When breathing of a person during sleep is reduced or stops, this condition could be diagnosed as sleep apnea.Ordinary examination by the doctor, however, is usually insufficient to detect this disorder and sleep apnea often goes undetected. Because the condition manifests only while sleeping, most patients would not be able to tell first-hand if they have symptoms of sleep apnea. 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 classifications are central apnea, obstructive apnea, and combined central and obstructive apnea.

Central apnea occurs when the brain of a person asleep fails to activate the muscles for breathing. On the other hand, if the sleeper’s airway collapses, there is obstructive apnea. Occurring most often in overweight persons, this is the most common type of apnea. 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. To diagnose and evaluate obstructive sleep apnea, a patient will undergo physical examination and polysomnography. If you think you might be suffering from sleep apnea you should see a doctor for sleep apnea treatments.

Seeking treatment is very crucial for a patient diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. 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 dentist 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. Surgical treatment is painful and is not guaranteed to be successful.For these discouraging reasons on surgery and personal appliances, only 10% of sleep apnea patients have been estimated to have undergone 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. Avoiding alcoholic drinks, reducing weight and quitting smoking are some lifestyle change options. 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.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Sleep & Snoring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.