While it may be difficult to realize the symptoms of sleep apnea because they occur during sleep, it is possible if you know what to watch for. For instance, you may notice uncommon exhaustion throughout the day, a general feeling of fatigue, frequent or long-lasting headaches or irritability. These symptoms occur due to lack of sleep, which is caused by sleep apnea. In addition, if your spouse notices intense snoring or long pauses between breaths at night, you may be suffering from sleep apnea.
The only person who can positively identify sleep apnea is a licensed physician. He or she may ask a series of question or, in some instances, recommend a sleep study by asking you to spend the night in a supervised sleep center. At this type of facility, the purpose is to determine whether or not you suffer from sleep apnea. A series of monitoring devices will be placed on your body in order to detect your breathing patterns throughout the night.
Sleep apnea, when left untreated, can be extremely dangerous. In fact, it can lead to heart disease, a stroke or other major health problems. In addition to the obvious health risks, sleep apnea may lessen your immune system's ability to fight disease or the loss of sleep can cause you to be impaired when driving. Sleep apnea treatments may include sleeping on your side instead of your back, giving up alcohol and cigarettes, ridding your home of allergens, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise program or the use of a doctor recommended at-home apnea treatment.
A product known as the Sleep Genie, which is a doctor recommended anti-snoring device, is available to help provide comfort to those with sleep apnea. Manufactured of a comfortable nylon lycra blend, the Sleep Genie comfortably supports the jaw while keeping the mouth closed to prevent snoring. While the Sleep Genie is not intended as a cure for sleep apnea, many users find additional comfort when using this product with the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, which provides continuous air pressure to help prevent the collapse of tissue in the throat that often blocks air passages during sleep. Users of the CPAP machine need to sleep with their mouth closed in order to prevent the air from escaping, which is where the Sleep Genie often proves beneficial.
This article is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be used as, or in place of, professional medical advice. Before beginning any treatment for snoring, please consult a doctor for a proper diagnosis and remedy.
"Sleep Apnea awareness is on the rise. Sleep Apnea is defined as the cessation of airflow for ≥ ten seconds that occurs during sleep. Two tools your health care professional may use to assess the risks for Sleep Apnea are the Berlin Questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The Berlin Questionnaire assesses the frequency of snoring and daytime fatigue. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale assesses how easy it is for a person to become drowsy during the day.
Once your health care professional has determined there is a risk for Sleep Apnea you are typically referred to a Sleep Laboratory. The Sleep Lab is a facility that employs numerous qualified team members such as Physicians, Respiratory Therapist, Polysomnographic Technicians, and Medical Technicians. The patient is required to stay overnight at the Sleep Lab while the qualified medical professional observes the patients sleeping activity's. Once a diagnosis of Sleep Apnea has been determined a patient may be required to return to the Sleep Lab for a second test for a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) titration study. If it is determined you have Sleep Apnea you are typically contacted by a DME (Durable Medical Equipment) company like Colonial Medical Supplies who can set up your CPAP equipment and bill your insurance.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is the most commonly prescribed treatment for Sleep Apnea. CPAP can be described as positive airflow from a small machine flowing through a six foot tubing approximately one inch in diameter attached to a device such as a nasal mask or full face mask. Your physician may prescribe a specific nasal mask such as the Resmed Ultra Mirage, Respironics Comfort Gel, Profile Lite mask, or the Fisher Paykel HC405, HC406 petite, HC407 standard mask. For the patient that is a mouth breather your physicians may order a full face mask like the Resmed Quattro or Ultra Mirage, Respironics Comfort Gel, or Fisher Paykel HC431 or HC432. If a patient experiences claustrophobia they may benefit from nasal pillows which will go directly into the nose. Some examples of nasal pillow devices are Resmed Swift LT, Respironics Optilife, Respironics ComfortLite 2, and Fisher Paykel Opus system.
Ongoing monitoring and follow up's between the physicians and DME Company is essentially for all patients. Colonial Medical Supply Senior Respiratory Clinician will make several contacts with new and ongoing patients to ensure comfort and compliance with there CPAP. Early detection with CPAP non-compliance or discomfort is addressed and relayed back to the physician. Colonial Medical Supply Senior Respiratory Clinician along with the Customer Service Representatives (CSR) believes in patient and physician satisfaction.
Both Alan Schill & Colonial Medical Supplies 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.
Alan Schill has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health, Sleep Apnea and Home Businesses. A new anti-snoring scientific breakthrough is rapidly changing the lives of ex-snorers... because the first night you use it, it stops snoring!