Sleep Apnea - A Dangerous Form of Sleep Disorder

Many people believe that sleep apnea is just another form of snoring.

While it is true that sleep apnea is similar to snoring.

Both have an effect on the quality and amount of sleep, sleep apnea is a much more serious sleep disorder.

Sleep apnea refers to an actual obstruction of breath during sleep. Snoring is simply the sound a person makes while sleeping.

A sleep apnea sufferer will stop breathing, sometimes several times a night, and wake up in the middle of the sleep to regain breathing.

Sleep apnea sufferers will generally experience frequent disruptions of sleep. Most episodes of breathing pauses will last for approximately ten seconds.

These breathing pauses can occur up to 30 or more times an hour. As you can imagine, sleep apnea can cause a person considerable sleep deprivation.

Surprisingly, many of the sleep apnea sufferers do not know they suffer from sleep apnea. Many times, sleeping partners who observe the individual’s stop-and-start breathing patterns alert them of their sleep apnea.

Sometimes, it is the accumulated sleep deficit that alerts a person that something is disrupting their sleep. You should consult with your doctor if you wake each morning with a strong headache or if you find yourself suffering from excessiveness daytime sleepiness.

Victims of Sleep Apnea

All types of individuals get affected by sleep apnea, although it appears to occur more often in men. Weight, blood pressure, and nose and throat infections or obstructions are factors which may raise your chances of suffering from sleep apnea.

Children are also vulnerable to sleep apnea. Children who snore excessively or experience restless sleep may be suffering from sleep apnea. Many times, enlarged tonsils or adenoids cause a child’s sleep apnea.

People who are overweight or suffer from high blood pressure are at more risk from sleep apnea. Other factors that may contribute to the onset of sleep apnea include excessive alcohol consumption and the use of sleeping pills.

Types of Sleep Apnea

The first thing you should do if you suffer from sleep apnea is find out what type of sleep apnea you are suffering from. There are two distinct types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form of sleep apnea.

This refers to the type of sleep apnea in which the tongue and the throat muscles relax during the course of sleep. When the tongue and throat relax, they block part of the mouth’s airway, causing “choking” noise that can result from lack of airflow that generally rouses the individual from sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is also caused due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

Central sleep apnea is the second type of sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is caused when the brain fails to send the frequent signals to the mouth that control regular breathing. To determine which type of sleep apnea if any, you suffer from; your doctor may need to conduct a sleep observation.

Sleep Apnea Treatment

Most treatments for sleep apnea begin with initiating lifestyle changes. People with sleep apnea are encouraged to follow:

• A weight loss program
• Eat a healthy diet
• Quit smoking
• Reduce their alcohol intake
• Cease taking sleeping pills

If you have a habit of sleeping on your back, your doctor may advise you to change sleeping positions to encourage normal nighttime breathing.

CPAP

A special continuous positive airway pressure may be used if changing lifestyle factors or sleeping positions does not work. A CPAP device is a mask that the individual wears over her or his face at night. The CPAP machine forces air into the individual’s airway.

Sleep Apnea Surgery

Other options include surgery to remove tissue blockage, or enlarge tonsils or adenoids. A special surgery known as tracheotomy may be performed if an individual’s sleep apnea does not respond to conventional treatment.

In a tracheotomy, a small hole is cut into the windpipe. The hole is left closed until night, where it can be opened to allow air to enter the person’s airway without obstruction.

Caution with Surgery

If you have sleep apnea and you plan to have any surgery requiring general anesthesia or sedation, be sure to tell the anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist who will administer your anesthesia. It is common practice to give the patient a sedative prior to surgery.

However, people with sleep apnea are often sensitive to these drugs, so you should probably not take medications until you are in a preoperative holding room where you can be monitored,

Anesthetic drugs inhibit the changes in sleep state that would ordinarily wake you up enough to resume breathing.

Different anesthetics have different side effects, and the body eliminates some much faster than others. Describing your sleep apnea will help the anesthesiologist decide which drugs to use.

Anesthetics can be administered through a variety of routes. If you have sleep apnea, it is safer to use the endotracheal tube because this will keep your airway open. If your airway tends to collapse when you are relaxed, special precautions are necessary when inserting this tube.

Your doctor may prescribe pain medications after surgery. Ask about the types of drugs and the doses that are best for your condition, since many pain relievers are narcotics that sup- press respiration and aggravate symptoms of sleep apnea.