sleep apnea Archives - Laser Refractive Surgery

The answer to the above question is determined by how you define “treatment.” Simply put, there is no magical, one-time sleep apnea remedy that can suddenly eliminate the issue. However, there are various sleep apnea treatment options available that can reduce symptoms and help people receive the healthy sleep that this condition so frequently denies them.

Unfortunately, sleep apnea therapies with positive airway pressure (PAP) or sleep apnea machine cannot be considered sleep apnea cures. They typically perform extremely well in alleviating sleep apnea symptoms. They are a technique for treating and living with the illness, not curing it.

What Can I Do About My Sleep Apnea?

If you have severe sleep apnea, you should start CPAP therapy as soon as possible. It is not a cure for sleep apnea, but it is the most clinically validated type of treatment, giving patients the best chance of living a healthy life. Other options include dental appliances for mild sleep apnea and surgery, which is normally only suggested in the most extreme cases.

If your sleep apnea is mild, or if you haven’t been diagnosed, and your sleep apnea symptoms aren’t causing you too much trouble, you may decide to explore less clinical methods. To that end, the next best thing to a sleep apnea cure is also the first therapy option most experts prescribe.

How Complex Is a Treatment for Sleep Apnea?

Although there is no official cure for sleep apnea, decreasing weight is nearly typically the first piece of advice offered to those who exhibit symptoms of sleep apnea such as lethargy, exhaustion, snoring, and so on.

According to professional, decreasing weight can reduce the fat that restricts breathing passages and causes obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It is also claimed that decreasing weight will not only address your sleep problems, but it will assist your cholesterol, your knees, your clothes will fit better, and you will be happier.

Dr. Lawrence Epstein of Brigham and Women’s Hospital goes even farther, telling Harvard Women’s Health Watch, “If we can persuade patients to lose weight, both sleep apnea and other health concerns [like heart disease] will go away.

Losing just 10% of body weight can significantly impact sleep apnea symptoms. In certain circumstances, significant weight loss can potentially cure the illness.”

It should be highlighted that weight loss would only be effective as a potential sleep apnea cure in cases of OSA, where the airway is closed, as opposed to CSA, where breathing issues are caused by missed signals between the brain and the respiratory system. However, the majority of sleep apnea diagnoses are OSA rather than CSA; the American Sleep Apnea Association believes that just one in every five sleep apnea patients has CSA.

So, is losing weight a solution for sleep apnea? Not quite, but it’s as close as we’re going to get for people who are undiagnosed or have a minor form of sleep apnea.

Are There Any Effective Sleep Apnea Treatments Available?

Is there a treatment for sleep apnea? The answer remains the same: no “official” sleep apnea remedies exist. We’re not claiming that losing weight is a legitimate solution for sleep apnea. Losing weight may be the next best thing for persons with OSA, preventing certain moderate sleep apnea symptoms from becoming severe or life-threatening.

However, the greatest answer to whether sleep apnea remedies exist is to think of living a better life rather than a cure for sleep apnea. Following the usual recommendations for healthy sleep – in addition to clinical treatments such as CPAP or dental equipment, if necessary – may not provide a cure for sleep apnea, but it will most certainly help you receive the healthy sleep you need.

Sleep apnea is a problem that is easily treated. Treatment options range from dietary changes to surgery.

Furthermore, if you have any contributory medical issues (such as inadequate thyroid hormone production or large tonsils), these may also need to be addressed.

Changes in Lifestyle for Sleep Apnea

Making lifestyle modifications is the primary line of treatment for sleep apnea. This includes the following:

Weight loss – If you are overweight or obese, lowering weight may improve or cure your sleep apnea. Losing weight has other health benefits.
Reduce your alcohol consumption.
Quit Smoking.

CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) Machine

Aside from lifestyle adjustments, the most effective treatment available is a nighttime mask that sends higher air pressure into the airway to keep the throat from collapsing. This is called “nasal constant positive airway pressure” (CPAP).

The most frequent treatment for sleep apnea is CPAP. It is non-invasive and works by blowing air through tubing into a mask worn on the nose and/or mouth. Even if the throat muscles have relaxed too much during sleep, this air pressure flows into the back of the throat and keeps it open.

The key to CPAP treatment is to choose a mask and machine that are right for you.

Dental Instruments

Suppose you have mild to moderate sleep apnea. In that case, another therapy option is to wear an oral appliance, which is a specially designed mouthguard (such as a mandibular advancement splint or MAS). These are intended to pull the lower jaw forward to make more room in the neck, but they do not prevent the throat from closing during sleeping.

They must be fitted by a dentist and worn at all times when sleeping. They are also used as a snoring remedy.

Positioning Aids

Some people only experience sleep apnea when they lie on their backs. You might shift around in your sleep without even realizing it.

You could stitch anything (such as a tennis ball into a T-shirt or pajama top) to keep you off your back while sleeping. Some CPAP suppliers offer commercial products in this regard as well.

Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery

When other therapies for sleep apnea have failed, surgery may be considered. Surgery to the palate and base of the tongue may be recommended, particularly in school-aged children and young adults.

Upper airway surgery aims to make extra room in the throat by removing tissue. However, the amount of tissue that may be removed is limited, and it does not prevent the throat from compressing during sleep; thus, it may not be successful.

Any surgery of this sort must be performed by a specialized ear, nose, and throat surgeon (known as an otolaryngologist). Your medical team can answer any concerns you have and assist you in weighing the health benefits.

If you are a direct witness, it might be frightening to discover that someone has stopped breathing while sleeping. While various factors can cause your breathing to stop while you sleep, sleep apnea is a typical reason. Almost 48% of Australian adults have one time experienced a form of sleep disorder, according to research, and more than 22 million Americans (USA) also have had some form of sleep problems.

People frequently inquire, “Can sleep apnea harm you?” The response is that it can have a variety of short- and long-term health implications, some of which are potentially fatal. It is therefore necessary for you to know if sleep apnea is among those fatal sleep disorders people experienced.

Causes of Sleep Breathing Interruptions

Breathing problems during sleep are pretty common. Snoring is probably the most well-known. The characteristic sound is created by vibration in the upper airway tissues while you breathe.

It is also possible for you to temporarily cease breathing. These breathing pauses are known as sleep apnea, which comes from the Greek word for “no breath.” Apnea occurrences must last at least 10 seconds, but they might persist for several minutes.

The sleeping disease known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most prevalent form of apnea. OSA occurs when the upper airway tissues—the tongue, soft palate, and uvula—collapse into the neck and obstruct normal airflow.

Your body may still try to breathe, with the chest and abdomen moving, but the air cannot pass through the barrier. As a result, at certain times, airflow via your nose and mouth is limited or shut entirely.

Another form of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea. Here, breathing pauses are caused by the brain failing to inform the respiratory muscles to perform. This can be caused by a brainstem condition, excessive obesity, or drugs such as opiate pills.

Other probable causes of sleep-disturbed breathing are less common. They are as follows:

Cheyne-Stokes respiration: Alternating heavy and shallow breathing and breathing pauses have been linked to severe heart failure and neurological illnesses such as dementia.
Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (Ondine’s curse): Shallow breathing causes an oxygen shortage and excess carbon dioxide in the blood. The condition is usually caused by a malfunction of the neurological system.

How to Restart Breathing

The oxygen levels in the blood decrease when breathing incorrectly. The brain detects inadequate breathing and elevated carbon dioxide levels and triggers an awakening.

These awakenings are related to bouts of elevated heart rate and blood pressure, which can develop into other issues in the long run. You may wake up gasping or choking, and your partner may hear a loud snort and movement as you awaken from a deep sleep.

When Does Sleep Apnea Become a Serious Problem?

The degree of severity of sleep apnea varies. Breathing pauses are expected to occur up to five times per hour in adults5 and once per hour in children. These occurrences may occur as a result of typical sleep-stage transitions.

A sleep study may be used to diagnose OSA if breathing disturbances occur more frequently. Based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), the following categories are used to classify sleep apnea:

5-14 incidents per hour for mild
15-30 incidents per hour is considered moderate.
More than 30 occurrences per hour is considered severe.

It is also critical to recognize the level of oxygen deprivation that happens as a result of these events. This is referred to as hypoxemia when oxygen levels fall below 90%.

Chronic oxygen deprivation can have both short-term and long-term consequences.

In the presence of heart or lung illness, oxygen levels may fall precipitously with each apnea incident. As a result, the body may experience increased stress overnight.

Can Sleep Apnea Cause Death?

The breathing pauses caused by sleep apnea is exceedingly unlikely to result in death. In other words, you will not stop breathing indefinitely. On the other hand, obstructive sleep apnea can raise your risk of potentially dangerous short-term and chronic health issues, some of which might result in abrupt death.

Short-Term Dangers

Breathing pauses can cause heart arrhythmia, leading to cardiac arrest.
It can also cause atrial fibrillation, a heart attack (myocardial infarction), or a stroke.

These occurrences appear to be more common in the morning when REM sleep is more common and sleep apnea is more likely.

According to studies, patients with OSA have a 2.5-fold increased chance of dying while sleeping between midnight and 6 a.m. 10

The good news is that CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) treatment appears to reduce the risk of most significant consequences and the likelihood that OSA may cause long-term heart problems.

Chronic Dangers

Long-term sleep-disordered breathing has been shown to have serious health implications. It has been linked to an increase in the prevalence of high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, and heart problems.

It’s also linked to depression and memory issues like Alzheimer’s.

It causes drowsiness during the day and may contribute to accidents.

While OSA is not lethal on its own, many of the complications it can cause can endanger your life. As a result, treating sleep apnea is critical for your health.

When Should You See a Doctor?

If you or someone you care about has frequent pauses in breathing, you should seek medical attention. Don’t dismiss sleep breathing difficulties as insignificant; they can lead to major problems over time.

Other symptoms or indicators may indicate the diagnosis, but only a sleep study will provide a conclusive answer. Fortunately, effective therapeutic alternatives are available, such as using CPAP or an oral appliance.

Speak with your doctor about getting the treatment you need to breathe and sleep better. You will be pleased you did.

Laser Refractive Surgery

better vision with laser eye surgery

Tag: sleep apnea

Is There Any Treatment for Sleep Apnea?