my ears are free from infection. What can the cause be?

Dr. Ellie Cannon answers: Oorwax is not the only cause of hearing loss.

Blockades can also occur in the middle part of the ear behind the drum drum. This can occur as a result of an infection – such as a cold – and is not immediately clear during inspection.

Sometimes the middle ear can be unblocked with the help of steam inthalation or decongestiva, as well as special nasal sprays or saline solution that a pharmacist can prescribe.

However, the problem will usually solve itself.

For some people an ear block of an allergy can be caused, so it may be worth trying an antihistamine tablet to see if that helps for a week. High Street Opticians often offer hearing tests that are used to assess the extent of hearing loss and may indicate an exact cause.

I had a fungal infection on my right foot for six months. I have tried expensive nail treatments, but they don’t work. What else can I do?

Dr. Ellie Cannon answers: Fungal nail infections can be very difficult to treat.

Usually it is the toe nails that are influenced, and it causes thick, discolored or broken nails. It is more common in people with diabetes or poor blood circulation in their feet, as well as the elderly or people with the inflammatory skin condition psoriasis.

Schimmelnagel paint is sold by pharmacists, but doctors do not believe that it is particularly effective, unless the infection is very small or in the earliest stages. Even then the paint has to be used for a year, and no other form of varnish may be used at that time.

GPS can prescribe anti-fungal tablets, but only after a nail clip monster has been taken to test for the fungus type type.

These pills must be taken for a maximum of six months. However, many people do not fully recover with the help of this alone.

Unfortunately, the nails for some patients will continue to look infected forever, even after the fungus has disappeared. But there are steps that people can take to increase the opportunities to fully free themselves from a fungal nail infection.

Nails must be kept short and well filled and wear cotton, absorbent socks. It is also worth throwing away shoes that can be infected.

Millie is sober and our book can also help you

Earlier this month I was incredibly satisfied to see the publication of Bad Drunk-the memoirs of Made in Chelsea influencer Millie Mackintosh in which her life was described alcohol-free.

I wrote the book together with Millie, to give health advice about going soberly, and also explaining the dangerous risks of excessive drinking.

Millie was so brave to open about her struggle with alcohol, and it is great that the book has received such a warm reaction since the launch.

Made in Chelsea influencer Millie Mackintosh, whose book about her life became alcohol-free, was co-written with Dr. Ellie Cannon

Made in Chelsea influencer Millie Mackintosh, whose book about her life became alcohol-free, was co-written with Dr. Ellie Cannon

But what the importance of the book has brought home in recent weeks are the patients I have seen in my clinic who told me about the enormous benefits – both mentally and physically – they have experienced soberly.

I think that many people in this country often think that alcohol is so embedded in our culture that it would be impossible for them to ever stop drinking.

But that is not the case – it is often much easier than you think. So if you are curious to become sober, I advise you humbly on a Bad Drunk copy.

  • Do you have a question for Dr. Ellie Cannon? E -Mail drellie@mailonsunday.co.uk
  • Dr. Cannon cannot enter into a personal correspondence and its answers must be taken in a general context

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