Are you experiencing breathing that is occurring with a stop-and-start rhythm? Do you feel tired despite sleeping the whole night or snoring while you sleep? If this is true, you are suffering from a medical condition called Sleep Apnea. Furthermore, this sleeping disorder, even though chronic, is curable and requires proper diagnosis. This disorder, however, can get serious if you do not treat it at the right time. Therefore, you need to understand this medical condition. And so, here is presenting all the important facts you need to know about Sleep Apnea.
What are the types of Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that manifests itself in one but three different forms. They are as follows:
- Central Sleep Apnea: In this type of Sleep Apnea, the signals from the brain do not reach the muscles in the respiratory system that control breathing.
- Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome: This condition, also known as ‘Treatment Enlargement Central Sleep Apnea’, is triggered in human beings only when they exhibit symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea: It is the most frequently occurring type of Sleep Apnea which an individual suffers when the muscles in the throat relax.
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea you need to know about:
If you are suffering from Sleep Apnea, you need to know a few signs and symptoms to detect them as soon as possible. Therefore, to help you know more about them here is presenting to you a comprehensive list:
- Feeling irritable
- Headache in the morning
- Hypersomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness
- While sleeping, struggling to breathe
- Unable to keep awake (Insomnia)
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- Snoring loudly
- Episodes of breathing with pauses while sleeping
How do you diagnose Sleep Apnea?
Initially, your doctor will first examine you and then do a complete evaluation of your Sleep Apnea symptoms. Furthermore, you will be asked to visit a sleep disorder center based on the analysis. It is out here that a specialist will help you in the further treatment of this medical condition. Besides, you will also be asked to stay overnight at the special sleep healthcare center to get testing of your breathing and other body organ functions. These tests will include the following:
- Home Sleep Tests:
These include a set of sleeping tests that your doctor may provide, which you can use at home to diagnose Sleep Apnea. These examinations will measure breathing patterns, airflow, heart rate, oxygen level, brain activity, and brain function.
- Night Polysomnography:
In this test, your body will be connected to a device that measures important body function vitals such as heart rate, brain and lung functionality, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep.
Once you get the results, which turn out to be abnormal, your physician will immediately stop and start you on medication therapy. Moreover, if you test positive for sleep apnea, your doctor will recommend you to visit an ENT or an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist for further treatment.
You can visit a neurologist (Nervous System Specialist) or a cardiologist (Heart Specialist) to know more about your disorder.
What are the treatment measures you can use to cure Sleep Apnea?
If you are suffering from a milder form of Sleep Apnea, then your doctor may suggest only some minor lifestyle changes. These will include giving up the smoking habit or undergoing weight loss.
However, if you find that changing how you live your life does not impact Sleep Apnea, you need to opt for therapy from among several available. They include the following:
Adaptive Servo-Ventilation or ASV:
It is an airflow test involving a device that helps you understand your normal breathing pattern. This machine makes your breathing normal by eliminating the pauses in it. The equipment stores all the information about your breathing while sleeping in a computer, which is an integral part of the ASV set-up.
CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure:
A CPAP device will be effective only if your Sleep Apnea appears to be very moderate or extremely severe. Furthermore, this therapy is generally considered one of the easiest to use and dependable. However, many people find it very annoying and uncomfortable to use.
Oral applications:
Adorning an oral application is yet another therapy you can use to treat Sleep Apnea. This device has a design that specifically helps to keep your throat open. Furthermore, several such instruments are available at your dentist from whom you can get a piece that suits your need.
Supplemental oxygen:
Many instruments are available in the market that can help you get oxygen into your body and thereby help treat your Sleep Apnea.
Other Airway Pressure Devices:
A CPAP device may not be effective in treating your Sleep Apnea. In such a scenario, you can use other airway pressure instruments such as BiPAP or Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure. More importantly, using such equipment will help you effectively breathe by providing more and less pressure when you inhale and exhale.
Besides, surgery becomes your only option if you find all other therapies failing to help relieve your Sleep Apnea symptoms. They are a few options in it that you can use including the following:
- Realigning of Jaw
- Stimulation of Nerves
- Implantation Process
- Eliminating Tissue
- Creation of new airway passage in lungs
- Shrinkage of tissue
Sleep Apnea can become a serious medical condition if you do not treat it in time. Therefore, you must speak to your doctor or healthcare specialist as soon as you detect any signs and symptoms of this sleeping disorder.
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