CPAP Devices For Sleep Apnea - II

We begin part 2 with a further look at other side effects of nasal continuous positive airflow pressure (CPAP).

Roughly thirty percent of sleep apnea patients find that the CPAP mask causes soreness, redness and irritation across the bridge of their nose.

The bigger a person’s nose, the worst the problem can be. The simplest way to remedy this problem is to make sure to get a mask that fits as properly as possible over your nose and also one that is cushioned.

Some patients experience irritation of their eyes while others report feeling a certain degree of discomfort in their chest muscles. This is usually brought on by an increase in the volume of the lungs and usually goes away within a short period of time.

Although it is very rare there have been cases where severe side effects have been noted in sleep apnea patients. These include such problems as severe nosebleeds, heart arrhythmias as well as air pockets developing in the skull. These types of problems are seen in only a minimum of patients out of a pool of thousands.

Advantages Of CPAP

Nasal continuous positive airflow pressure unfortunately is connected with low compliance by patients on a long-term basis however recent studies into its use have shown that due to two factors, better education and more advanced technology, more and more people are using it as a treatment option and staying on it for longer periods of time.

Patients often note advantages to CPAP even if they only use it for approximately four hours per night. Some of the greatest advantages to patients include:

• Less tiredness noted during the daytime
• A greater sense of alertness
• Better concentration
• Memory retention as well as more energy
• Overall better mood
• Sense of well being
  

Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP)

The second type of CPAP device used is known as Bilevel positive airway pressure and this system (sometimes abbreviated to BiPAP) is most advantageous to patients who either have tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide in their systems or those who already have pre existing lung disease.

The Bilevel positive airway pressure incorporates a “sensing feature that helps determine and vary the suitable pressure depending on whether a person is breathing in or out.” In this case, upon inhaling a patient receives more pressure and when they exhale they receive less. The BiPAP machine costs a great deal more than the nasal continuous positive airflow pressure due to its more advanced design.

Auto-CPAP

The most sophisticated CPAP machines are ones known as automatic titrating (auto)-CPAP pressure (or auto-CPAP) for short. These types are the most technologically advanced in regards to air pressure that is customized one way or another.

The auto-CPAP machines can work in one of three ways. In the first case scenario the pressure of the machine can be kept to a low level until the patient experiences problems breathing. Once that happens, the pressure can then be dramatically increased.

Secondly, the pressure can be kept low and steady until a problem arises at which time it is raised in a steady way.

Thirdly, the pressure of the machine can be put up or down according to breathing problems. As well it can also detect when there is a problem developing in between “single breaths” of the patient.