'Can you help me stop my chronic snoring?'

our online advisors reply:

Snoring comes from the vibration of the soft parts of the throat when the airway is constricted. Snoring is often treated as a joke but, as you have found yourself, it can make life very difficult for sufferers and their partners.

Any condition that leads to a blocked nose or congested throat can make snoring worse, so your allergic rhinitis could be part of the problem. Do you know what you are allergic to? Avoiding the rhinitis trigger might help. Unfortunately, antihistamine allergy medicine can aggravate snoring. If you take these it would be a good idea to try a different treatment.

The fact that you smoke is probably adding to the problem. I know it's not easy to stop but it may well help if you can. Of course stopping would have lots of other health benefits too. Our feature how to quit smoking has some useful information.

Excess weight is often a factor because more fat around the throat restricts the airway. Your sleeping position is important too. If possible, learn to sleep on your front or side. It is generally recommended that you sleep with your head raised. Avoiding alcoholic drinks, tranquillisers and sleeping pills in the few hours before bed can help.

Some people benefit from a plastic mouth insert that fits over the teeth and holds the lower jaw forwards, which helps to keep your airway open. There are various other devices, sprays and nose drops that claim to help with snoring, but they don't work for everybody. Working out which ones might work for you can be tricky because it depends on whether you snore through your nose or your mouth.

The snoring pages at embarrassingproblems.com have more information about self-help methods to tackle snoring. However, the best thing we can advise is to discuss the problem with your doctor. He or she should be able to help with treatment for the allergic rhinitis too.

Above all, your GP will be able to investigate the possibility that you are suffering from a condition called sleep apnoea. In sleep apnoea the airway periodically gets blocked completely so that the sufferer stops breathing for a few moments and wakes up with a loud snort. Sufferers are often unaware of waking up, but may feel very tired during the day. If you think you might have this problem do see your GP without delay. Apnoea is not particularly common, except in overweight men, but it is more serious than ordinary snoring.

You might have heard of some people opting for surgery to widen their throat, sometimes using lasers. Unfortunately, surgery is not always successful and even if it does work it may need repeating after a few years. It's usually very painful afterwards too, and sometimes other problems occur, such as liquid escaping from the nose when you drink. For these reasons this type of surgery is generally not recommended. In some cases there are other types of surgery that can help. Again, your GP is the best person to advise you on this.

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