Sleep Apnea Treatment: Many Options to Choose From

Sleep apnea is one of the most distressing sleeping disorders characterized by the patient ceasing to breathe several times during the night while asleep. This happens because of serious obstructions in the upper respiratory tract and such obstructions can be at several locations. For example, excessive tissues in the air passage, enlarged tonsils or tongue and other relevant muscles and tissues collapsing while asleep or obstruction in the nasal passage could lead to sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea treatment: where to start?

Fortunately, there are several sleep apnea treatment options but this does not mean that all of them are suitable to cure your condition. Be that as it may, before you know more about the sleep apnea treatment options, it could be a better idea to know about the sleep apnea symptoms, so that you can consult a doctor before the situation takes a turn for the worse. Some of the common sleep apnea symptoms are
• Feeling too tired during the day
• At times the patient is clueless about the breathlessness during sleep. It is the sleeping partner who discovers the symptoms first.
• Irritability and frequent headaches in the morning.
• Rapid weight gain
• Increased blood pressure
• Frequent urination in the night, and more.

Sleep apnea treatment choices

The treatment modality usually depends on the severity of the condition. Mild sleep apnea could be treated with weight loss, change in sleeping posture or other simple lifestyle alterations. However, if the condition is more serious, the doctor may recommend CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. Using a nose mask, air is blown into the nasal passage, so that the patient can breathe better.

Sleep apnea treatment: What about CPAP alte
atives?

As mentioned, it all depends on how serious the sleep apnea condition is. The doctor would also have to critically look at the site of obstruction to decide whether CPAP alte
atives like surgery should be considered or not. There are several types of surgeries performed for sleep apnea treatment, including somnoplasty, tracheotomy, uvulo-palato-pharyngoplasty (UPPP), mandibular myotomy and Laser Assisted Uvuloplasty (LAUP) that are performed depending on the site of obstruction.

Amongst the popular CPAP alte
atives the oral position airway pressure (OPAP), a dental appliance for passing through air has been effective in many cases of severe sleep apnea.

The sleep apnea pillow is yet another alte
ative for sleep apnea treatment. This specially designed pillow keeps the head, neck and spine in perfect alignment so that the tongue does not slip backwards to obstruct breathing.