Inhaled corticosteroids such as fluticasone may quell the symptoms of asthma, but a recently published University of Wisconsin-Madison pilot study suggests that in some people, these inhaled drugs make the throat and tongue more floppy, promoting sleep apnea.
Physicians are learning that patients with asthma more often have sleep apnea – a breathing disturbance often marked by snoring. It had not been fully appreciated how asthma, which primarily affects the lungs, could cause sleep apnea, which occurs when the throat and soft palate relax so much they block the airway.