| Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder that causes the patient to stop breathing several times a night. Mild cases consist of a couple of times a night, to extreme cases where the individual will stop breathing for several seconds hundreds of times in one night. Sleep Apnea is best treated with cpap machine that use air pressure to keep the patient's airway open during the exhale cycle.
Sleep Apnea symptoms that the affected person may recognize include daytime drowsiness, morning headaches, dry mouth upon awakening, heartburn, reduced libido, frequent nocturnal urination and possibly waking up in the middle of the night choking, gasping and out of breath.
Most sleep apnea suffers will be recognized by their sleeping partners as having a problem. The best sleep apnea treatment is with a CPAP Machine and must be prescribed by a doctor after being referred and diagnosed by a reputable sleep center.
Those who have decreased muscle tone, increased soft tissue around the airway, and structural features that cause a narrow airway are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Most sleep apnea sufferers are middle aged men who are overweight.
There are several treatments for sleep apnea, such as surgery, but surgery has about a 50/50 chance of being completely successful and the patient may still need to use a CPAP Machine. Recovery from surgery is extremely painful and does not guarantee success. There are also dental appliances that can be fitted and worn to force the jaw forward to keep the airway open, but those usually only work with mild cases of sleep apnea. The CPAP machine is the best treatment available. It's not a cure and it will take time getting used to wearing something attached to the face while one sleeps, but it will have the greatest impact and allow the patient to get a good night's sleep. |
