The goal of Sleep Apnea Cures is to prevent apneas during sleep by keeping the airway open.
| In recent years researchers developed new effective sleep apnea cures that add new options to other well established treatments used by the people suffering from this sleep disorder. The treatment regimen depends on many factors such as the cause of obstruction, an individual’s medical history and the severity of the disorder.
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The first step is to engage certain behaviors which are helpful in managing sleep apnea. They are:
- healthy lifestyle with regular exercise
- weight reduction for those who are overweight
- avoiding alcohol and smoking
- avoiding sedatives and narcotics because they slow activity of breathing muscles and may contribute to worsening of disorder
- avoiding sleeping on the back
- elevating the head of the bed by a few inches makes a difference for some people
While improving one's lifestyle is always recommended, behavioral changes will not cause sleep apnea to go away immediately. Most serious sleep apnea cases can be relieved by a treatment called nasal continuous positive airway pressure or
CPAP
.
It involves wearing a mask over the nose during sleep. Air from an air compressor is forced through the mask into nasal passages and into the airway to keep it open during sleep.
Other sleep apnea cures include certain surgical procedures removing excess tissue at the back of the throat, enlarged tonsils or adenoids, nasal polyps or other blockages of the airway and creating an opening in the windpipe (tracheotomy), which permits air to flow directly into the lungs during sleep, bypassing the obstructed upper airway.
Specifically, the most often performed surgeries for sleep apnea are:
- UPPP - uvulopalatopharyngoplasty - the goal of this procedure is to tighten tissue in the throat and palate.
- Diathermy Palatoplasty - this procedure is used to remove the excess of bulky tissue in the throat.
- Nasal surgery to straighten a deviated septum
- LAUP - laser-assisted uvuloplasty
Surgical procedures are only about 50% effective in eliminating apneas and are not recommended in every case. The patient has to be well informed about all possible advantages and risks before any decision is made.
Other treatments for sleep apnea include:
- Dental appliances which manage the position of the tongue and the lower jaw. There are quite a few different devices to chose from. They are not as effective as the CPAP machine but may bring some relief and improvement in the quality of sleep. They are also much less invasive than surgery.
- Drugs suppressing REM sleep. The downside is that sleep without the REM phase is not complete and leaves the body and mind not fully rested.
- Treatment of nasal obstruction – decongestants.
- Supplemental oxygen and the drug protriptyline benefit some people.
Untreated, apnea can greatly affect daytime functioning. Rarely, the only daytime hint of the nocturnal turmoil may be a sense of having slept poorly. But far more often, the person is aware in many ways that all is not right. Awakening is often accompanied by a fierce headache, which lessens in an hour or two. But the person may remain irritable and forgetful, often finding it difficult to concentrate for the rest of the day. Interest in sex may wane, and the person may become depressed.
For complete information on sleep apnea cures check also pages:
Sleep Apnea Machines
CPAP Machines Operation
Advanced CPAP Machines
Sleep Study
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