Sleep Apnea Treatment
Sleep apnea treatment is essential to anyone suffering from this sleep disorder. Not only does the snoring part keep others awake, but you can stop breathing -- permanently.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Did you know that around 30 million Americans are victims of this sleeping disorder? Whether you call it obstructive sleep apnea, sleep apnea or central sleep apnea, it spells one thing -- trouble.
Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening situation that requires immediate attention. In a nutshell, you stop breathing for varying periods of time. Once you start breathing again, it's usually by gasping for breath.
And the danger is that once you stop breathing, you might not start again. Ever.
And the Diagnosis Is...
If you think you might be suffering from sleep apnea, you need to see a medical professional and be diagnosed. You need to know how pervasive your apnea is. You might suffer from one bout a night, or you might stop breathing several times an hour.
The more often the breathing ceases, the more danger you are in.
What Are the Risks?
If you're an adult male in your 30s or beyond, you're in the high risk category for sleep apnea. As in you have a 50/50 chance of having or developing this particular sleep disorder. And while others may be a more moderate risk, it's just as potentially deadly.
So what are some of the side effects of suffering from sleep apnea? They include:
- Heart disease and/or heart attack
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Impotence
Granted, and of these conditions and diseased can be caused by something other than sleep apnea. But if you're already presidposed to any of these, the apnea can be the trigger that finally cascades to a heart attack, stroke, etc.
Apnea Symptoms
So how do you know if you have this problem? Here are some clues as to obstructive sleep apnea.
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Accident prone, when you traditionally haven't been
- Unexplained headaches
- Relationship problems (personal and work)
These symptoms may be mild, moderate or severe, depending on how pervasive your apnea is.
Sleep Apnea Treatment
Sleep apnea treatment is available, and the treatments range from using an anti-snoring pillow to CPAP straps to surgical intervention. Much of it depends on how pervasive your apnea is.
Your best bet before trying any sleep apnea treatment is to get yourself tested. Lacking that, if you have a sleep partner, they can very likely tell you if it's occasional or if your gasping for breath wakes them up several times a night.
Tags: 