Sleep apnea is a rather common yet often undiagnosed condition wherein there are instances of shallow or infrequent breathing during sleep. This problem causes a disruption in your sleep, resulting in tiredness or perhaps drowsiness during the day.
Dealing with Sleep Apnea
Right now there are 2 main goals of treating sleep apnea. The first is to bring back normal breathing during sleep, and the second is to stop loud loud night breathing (a common symptom of the disorder) and daytime sleepiness.
Exactly how Sleep Apnea Can Be Treated
Lifestyle Change
If you have a mild case of sleep apnea, a life-style change may be all that you will need to treat this problem.
Some of the life-style changes you can make include:
Avoiding alcoholic beverages and the intake of sleeping pills
Stopping the awful habit of cigarette smoking
Losing weight
Sleeping on your side instead of on your back as the latter can make it harder for your throat to stay open while you sleep
Mouthpieces
A mouthpiece, also known as an oral equipment, is another treatment for a mild case of sleep apnea. Medical doctors would also recommend you wear a mouthpiece if you snore loudly even if you dont have sleep apnea.
In the therapy of sleep apnea, you will be wearing a Customized-fit plastic mouthpiece that is specially designed to adjust your tongue and lower jaw to keep your breathing passages open while youre sleeping.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or CPAP
This kind of remedy comes with the use of CPAP face masks. The mask is worn over the mouth or nose while you sleep. It is connected to a device that supplies a constant flow of air, which passes from the machine to the mask through a tube.
CPAP is the one sleep apnea treatment that is most recommended by medical doctors.
Surgical procedure
The more invasive option of surgical treatment for sleep apnea is performed on patients with a deviated septum, smaller lower jaw with an overbite, or bigger tonsils that narrow the inhaling and exhaling passages.
Surgery to correct the causes of sleep apnea involves shrinking, stiffening, or removing excess tissue, or resetting the lower jaw to widen air passages.
The three most common surgical treatments performed on sleep apnea patients are the following:
Nasal Surgery to correct a deviated septum
Mandibular maxillar advancement surgery to eliminate throat obstructions
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty to remove excess tissue on the back of the palette and throat
