How it Started
How Snoring Affected My Marriage
My name is Graeme Walton, I am 74 years old and a Vietnam veteran. I exercise regularly and have been told that I am quite fit for my age – I am in a swim squad and we swim up to 3 kilometers three times a week. Even with this regular exercise I always felt as though I did not have enough breath and always felt tired during the day, often needing to nap.
My partner was concerned about my sleeping habits as I was almost impossible to sleep with and she would often have to sleep in our second bedroom. She told me that I stopped breathing many times during the night and that I snored very loudly and she insisted that I went to a doctor as she was concerned about my health. I consulted my doctor who sent me to a breathing specialist. After testing, I was told my lung capacity was around 5% larger for my age and I was also surprised that he did not have a remedy for me except to have a CPAP test.
Snoring cure – Health Clinics
A friend advised me to go to a well-known and respected Buteyko health and breathing clinic because of my problem. During the first appointment, I was tested for my breathing. The test showed that my breathing was shallow and my breathing cycle, which should have been in the region of 8 times a minute, was around 17 times a minute. Because I was over breathing my CO2 retention was affected. I had hidden hyperventilation. It was explained to me that I was a mouth breather and that I should try to breathe through my nose which is the natural thing to do.
The Breathing Procedure
I was given 20-minute breathing exercises to be carried out three times a day and this has been very beneficial to me. I was also shown to put a small piece of medical tape over my mouth whilst I slept which would regulate my breathing and stop my snoring. The placing of tape over the mouth during sleep to control breathing through your nose and to reduce snoring and other breathing ailments was first developed by the late Dr. Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko, scientist, and professor of medicine. It has been medically proven that mouth breathing is dangerous for your health.
There are over 180 Buteyko health and breathing clinics around the world with many hundreds of thousands of people using tape every night to improve their sleep and reduce their snoring. To make sure that there were no better alternatives, I then tried all the different products on the market to keep my mouth closed during sleep like the chin strap and mouth guard and I found that they were not suitable for me. I realized that I could not find a product that would stop my snoring and provide a good night’s sleep. I found this very surprising with the market so huge and the limited options available. I decided to go back and investigate the Buteyko method further.
Engineering the Product
After more trials and testing, I found that it was the best solution for me but it needed to be seriously modified. I knew then that I could make a better product and make it work perfectly for me. I sat down and after some time, I came up with a specially designed patch that is larger and fits around the mouth. I also included tabs at both ends for easy removal and disposal. After several prototypes, I came up with the perfect, one size fits all design. By carefully choosing the correct skin-friendly flexible medical-grade fabric I made sure that it was comfortable and easy to use.
What is Zip Snore
The Zip Snore anti-snore patch is a unique specially designed patch that keeps your mouth closed and holds the jaw in place. This means the tongue stays forward keeping the airways open allowing you to breathe naturally through your nose and stopping you from snoring. Research has found that people do not like anything over their mouth whilst they sleep. That is why I had to come up with the unique design that goes around the mouth giving a good mouth seal but it is designed to allow the user to open their mouth if they need to cough or sneeze. The anti-snore patch is unique in the way that it fits firmly around the mouth providing a full mouth seal, effectively preventing the open mouth breathing that leads to snoring and sleep apnea. After many trials, I have now developed a simple, easy, and comfortable snore patch that works and my partner loves it.
Test my Invention
I requested to have two clinical overnight sleep studies carried out on myself to confirm that my anti-snore patches do work and to show how effective the zip snore anti-snore patches are. I spent two nights in the Pindara Private Hospital, Benowa QLD referred by: Dr. Michael Thompson where they put all these monitors on my body and head with a tube attached to my nose to measure my breathing and snoring.
The first test without using the zip snore patch showed that continuous snoring ranging from soft to loud intensity was noted. And that I had 26.4 periodic leg movements that occurred per hour of sleep and contributed to 2.6 arousals per hour of sleep. The conclusion was that I did snore very loudly and that I had extreme sleep apnea.
I was advised that I would need to use a CPAP machine with a mask to sleep with every night for the rest of my life.
This concerned me as the mask was very uncomfortable, the machine made a gurgling noise all night and my partner refused to sleep with me as she could not get to sleep from the noise
The second test using my Zip Snore patch showed that no snoring was noted. And no periodic leg movements were noted. This clinically proves that my zip snore patch gave me a better night’s sleep with no noise. I have patented the Zip Snore anti-snore patch and it is TGA and FDA approved as a Class I medical device designed to assist in the reduction of snoring. The snore patch is comfortable and easy to use, it is also PBA, PVC, and latex-free. I have been using the snore patch for 18 months and it is a life-changer for me.
“I can now sleep a whole night with my partner and we both get a good night’s sleep.”
It has successfully stopped my snoring problem and I now get a better night’s sleep. My partner has told me that since using my anti-snore patches, I sleep silently all night and am not tired during the day. I can now sleep a whole night with my partner and we both get a good night’s sleep. I know through my own experience that these unique patches are going to change many people’s lives around the world. It might even save marriages.
This simple, cheap, easy-to-use anti-snore patch has changed my life and I’d love for you to experience the same joy I (and my partner) now do.