Treatment of Sleep Apnea

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Sleep apnea is a disorder during which the person stops breathing for a few seconds during night. Most of the people suffer from this type of disorder. There are several causes of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea causes the upper airways to collapse during sleep. There are several types of treatment of sleep apnea. It is necessary to treat sleep apnea to avoid any further health problems.

Sleep Apnea is of Three Types

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

This is the most common type of apnea. It mostly occurs when soft tissues located at the back of throat relax while sleeping. This leads to blockage of airways.

Central Sleep Apnea

This is not the common type of apnea. Central nervous system is involved in this apnea. It occurs when the brain stops giving signals to muscles which controls breathing.

Complex Sleep Apnea

This is the combination of central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea and is rarely seen in people.

Treatment of Sleep Apnea

Weight Loss

Sleep apnea and weight are related to each other. Those who are of heavy weight can cause sleep apnea. The fat is deposited around the neck that narrows the airways and causes obstructions. Overweight people suffering from sleep apnea need to lose weight. This is the effective treatment given to such type of patients. Weight loss decreases the severity of sleep apnea.

There are few people who find it difficult to lose weight while suffering from sleep apnea. This is because sleep apnea makes you feel tired to do exercises and you do not have sufficient energy to work out or take any additional measures to lose weight. So it is advisable to take another treatment while you are losing your weight. This will help you to lose weight and will also treat sleep apnea. Consult a doctor before you start with your weight-loss program. Thin people can suffer from sleep apnea too. There are several other causes for this. So it is not that sleep apnea can be caused only to overweight people.

Oral Appliances

Oral appliances are used to treat apnea by letting the airways open. You can treat it by pushing the lower jaw to the forward position. The other way is to prevent the tongue falling back over the airways and the last method is by combining these two mechanisms and treating sleep apnea. For people suffering from mild sleep apnea and also for the lower weight people, oral appliances are more effective for treating sleep apnea.

Positional Therapy

When you sleep on your back, your tongue falls back on the airway and worsens the apneas. This makes the other tissues and airway muscles to collapse and block the airway. So it is suggested not to sleep on the back which may help to reduce the number of apneas. Some researchers have found that sleeping on the back when elevated from the waist may decrease the collapsibility of airway and reduces apneas. So there are several other positional therapies that treat sleep apnea.

Avoid Alcohol and Other Depressants

Alcohol and depressants are the main causes of sleep apnea. The medications like sedatives, pain killers and muscle relaxants cause sleep apnea by relaxing airway muscles. They are responsible to reduce the respiratory drive and cause more apneas. So, you should avoid taking alcohol and depressants before sleeping in order to stay away from sleep apnea.

Surgery

As there are many treatments of sleep apnea, surgery is one of them which are used to cure the sleeping disorder. Surgery is done in order to make an open airway which does not allow obstructions to come. There are various surgical procedures that are used to treat sleep apnea. The rates of this surgery differ according to the severity of the sleeping disorder. Apart from surgery, there are different types of non surgical methods that extract the excess obstructive tissue by putting in three polyester rods from the oral organs.

Treatment of sleep apnea is given according to the patient�s age, the severity of the disorder and the type of apnea he/she is suffering. Sleep apnea needs to be cured in order to stay away from all the ill effects which can be harmful and cause serious medical problems in future life.