SLEEP APNEA IS NO JOKING MATTER

SLEEP APNEA 

Are you 1 of the 18 million Americans who awake in the morning and complain of tiredness. Do you awake in the middle of he night desperate for air or clutching your throat while begging for air? Then you may be suffering from sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea is abnormal recurring periods in which breathing stops for about 10 seconds  due to blockage of the airway as a result of  disruption of the respiratory center. These events may be accompanied by shallow breathing in which the individuals oxygen levels would drop below normal. It affects both adults and children and may occur as many as many as 90 to 100 times per hour

Signs and symptoms include

• Dry throat upon waking
• Loud snoring
• Shallow breathing followed by a sudden snort
• waking up gasping for air
• Fatigue
• Mood changes
• Tiredness 
• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Waking often during the night
• Decreased interest in acivities
• Temporary memory loss

There are 3 Types of Sleep apnea

1. The first type is obstrucive sleep apnea in which due to lack of or weak muscle tone the walls to the back of the throat which have soft and delicate tissue relaxes. This may be seen more in obese and less active  individuals
2. The second type is

Central Sleep apnea. . There are 4 muscles that control breathing the

• The Abdominal
• Diaphram
• The Accessory muscles
• The intercostal

The brain which monitors respiration,  would normally send signals to these 4 muscles but in the case of central sleep apnea it stops sending signals temporarily.Carbon dioxide levels increase and oxygen levels decrease. The snorting and fast breathing that is seen after the episode is the bod'y s way of trying to get rid of respiratory waste such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide that may have built up.

3.The third type is a mixture of both obstructive and central sleep apnea

It is linked to

• Sleepineess , lack of focus and poor concentraion which is blamed for many accidents each year
• May trigger epileptic episodes 
• Enlarged heart  and heart disease

Diagnosis

• medical and family histories
• physical exam
• sleep sudy results

Treatment

• If it  is detected early in children it may be recommended that the enlarged tonsils be taken out

• Lifestyle changes include exercising, quiting smoking and drinking

• CPAP - continuous positive airway pressure which maintains a continuous flow of air
• EPAP- which is expiratory positive airway pressure in which single devices are placed over each nostril before going to sleep .It may be an option for those who find CPAP uncomforable

• There are apnea treatment guides.

• The last option is surgery which would widen the airway. Usually done by an ear nose and throat specialist or E.N.T.

If you want more information on other treatment options feel free to email me at blueskytracey@gmail.com