Snoring treatment options abound, both in the drugstore and on the Internet. There are more than 300 non-invasive, over-the-counter snoring remedies registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. But do these treatments really work?

According to a study of the three most popular OTC treatments by researchers at the U.S. Air Force Medical Center in San Antonio, none of them improved patients' snoring problems. Drs. Peter G. Michaelson, and Eric A. Mair studied 40 patients (29 men and 11 women) who complained of "socially disruptive snoring." The study involved the lubricating mouth spray Snorenz, the Breathe Right nasal dilator strips, and an ergonomically shaped pillow called Snore-No-More.

The study found that the subjects experienced "no statistically significant difference" between their sleep using the OTC snoring treatments and their sleep without the treatments. Details on the study are available here.

Not only may commercially available snoring treatments be ineffective-and, therefore, a waste of money-but many such remedies also contain multiple herbs, vitamins and minerals that may not be FDA regulated. The possibility of side effects and various interactions warrant extreme caution on the part of consumers. In addition, use of these products may also delay proper evaluation and treatment of snoring's associated disease, obstructive sleep apnea.

Snoring is a serious issue and should be treated seriously. Snoring interferes with sleep-for the snorer and his/her bed partner. Sleep deprivation can cause automobile accidents, decreased job performance, errors on the job, irritability, fatigue, and a host of other problems. More importantly, untreated obstructive sleep apnea is a progressively dangerous, chronic condition that puts its sufferers at risk of a number of medical problems.

Don't gamble with your health or well-being. If you or a loved one has snoring problems, consult the Snoring Center^SM today for a consultation.