When there is an obstruction in the airflow through the passages located at the back of the nose and mouth, you make snoring sounds. It's only in recent years that medical professionals have discovered the adverse effects of snoring and its association with sleep apnoea.
There are several methods being employed to alleviate snoring and sleep apnea which include UPPP or vulopalatopharyngoplasty, LAUP or Laser Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty, and CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure are all being used to reduce and eliminate sleep apnoea and snoring.
The most popular sleep apnea used today is CPAP. It works by delivering air into your airway using a special nasal mask. The mask creates enough pressure with the flow of air when you inhale that your airway is kept open. Doctors say that CPAP is the most effective non-surgical treatment that is available to eliminate sleep apnoea and snoring.
It is your otolaryngologist that will decide if the CPAP sleep apnea device is the right treatment for you. If it is, you will need to wear the nasal mask to bed each night. During treatment, don't be surprised if your otolaryngologist asks you to undertake some lifestyle changes, such as exercising, losing weight, and quitting smoking if you are a smoker.
Before CPAP, the treatment for sleep apnea and snoring was much more invasive requiring a tracheotomy, which creates a temporary opening in your windpipe. Thankfully, that type of invasive treatment is extremely rare. When the CPAP sleep apnea device is used correctly, it has almost a 100% success rate in sleep apnoea and snoring elimination.
CPAP is not a cure, but rather a treatment. When used correctly for long term, CPAP, sleep apnoea device, is able to eliminate surgery for all but the most severe cases.
Is CPAP the right solution for your sleep apnea and snoring? Your otolaryngologist will make the final decision, but if you suffer from severe sleep apnoea and snoring, you will likely be a candidate if you answer yes to these conditions ... * Does your loud snoring disturb your family? * Are you sleepy during the day? * Does your snoring wake you up during the night? * Is your breathing often obstructed at night? * Are you tired in the morning? * Do you wake up with headache?
Your otolaryngologist will also take your complete medical history; ask you some questions about your lifestyle and any cardiovascular conditions you might be suffering from. You will also be asked about your current medications.
If you are a suitable sleep apnoea and snoring candidate, you will first have to undergo a CPAP pressure set sleep study before you receive your nasal mask. Once you've had your sleep apnea device configured to your breathing, you and your mask will return home.
CPAP solves sleep apnea and snoring for almost everyone that uses this unique sleep apnoea device. Perhaps it's time to let everyone in the house sleep easy?
Don't get me wrong, there is no substitute for CPAP when it comes to treating Sleep Apnea. The proper thing to do, if you suspect that you might have it, is to go to a sleep specialist and follow his instructions. He will probably recommend CPAP, surgery, or oral appliance therapy. This list is not necessarily an alternative to CPAP, surgery, or oral appliances, but rather supplementary methods that decrease the probability of airway collapse. Usually these methods are not enough to entirely eliminate apnea. Again, talk to your doctor before attempting to treat sleep apnea.
So here are the six ways:
1. Weight Loss - Unless you are extremely overweight AND your sleep apnea is mild, usually weight loss is not enough to entirely eliminate it. But it can definitely help. Weight loss is thought to improve apnea by changing the shape of the airway which decreases the probability of airway collapse.
2. Avoid Alcohol Before Bedtime - Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the airway, which worsens snoring and sleep breathing problems. The best advice is to abstain from alcohol, but if you insist on drinking make sure you leave sufficient time for your blood alcohol level to decrease to zero before going to bed.
3. Sleep On Your Side - Your bed partner may have already pointed this out to you: when you are on your side, your snoring improves. Sleeping on your back may increase the probability of airway collapse due to gravity's effect on the jaw and tongue.
4. Elevate the Head of the Bed - If you have sleep apnea, you may have noticed that you sleep better in your recliner. As with side-sleeping, it is thought that head elevation may improve sleep apnea by changing the conformation of the airway. A 30 to 60 degree elevation of the head of the bed may lead to improvement in sleep apnea.
5. Avoid Sleep Deprivation - There is evidence that sleep deprivation both prolongs breathing problems while sleeping and decreases the chances that you will wake-up from those problems. In other words, current scientific evidence suggests that sleep deprivation worsens sleep apnea. So get more sleep, and sleep breathing may improve.
6. External Nasal Dilation (Breathe Rite Strips) - May reduce severity of snoring but probably not effective at treating sleep apnea.
If you think you might have sleep apnea, then you should talk to a sleep specialist. If he suggests that you wear CPAP then DO IT. However, while your waiting to get your CPAP machine, or if you want to enhance your treatment of sleep apnea, then the above methods may help.
Both Andrew Stratton & Scott Fromherz are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Andrew Stratton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Motorola Cell Phone, Tummy Tucks Before and After and Political and Social. Quality sleep has a direct influence on your daily health. If you have and you are a candidate for a CPAP devive, please visit Kelly's Medica. Andrew Stratton's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.
Scott Fromherz has sinced written about articles on various topics from Celebrities, Education Toys and Distance Learning. Dr. Scott Fromherz is a sleep physician. Find more information about sleep problems at . Scott Fromherz's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.