Snoring is the subject of many a joke, but if you’re the one afflicted by this common nocturnal malady, it’s anything but funny, especially for women who find it particularly embarrassing.
That’s according to business partners Philippa Logan and Michelle Hall-Jones who head SnoreMeds, a locally based company that’s successfully selling a solution to the problem internationally and at home.
Although hardly the sort of product they envisaged marketing when they went into business together in 1994, they have built SnoreMeds into a highly profitable entity which has proved particularly successful in America, Europe and Australia over the past five years. Now it’s available locally from selected Dis-Chem and independent pharmacies. It is also endorsed by medical aids.
To understand exactly what forms the core of their business, it’s a good idea to know exactly what snoring is all about. It is usually caused by partial obstruction of the upper airway behind the tongue. When someone is asleep, the muscles around the airway relax and the airway becomes narrower.
For most of those who snore – 70 percent of men and 30 percent of women – air rushing through the narrowed opening causes the soft tissue in the upper airway to vibrate, making the sound that’s labeled as snoring.
Although keeping one’s partner awake at night is probably the best known side effect, medical studies have also shown that the poor sleep that accompanies snoring can be linked to headaches, anxiety, depression, weight gain and decreased libido as well as major ailments such as some cancers, heart ailments, high blood pressure and strokes.
As Logan explains, a number of different remedies exist – from gimmicks to surgery. Mandibular devices have been around for over a decade, although many of the earlier versions were not user-friendly. “SnoreMeds is a custom-fitted mouthpiece that you wear while asleep. It works by gently moving the lower jaw slightly forward, opening the throat and keeping the airway unobstructed. The benefits are immediate and at least 85 percent of snoring suffers who try our product say it works,” says Logan.
Read More... http://www.snoremeds.co.za/meds/promise-of-peaceful-sleep/