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Sleep Apnea: Causes, Symptoms, Dangers, Self Treatment, CPAP Therapy Treatment, Tips

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“Sleep is called a sound sleep when it is not interrupted till it is completely done!” There are people who suffer from a kind of sleeping disorder where they have difficulty breathing while their sleep, when they suffer from the repeated interruption in their sleep because of the improper or pressured breathing and causing symptoms like loud snoring. Such conditions of the sleeping disorder are termed as Sleep Apnea. There are times when patients suffer from short breaks in their breathing that lasts from few seconds to couple of minutes where there is an improper or blockage in the air flow to the nasal cavity and thus, creating problematic breathing, symptoms of snoring and resulting in interrupted sleep. There are off course some hidden dangers involved with such a kind of sleep order that needs to be treated in an effective way. Among all the major known therapies for sleep apnea, CPAP therapy is one of the most effective and widely accepted therapy that actually help the patient come fine with the results.

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Sleep Apnea: Causes, Symptoms, Dangers, Self Treatment, CPAP Therapy Treatment, Tips
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We will be focusing on this particular Sleep disorder or the Sleep Apnea, its risk factors or the dangers involved and also make highlights on the most effective treatment method called the CPAP therapy. So, here below is the following array which comprises our topic of interest.

An Outlook on Sleep Apnea:

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that creates problem in proper breathing while the sleep times in patients and that results in interrupted sleeps, or the improper sleep during nights. The whole problem lies in the fact that the muscles lying at the back of the throat fail to keep the airway in a properly opened state, that makes it difficult for the passage of air into the nasal cavity and causes difficulty breathing, making pressured breathing and resulting in loud sounds or the snores and obstructive sleep. There is usually breakage in breathing and patients may not be able to breath for some seconds or couple of minutes at times. Such type of sleep orders are treated by a therapy called the CPAP therapy, where the sufferer has to live with the CPAP machine or the Continuous Pressure Airways Pressure machines which assists in getting the problematic breathing in control while sleep. Read the below section for more about the sleeping disorder and the CPAP therapy.

Causes of Sleep Apnea:

“There are always certain reasons which make it difficult to be with the normal processes of life.” Coming to the underlying reasons behind the existence of sleep apnea; one thing can be explained is, this occurs with a kind of irregularity in the muscles lying back to the throat that are responsible for keeping the airways open. In case of sleep apnea, the patient’s muscles behind the throat fail to keep the airway open and thus result in improper air flow to the nasal cavity. This in turn gives rise to obstructive breathing and causes the symptoms of sleep apnea, primarily the snoring and interrupted sleep. Following are the conditions in human beings which may lead to a higher chance of sleep apnea.

  • Overweight people have greater chances of developing sleep apnea.
  • People who are addicted to smoking are likely to develop the condition at a higher risk.
  • Older people above 65 years of age have more chances of sleep apnea.
  • Persons related to people with sleep apneas also grow with the symptoms.
  • The most common causes of sleep apnea in children include the kids having enlarged tonsils, deviated septum, or thick neck.
  • Certain allergies and some of the medical conditions that causes nasal congestion, also lead to sleep apnea symptoms.

Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea:

Check Out The Most Common Signs And Symptoms For Sleep Apnea Below:

  • The most common symptom is the loud snoring sound.
  • Interrupted sleeps.
  • Morning headaches are common symptoms.
  • Difficulty in concentrating and memory issues.
  • Constant mood swings and irritation.
  • Dry and sore mouth after getting up.

Dangers Of Sleep Apnea: Because It Is Not Just Snoring!

“ It is not just what it looks like. There are many dangers hidden with the simple face.” There are some real great dangers involved with the sleeping disorder of sleep apnea. Let us now quickly come down to hidden dangers of sleep apnea.

  • People with such a kind of sleep disorder with interrupted breathing are more likely to suffer from heart diseases and high blood pressure.
  • Obesity is common in sleep apnea patients.
  • There are chances of adult asthma in patients suffering from sleep apnea.
  • The greatest risk which people with sleep apnea suffer from is the car accidents during day time, because of the grogginess.

Effective Self-Treatments For Sleep Apnea: Treating Problems Of Sleeping Disorder By Self Practice!

“No matter how big your problem is; self practice and self consciousness can actually help you come out of the dangerous effects.” Here below are some of the ways you can treat this sleeping disorder on self practice. Check out few self- treatments available for sleep apnea.

  • Learn to maintain a proper sleep time, manage your sleep hours as per your suitability and your own practice of rules that fits you sleeping.
  • Avoid smoking and alcoholism which would help you prevent self from the dangers of sleep apnea.
  • Reduce the caffeine content from your daily life.
  • Most important thing is reduce your weight in case you are overweight.

Certain Tips To Follow During Bed Time For Proper Sleep And Reducing The Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea:

  • Practice sleeping by your side and avoid sleeping on back. It is believed gravity can drop down your tongue and the soft tissues, leading to obstruct your airway.
  • Use a special cervical pillow to elevate your body from the waist or use a foam wedge.
  • Make sure you are keeping your nasal passages open at night while sleeping. You can use saline spray, or a nasal dilator or breathing strips for facilitating this.

Know About The CPAP Therapy: Is It Actually Effective In Treating Sleep Apnea?

Now diving down to the most advanced form of treatment for sleep apnea; here we can come up with one fact that CPAP therapy is one of the finest blessings for people suffering from sleep apnea. It is off course one of the best proven therapy available for reducing the symptoms of this type of sleeping disorder, which involves the use of a CPAP machine or the Continuous pressure airways pressure machine comprising of a pump, a mask and a hose. This CPAP machine helps in passage of proper air flow into the nasal cavity and helps greatly in reducing the problems of breathing during sleep. It is very much obvious one would never like to live a sleep time with those heavy snores and interrupted sleeps. And CPAP therapy actually aids amazingly in such conditions.

Though it is noted that there are some issues in using the CPAP machines, which might restrict some people from taking this therapy; but this treatment has been accepted widely and has been known for its effective results in reducing the sleep apnea symptoms. One can feel dry mouth and even feel uncomfortable bearing a pump, mask or a hose in the CPAP machine while sleeping. But as it is, “No one has felt the chill of winter without crossing the summer heat.” But when overall the benefits of CPAP therapy is taken in to account, it can be actually treated as the best way to get rid of the irritating symptoms from Sleep apnea.

Once again we all know, “Science and technology never remain stagnant.” There are now new alternatives available for the CPAP machines, which perform in the same way, but are pretty lighter, smaller and easy to use. This comfortable machine is called Provent, which fits fine in the nostrils and are pretty smaller in size that keeps the patient much comfortable and relaxes from the symptoms of sleep apnea. There is no use of the mask in Provent, and that makes more of a compatible device for treating the symptoms of sleep apnea.

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Few Tips That Would Help You Ease While Using CPAP Machine:

The Provent is very much expensive as compared to the CPAP machine. So, not all people would prefer this. It is obvious CPAP therapy and the CPAP machine will remain the most widely accepted therapy for sleep apnea. So now, if you are choosing this therapy then make sure you follow the below mentioned tips so as to eradicate the difficulty whilst using the CPAP machine.

  • Make sure that you have purchased a CPAP device that perfectly fits you and the strap are not too tight or not too loose and also check that the mask seals the nose and mouth completely.
  • There may be dryness in skin because of continuous use of CPAP machine with the mask along. So go for a moisturizer and keep the skin free from dryness.
  • For nasal congestion, make a habit of using a saline nasal spray
  • One of the most important things is to keep the mask and the entire CPAP machine clean and dust free.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:December 3, 2018

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