InformationYou Need Learn About Sleep Apnea
When breathing of a person during sleep is reduced or stops, this condition could be diagnosed as sleep apnea.Routine visits to the doctor, however, are usually not enough to detect sleep apnea and this disorder often goes undiagnosed. Most patients would not know if they have sleep apnea because it only happens to them while sleeping. This condition could only be noticed if a patient’s family member or bed partner calls attention to the problem.
Diagnosis may reveal any of three types of sleep apnea. These apnea types include central apnea, obstructive apnea, and a combination of the two.
If the brain of an asleep person fails to activate the muscles for breathing, central sleep apnea occurs. Obstructive apnea, on the other hand, happens when the person’s airway collapses during sleep. This is the most common type of sleep apnea and occurs mostly in overweight patients. There are several complications of obstructive apnea. Such possibilities that could occur are high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, sleepiness during the day resulting in concentration and thinking difficulties that may lead to accidents while driving. Diagnosis and evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea is done through physical examination, medical history and polysomnography on the patient. If you think you might be suffering from sleep apnea you should see a doctor for sleep apnea.
It is very important for a person with obstructive sleep apnea to undergo treatment. It is tempting for most people afflicted with this disorder to forego treatment. The treatment may involve the inconvenience of wearing dental appliances and masks nightly. Using a sleep apnea dental appliance is uncomfortable at first but you can get used to it. A chin strap for sleep apnea is slightly less uncomfortable, but is very unattractive. There’s surgery, but it’s painful and there is no guarantee for successful treatment.Due to these inconveniences, painful treatment and uncertain results, only an estimated 10% of obstructive sleep apnea patients undergo treatment.
It is therefore important to educate the rest of the 90% of those patients of the consequences of non-treatment of their disorder.r Putting themselves at risk is bad enough and what is worse is that they pose a risk to others when they are driving. To the patient, the non-treatment of obstructive sleep apnea carries the increased risk of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, poor work productivity, reduced attentiveness, and in extreme cases, untimely death.
Treatment of patients suffering from obstructive apnea should be discussed with the doctor as soon as possible. Aside from surgery, dental appliances and masks, there are more palatable options for treatment. An apnea patient may have the choice to undergo behavioral theraphy, or treatments involving airway pressure.
Some lifestyle changes of patients could also help in apnea treatment. These include refraining from taking alcoholic drinks or muscle relaxants, weight reduction and stopping smoking. Having the body at a 30-degree elevation while sleeping to prevent airway collapse due to gravity could also help in apnea treatment. Sleeping on a sideways position may also beneficial in reducing the gravitational cause of sleep apnea.
There are several surgical procedures for those patients who elect surgery. These involve palate implants, nasal surgery, tongue reduction surgery, genioglossus advancement, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, bariatric surgery, tracheostomy, and maxi-mandibular advancement.