swollen uvula

I have no idea if this is the right place to talk about inside your mouth? I am sure somebody will no something about swollen uvulas? Anyways i seem to have many posts on this website but it seems once a month something new happens to me! My problem is now i noticed about 3 months ago after a good night of sleep(or at least i think i slepted good) i woke up to my uvula touching my tongue, what a weird feeling! actually more scary because ive never felt this before let alone know what a uvula was. I looked in my mouth and noticed it was hanging really low and red, but not really sore, just more of a scratchy dry feeling... this has been happening like i said off and on for about 3 three months, defintly not everyday, so i am not to worried. It usually goes away after a few hours with some gargling with salt water and chamonmile tea. I think its caused by my addiction to salty foods and cigarettes, also i find it worse in the winter when the furnace is on..  my wife tells me i snore alot!!  Ive always breath through my nose while i sleep, even when i was a child, so i dont know any better. I guess thats why i am posting this question in this forum because maybe i do have sleep apnea of some kind? I am just curious to why this keeps happening to me all of a sudden and not all my life? any advice or help would be great!!

[Steven Y Park, MD]

It sounds like you have a sleep-breathing problem. Whether or not it's sleep apnea can only be confirmed by a formal sleep study. You may wish to see an ENT doctor about your swollen uvula, since any kind of swelling in your throat can aggravate upper airway obstruction.

[Canadaguy25]

Ok thank you for responding back to my question. Very helpful!