What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is the illness, where breathing become very superficial or you may even halt breathing temporarily, while you sleep. It may happen many times in a night. Sleep apnea is a very common sleep disorder which is disturbing about 20 million of Americans. It can get you feel fatigued for the whole day even after having a full night sleep. This happens because your body wakes up numerous times in the night, even if you were not conscious of your awakening. This leads to the lack of oxygen in your body which has long-standing ill effects on your well-being. Common ill Effects Include:
What are the Types of Sleep Apnea? Many people are aware of the term obstructive sleep apnea while the other two terms stay unrecognized. There are 3 kinds of sleep apnea, and they are as follows: 1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common type, which occurs when there is an obstacle in airways during sleep. During this form of apnea, air gets restricted from moving beyond the barrier and cuts the blood flow to brain. Brain gets the signal of partial awakening from sleep which in turns signals the body to breathe. This often is followed by loud obstructing sounds. 2. Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) is less common than OSA type. It occurs when muscles responsible for breathing, fails to get signal from brain. It is assumed to be because of the medical problems and complications in the brainstem. 3. Mixed sleep apnea (MSA) is a blend of both obstructive and central sleep apnea. Sometimes patients who are being treated for obstructive sleep apnea may develop central sleep apnea. The treatment is with CPAP devices, being fixed at the lowest pressure setting to get the airways free from blockages, but don't permit CSA signs to grow. How Is Sleep Apnea Treated? 1. Breathing Devices: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is the treatment where patients wear facial mask during sleep. This machine helps the air to pump into nasal passages in order to keep the airway open while sleep. A new substitute of CPAP called as ‘Provent’ is without mask, fits over the nostrils, is much reduced and less disturbing than the traditional CPAP machine. CPAP treatment will possibly cause some side effects in some cases. Some of the side effects are dry mouth, stuffy nose, irritated facial skin, bloated stomach, and headaches. 2. Surgery: Surgery is done to broaden the breathing passage. Surgery’s success entirely depends upon the type of surgery and cause of sleep apnea. It is a multi-step procedure which usually involves reduction, thickening, or eliminating extra tissue from the mouth and throat. You may need the continuous use of CPAP even after surgery to reduce the brutality of sleep apnea. Follow up is must after surgery. Surgery takes place in hospitals and throat pain can last for nearly half a month after surgery. Surgeries that are being done for sleep apnea treatment are: Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), Septoplasty and Turbinate Reduction, Hyoid Suspension, Radiofrequency Volumetric Tissue Reduction (RFVTR), Genioglossus Advancement, Maxillomandibular osteotomy (MMO), Midline glossectomy and lingualplasty and advancement (MMA), Palatal implants, Laser-assisted uvuloplasty (LAUP), Weight loss surgery and Tracheostomy. 3. Dental Devices: Mouthpiece, mostly acrylic fits inside the mouth as a mouth guard, is called as tongue retaining device while other that fits around the head and chin to modify the lower jaw’s position, is called as mandibular re-positioning device. Dentists try to make them convenient for sleep apnea patients. These dental devices adjusts the tongue and lower jaw in such a way as to keep the airways open while sleep. It is very vital to get it fitted by a leading dental practitioner. It is essential to visit dental offices regularly for follow up, to get the mouthpiece correctly adjusted in mouth. What to do next? If you are in San Diego & Chula Vista are suffering from sleep apnea, then visit our dental office. We will just take 10 minute of yours to discover whether you need sleep apnea treatment or not. Comments are closed.
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