What is sleep apnea? What are its symptoms? Latest and best cure available in India?

Answer 1

sleep apnea means you actually stop breathing while you are sleeping due to usually obesity but sometimes the hereditary formation of your neck and nasal passages. A CPAP machine is ordered and this machine fits over your face- nose and mouth and when you breathe it keeps the airway open--
Symptoms are - insomnia, tiredness, moodiness snoring and sometimes, heart problems.. the longer the periods are that a person is not breathing while he is sleeping, the more chance there is damage being done to his heart.........

Answer 2

I don't know what is available in India but over here my dad uses a machine with a mask attached to it when he sleeps to get more oxygen delivered. Losing weight is a way to cure it if you are over weight. One of the symptoms is exhaustion since you stop breathing and wake up many times during the night often without remembering it.

Answer 3

Sleep apnea is interference with sleep by either too much snoring or still worse, stopping of breathing during sleep, thus forcing the patient to wake up. So, the patient wakes up many times or wakes up unrefreshed. Can lead to heart problems and other complications.

As far as treatment is concerned, you should consult the doctor.

Answer 4

Hi,

Sleep apnoea is the most common form of sleep disorder which may usually be ignored as excessive snoring. Sleep apnoea is a disorder of disrupted breathing during sleep. The throat muscles relax during deep sleep. In persons with sleep apnoea, the muscles relax so much that they cause obstruction to the windpipe making breathing difficult. In some cases, the breathing may actually stop for sometime. The patient may wake up at this time but does not remember it afterwards.

Symptoms

The symptoms of sleep apnoea include heavy snoring, drowsiness during the day due to disturbed sleep, headaches on waking up, decrease in muscle coordination and in the long run, mood changes and depression. The sleep apnoea syndrome is one of the commonest causes of excess daytime drowsiness. When the patient tends to fall asleep inappropriately eg. during conferences, while talking, while eating or while driving. If such a patient also gives a history of loud and heavy snoring and is obese in weight, clinical suspicion of sleep apnoea is very high. A sleep test called polysomnography is usually done to diagnose sleep apnoea. A polysomnograph measures eye movement, heart rate, breathing rate, brain waves and muscle tension. The test is not painful.

Sleep apnoea syndrome is diagnosed if there are at least 7 episodes of apnoea (stoppage of breathing associated with fall in blood oxygen) per hour of sleep, Sleep apnoea syndrome tends to cause Hypertension, heart disease, heart attack and strokes. Besides it may lead to accidents if patients persist in driving.
Treatment - Some changes in the sleeping position may bring about relief from the symptoms. Sleeping on the side instead of the back and reducing weight if obese may help to alleviate the condition. Many such patients also have low thyroid function and this should be looked for and corrected. In the past sleep apnoea was treated by doing a tracheostomy or making an opening in the lower part of the wind pipe so that even if the upper airway obstructs, breathing continues. Sometimes surgery was done to increase the area of the air passage. Now we believe that if air is given at high pressure into the back of the nose it will prevent the air passage being occluded. This is done by putting the patient on a machine (BIPAP), which delivers air at pressure into a mask fitted snugly on the nose. This is used each night. Patients definitely become more active after using the machine.

Treat ment

Most countries have specialised sleep clinics where people with sleep disorders are treated. These clinics have specialised personnel and equipment to diagnose the condition and carry out rehabilitation of patients with incurable sleep disorders. India, unfortunately, does not have too many specialised sleep clinics but facilities are increasing in the major cities. A patient can usually consult a neurologist for medical help.

Lifestyle changes like regularising sleep patterns, eating lighter meals, reducing weight and taking short frequent naps during the day may help. However, a doctor’s opinion should always be sought in case such a condition is detected.

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Dr.Mojo