A Glance at Sleep Apnea

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We have often heard of a sleeping disorder called sleep apnea from the different medical forums. But, most of us still wonder, what really is sleep apnea? What are the types of sleep apnea? How does it affect the lives of those who are suffering with this disorder? Are there any treatments for this disorder? Those questions will be answered as you read on.

Sleep apnea is a kind of breathing disorder which is characterized by a pause, reduction or blockage of airflow while sleeping. This kind of disease is very common with adults. However, studies have shown that there have been reported cases on children. But, it is very much rare. However, new studies are underway to gather and determine more about sleep disorders in children.

Sleep apnea has three types which are the (a) Central sleep apnea (CSA) (b) Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and (c) mixed sleep apnea. CSA happens when the muscles responsible for breathing did not receive a signal coming from the brain to breath. Thus, there’s no effort for the muscles to breath.

On the other hand, OSA happens when breathing has been unsuccessful even though the brain has sent a signal and the muscles have acknowledged the signal thus making an effort to breath. However, due to other circumstances the airflow has been obstructed which prevents the air to flow adequately.  Well, a mixed sleep apnea, as the name implies, is the combination of both CSA and OSA.

Sleep apnea greatly affects the person with this problem as well as his/her bed partner. Why? Because a common symptom of sleep apnea is snoring which can be extremely irritating to your bed partner. In addition, there is always a tendency to gasp while sleeping since pauses in breathing occurs. The breath pauses last for 10 seconds or more. This is really troublesome because the person suffering from apnea has difficulty in having a deep sleep. This results in difficulty in focusing, thinking, remembering and concentrating, decreased productivity on the day job, always feels sleepy even on public places, car or even by watching TV and more. Sleep apnea may also increase the risk of heart problems, heart attack, high blood pressure and even death.

Luckily, there are known treatments to sleep apnea. However, you should consult a specialist first regarding your problem since proper diagnosis is needed for this disorder. Treatments may be in a form of surgical and non-surgical.

On the easier, less invasive (non-surgical) treatment options you will find bi-level positive airway pressure, auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure, continuous positive airway pressure, dental appliances, medications and behavior therapy.

For the surgical treatments, the procedures the patient may undergo are palate implants, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, tongue reduction surgery, maxillo-mandibular advancement, nasal surgery, genioglossus advancement, bariatric surgery and tracheostomy.

Sleep apnea obviously can come with some dire consequences – therefore if you believe that you or your bed partner may be suffering with this disorder it is important that you consult your physician for proper treatment. And avoid being one of the 90% who were diagnosed with sleep apnea but chooses not to undergo treatment.

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