Posts Tagged ‘sleep apnea treatment’
If you have a sleep disorder, such as apnea, then you know the symptoms can be debilitating. From persistent sleepiness to depression to heart disease, this sleep problem can wreak havoc on your life if you don’t act quickly. Sleep apnea treatment is usually quite simple, but it requires active participation from the patient. In this article, we’ll talk about the treatment options available and the possible consequences of forgoing help.
There currently is no proven sleep medicine for sleep apnea. However, there are four basic approaches to treatment. Firstly, doctors recommend changing the circumstances which may be causing the apnea. This would include suggesting that the patient lose weight, quit smoking and avoid alcohol and sedative drugs. The sufferer should also get into a regular sleeping schedule and try to sleep only on their side. The second and most common treatment option is in using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in the upper airway to support and hold the airway open. This involves wearing a CPAP mask over the nose. The mask provides a supply of continuously flowing air via a flexible plastic hose from a CPAP machine.
The third treatment option is the use of a dental splint. One of the reasons for the upper airway to become narrowed at night is because the tongue falls posteriorly. Using a dental splint at night prevents the jaw and tongue from moving back. However, oral devices have not proven to be as effective, as CPAP and the appliances can be uncomfortable. The fourth and most extreme form of apnea treatment is surgery. This kind of procedure increases the size of the upper airway. It usually involves removal of the part of the soft palate that hangs down in the back of the throat, as well as the tonsils if present, and other soft tissue if it is felt to be excessive. This procedure is usually reserved for patients with severe sleep apnea.
To diagnose which sleep apnea treatment is best for you, your doctor will evaluate the symptoms you’re experiencing and their severity. If you think that treatment is a nuisance that you don’t want to be bothered with, then consider the alternatives. Apnea can lead to more severe illnesses like depression, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. On the other hand, patients who do undergo treatment report fewer headaches, improved mood, higher energy and improved job performance, as well as a better night of sleep.
Your sleep apnea treatment will have numerous benefits to your overall health if you stick to the plan your doctor has laid out for you. If you do have problems, then speak to your doctor for further sleep apnea support, to see if anything else can be done to make you more comfortable. The benefits of a restful night of sleep will be well worth the effort.
Sleep disorders can affect a person’s daily living. They do not go through the right sleep cycles as well as their daily lives begin to suffer from the lack of sleep that is. The conditions has the ability to be dangerous. A medical condition known as sleep apnea where the individual actually stops breathing they sleep. It is extremely arrests and life threatening if not dealt with in the right way. You don’t have to keep suffering. Even in the event that snoring has become a problem, there are instruments to assist you in getting a good nights sleep as well as feel rested in the morning hours. Click here for more information:
Insomnia Treatment as well as Sleep Insomnia Causes and certainly try Menopause And Insomnia
A sure sign that you could be affected by sleep apnea is that when sleeping you suddenly finds yourself waking up and the reason is that you were not able to breathe for a short spell of time. The primary sleep apnea cause occurs when you are unable to get air into your lungs while asleep and this may be because of your throat staying open making you unable to breathe, or because of a temporary collapsing of your throat which makes you wake up at night because of having become breathless.
Sleeping on Your Back
Most times sleep apnea happens while sleeping on your back although it can happen in any position. Sleep apnea is usually caused when the tongue or throat muscles relax beyond the usual range and by sleeping on your back, the fact that the muscles have relaxed so much lets the tongue slip up towards the back on your mouth and you are unable to breathe.
Thus, if it is found that sleeping on your back is the main sleep apnea cause, you need to simply change your sleeping position and thus again regain your ability to sleep soundly. Another possible sleep apnea cause is when your adenoids or tonsils become too large and to treat such a sleep apnea cause you may require undergoing surgery, though of course the decision is best left to your doctor.
If you are overweight and have too much body fat you may also be at risk for sleep apnea. Fat deposits can accumulate at the back of the throat and cause it to collapse or a blockage while you are sleeping.
However, by using a mouth piece it will help in case of mild sleep apnea since it will ensure that your tongue stays down and it will also keep your tongue in a position that will enable you to breathe continuously and thus ensure adequate and restful sleep at night.
Even the size of your skull or neck can be a cause of sleep apnea. The shape may force muscles to close over the throat when you lie down and ruin what would otherwise be a good sleep.
The best way to treat this and other sleep apnea causes is by using the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure treatment which is most suitable should you suffer from an extreme case of sleep apnea.