Sleep apnea: facts and treatment
sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by pause of breathing during sleep. Apnea means an absence of breathe, it may miss one or more breathe while breathing. Shallow breath is also associated with sleep Apnea.
Sleep apnea facts:-
- Sleep apnea may last from seconds to minutes. Sometimes sleep apnea occurs for 5 to 30 minutes and the breathing is started again with a snort or choking sound.
- The sleep apnea person is aware of difficult breathing. The usual sleep apnea occurs 10 to 20 seconds, as 5 to 9 times an hour. The common cause of sleep apnea is obstruction in the air way.
- Sleep apnea disturbs the sleep, because the person feels difficulty in breathing. The difficulty in breathing disturbs the sleep by stimulating an individual to wake up to take deep breath. Sleep apnea may occur 3 to 4 days a week.
- The lack of sleep during night, makes an individual to feel tiredness during day time.
- It is difficult to diagnose sleep apnea, as no medical person will have time to assess the sleep for whole night. Based on complaints of patients, sleep apnea is diagnosed and treated.
- Sleep apnea is not identified by the individual who is suffering, because it occurs during sleep. The family member or the partner can tell about sleep apnea to person.
- The common type of sleep apnea is Obstructive sleep apnea, which is caused due to obstruction in air way because of air way collapse. This airway obstruction causes shallow breathing or sleep apnea.
- Obese people are at high risk of sleep apnea. when a person tries to take breath after apnea, the loud snoring is made due to sudden rush of air to airway.
- Central sleep apnea which occurs when an abnormality of respiratory centre in brain. the centre is not able to send correct impulses and causes apnea. An effort to breath is need to restore the breathing.
- Central sleep apnea may be associated with Obstructive sleep apnea. But the snoring is not with central sleep apnea.
- untreated sleep apnea may worsen heart disorders.
Treatment:-
- The most common and effective treatment is maintaining positive airway pressure device.
- Oral appliance therapy is given by dentist to prevent obstruction of airway.
- Acetazolamide is the medication used to lower the blood PH and decreases the chance of sleep apnea.
