Sleep Apnea Treatment Options | Remedies | Symptoms

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One of popular sleep disorders in these days is sleep apnea. It is a kind of sleep disorder characterized by repeatedly cycles ‘stops & starts’ of breathing during sleep, which then can contribute to the low quality for the rest of the brain & body during sleep. People with this disorder tend to have bad quality of sleep which then also may affect their daily life. Can this disorder be cured? What are the symptoms? Are there many sleep apnea treatment options? What else you need to know? Keep reading!
In people with this disorder, the breathing pauses can last about 20-10 seconds. These breathing pauses can occur tens or hundreds of times a night. That’s why this condition may interrupt to the mechanism of the brain and body to get adequate O2 (Oxygen) during sleep.
Sleep apnea types and causes
Generally, this sleep disorder is categorized into 2 major categories;

1. Central sleep apnea (less common). For this type, the failure of the brain to send the signal to control the mechanism of breathing is usually the major cause! In other words, the breathing pauses during sleep for this type involve the central nervous and there are no blocked-airways. Individuals with this type seldom snore!
2. OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) -- this type is more common than the first type. Unlike central sleep apnea, as the name implies this type is usually caused by the blocked-airways which usually occur when the muscles of throat relax. In many cases, these blocked-airways are also followed the noise such as ‘loud snoring’!

And there are also some cases in people with sleep apnea that have the combination of both types (also familiar known as ‘complex sleep apnea’).

Image credit to Nucleus

Unfortunately, many people with sleep apnea often think that they can sleep well at night. They also may not be aware that the quality of their sleep was interrupted.
Common sleep apnea symptoms in men and women
There is no significant difference for the symptoms or signs of sleep apnea in men and women. Some common symptoms may include:

1. Having a lot of cycles of breathing cessation /breathing pauses during sleep.
2. Uncomfortable awakening followed by shortness of breath. This is usually more common in central sleep apnea.
3. Unfriendly loud snoring (more common in people with OSA).
4. Experience insomnia, or difficulties staying sleep.
5. Experience sore throat or dry mouth or gasping sensation, especially after awakening from sleep.
6. Patient may also experience a morning headache.
7. Hypersomnia. It is a kind of disorder characterized by a condition when the body has trouble to keep awake during the day (excessive sleepiness). People with hypersomnia can be easy to fall asleep at any time, even when they should not be intended to sleep, like driving.
8. The bad quality of sleep in people with sleep apnea will generate other problems, like lack of energy in doing their daily activities, mood changes (depression particularly in women), difficulty to have good concentration, and even decreased libido in sex.

Note; it is so important to find the right sleep apnea treatment so thus this disorder can be treated as soon as possible. If left untreated, this disorder can also generate other health problems, such as; depression, health problems associated with the performance of the heart, high blood pressure, worsening of ADHD and stroke.
Symptoms of sleep apnea in children
Unlike in adults, sleep apnea in children is usually more difficult to be recognized. Some common symptoms in adult may also occur in children. Other common symptoms may include:

1. Children may use strange positions of sleep.
2. Loud snoring, especially for kids who have OSA.
3. Sometimes children with sleep apnea may also experience excessively perspiration during sleep.
4. Suffer from bedwetting.
5. Then these uncomfortable symptoms may also affect their daytime behavior (like using mouth to breath instead of nose, decreased performance in their school environment (difficult to have good concentration), inattention /hyperactivity, mood changes (irritability or hostile behavior), problems associated with growth/developmental, etc).

Note; talk and discuss more with a pediatrician if you in doubt to the condition of your children!
Factors that can put someone at higher risk of having sleep apnea
Before discussing more about sleep apnea treatment options, you may also be interested to know some risk factors of this disorder (factors or conditions that increase your risk of having sleep apnea).
Risk factors of central sleep apnea:

1. Gender! Female is less likely to have this disorder than men.
2. People with certain health conditions, particularly such as stroke and heart disorders.
3. And elderly people, particularly for those who are over the age of 65.

Risk factors of OSA may include:

1. Prolonged sitting! The fluid in the body can shift from legs due to long periods of daytime sitting -- according to some studies. And this condition may cause narrowing of airways passages which then can raise the risk of developing OSA.
2. Use of some substances (such as; tranquilizers, sedatives, or alcohol) also can affect the performance of the throat’s muscles.
3. Elderly people (being older).
4. Family history! If you have a family history of OSA, you may have higher risk of having the same condition!
5. Gender -- men are more likely to develop OSA than women. But in women, the risk of sleep apnea usually increase when they are being overweight and after menopause period.
6. People with hypertension (high blood pressure problem).
7. Sleep apnea and weight gain! Being overweight can contribute to result the excess fat around the upper airways which then may affect on how you to breath. But this doesn’t mean that thin people are free from the risk of having sleep apnea. There are also some thin people that experience this sleep disorder!
8. Bad habits, particularly like cigarette smoking. The risk of OSA is higher (3 times) in smokers than in non-smokers. Because cigarette smoking may contribute in increasing the amount of fluid retention & inflammation in the upper airways!
9. Other problems that affect the mechanism of airways! A narrowed airway can be inherited. Moreover, a blocked airway also can be caused by enlarged adenoids or tonsils. And neck circumference (especially for greater than 43 cm /17 inches) is also often associated with sleep apnea, because this condition may also narrow the airway.

Risk factors of complex sleep apnea
Some risk factors of OSA also can contribute in causing complex sleep apnea. And in many cases, complex sleep apnea is relatively more common in people with heart problems.
Diagnosis - how to diagnose sleep apnea?
If you experience some symptoms of this disorder, don’t get a conclusion on your own -- see a doctor for more advices and clearly diagnosis! You usually will be asked by your doctor to take some sleep apnea tests.
One of common tests is polysomnogram -- a kind of multiple component test ‘sleep study’ to completely record some physical activities during sleep. Then the test-result will be analyzed by qualified /registered sleep specialist which then eventually will be used to confirm whether or not someone has certain sleep disorder (such as; sleep apnea).
Other common tests to make a sleep apnea diagnosis may include:

1. A test to analyze snoring activity or familiar called as snore microphone test.
2. A test to analyze the performance of ‘heart rhythm & rate’ or familiar called as ECG (electrocardiogram) test.
3. Electromyogram (EMG)! This test is usually purposed to record and analyze the muscle activity.
4. Test that is purposed to record and analyze the airflow, like ‘nasal airflow sensor’.
5. Electro-oculogram (EOG) ‘for analyzing the eye movements’ and electroencephalogram (EEG) ‘for recording the wave activity in the brain’. EEG also can be used to measure the brain wave activity!

Sleep apnea treatments
Can sleep apnea be cured? The success rate of sleep apnea treatment is usually dependent on the condition or level of the disease itself. Generally, sleep apnea can be cured with the right treatment. But there is also a chance for someone who had sleep apnea to experience this sleep disorder for the second time.
The sleep apnea solutions /treatments are available from conservative options (such as; changes in sleep position, or healthy diet to lose excess weight if patient is being overweight) to advance solutions (like surgery).
Sleep apnea remedies with lifestyle changes
In mild case, conservative options may be helpful enough to treat sleep apnea. The following are some these options:

1. As mentioned before, being overweight can put you at higher risk of having sleep apnea. Get back your healthy weight by losing your excess weight. Discuss more with your health-care provider to determine the right course of action for your weight loss.
2. If you are smoker, you need to stop smoking immediately!
3. Doctors usually also ask you to avoid using sleeping pills and alcohol.
4. You may also be asked to use a saline nasal spray in order to keep open your nasal passages during sleep at night.
5. Changes in sleep positions! Your doctor usually recommends choosing the right positions of sleep, such as; avoid sleeping on your back -- doctor usually ask you to sleep on your side! Talk with your doctor for more detailed information!

Sleep apnea treatment with therapies

1. CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure)! It is a kind of treatment that uses a mask in worn over the mouth /or nose during sleep. This mask is usually hooked up to a proper machine designed to deliver/transfer a continuous flow of air into the patient’s nostrils, which then will be helpful to keep the airways open and the mechanism of breathing during sleep is not impaired. In many cases, patients usually need to try more than one mask to find and use one that is most comfortable.
2. If patient still doesn’t find the right comfortable one of mask in CPAP. Doctor may recommend a special dental device that designed by professional dentist with special expertise in order to keep the airway open when patient sleep. Another choice may be a kind of adjustable airway pressure device, like a special device to supply BPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure). Ask to your doctor for more in-depth information!
3. And there is also another option to keep the throat open by wearing/using an oral appliance. Oral appliances are relatively easier for patient to use. But many doctors believe that oral appliances are less effective than CPAP.

Sleep apnea treatment with surgery
In some conditions, surgery is needed to treat sleep apnea. The goal of this option is often purposed to remove the excess tissue from throat /or nose that usually contribute in causing patient to snore. Surgery is usually also needed if patient has markedly enlarged-tonsils or a deviated nasal septum. The following are some common surgical options:

1. UPP (Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty)! The goal of this surgery is usually purposed to increase the width of the airway. Therefore the excess soft tissue on the back of palate and throat will be removed in this surgery!
2. A surgery to correct/treat the throat obstructions or facial abnormalities, such a common surgery that we call as ‘Mandibular maxillar surgery’.
3. A surgery to correct deviated septum (nasal obstruction) that contribute to sleep apnea.
4. And tracheostomy surgery for patients who are considered into life-threatening sleep apnea or if other treatments have failed!

In addition, there are also available other treatment options like injection snoreplasty, somnoplasty, and pillar-palatal implant -- these options are often called as minimally invasive procedures. They can be effective to treat snoring, but for long-term effectiveness in treating sleep apnea is still not confirmed.
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Reference: MayoClinic and WebMD
Image credit to ‘shutterstock’ for illustration