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Obstructive Sleep Apnea---know the signs and symptoms It’s 3 AM in the morning and you are awakened by a terrible sound. It sounds as if the toilet is sucking down something. As you lie on your side listening to this weird sound you realize that the sound is cyclical. First the sucking sound, then the quiet. As you turn over and catch a glimpse of your bed partner, an unsettling feeling sets in. It’s not the toilet that’s making the weird noise in the house, it’s the person lying right next to you! You realize that this person is gasping for air even though he or she is supposed to be sleeping. First they lie quiet until there is a big gasp to get air into their lungs. C’mon you say. This person must be playing with you, knowing that you just rented “Nightmare on Elm Street” and are a little sensitive to noises right now. Then it hits you….this person is not awake. All these theatrics are being done without the person’s input. Very scary stuff……. What you are witnessing is something called obstructive sleep apnea. It can happen to anyone, male or female, young or old, fat or thin. It does, however, seem to favor heavier males, mostly. What is happening is that the person’s tongue is flopping back and completely cutting off the air the sleeping person is trying to breathe in. The person’s brain, sensing no oxygen is getting to the lungs, makes the sleeping person partially wake up, just enough to clear the obstruction in their throat. The person starts to breathe again usually with a gasping or choking sound. This cycle repeats itself all night long with the sleeper not even knowing that it is going on. The person never gets a good night’s sleep and wakes up feeling tired and unrefreshed. There are a multitude of symptoms that go along with obstructive sleep apnea, and the person who suffers from this problem usually has some of them. They are daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, high blood pressure, decreased sex dive, poor concentration, poor memory, increased nighttime urination, and gastric reflux. These symptoms can lead to strokes, heart attacks, fatigue related motor vehicle and work accidents, poor learning ability, depression and anxiety and irritability. Obstructive sleep apnea must be diagnosed by a physician and this is usually done by taking a test called a polysomnograph, or PSG. This is an overnight sleep study that measure many things going on in your body while you are sleeping. It is from the results of this test that a physician can diagnose if the person has obstructive sleep apnea, and if it is mild, moderate or severe. Once the person is diagnosed with this problem, there are several ways that it can be treated or controlled. Losing weight is important because it reduces the amount of fat in your neck which contributes to the problem. Sleeping on your side also helps, since sleeping flat on your back makes the problem worse in a lot of people. Avoiding alcohol, sleeping pills and tobacco also helps to cut down on the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea. Surgery is another possible treatment. Removal of adenoids, tonsils, nasal polyps and other growths can increase the airway, especially in children. There are also surgeries that can remove excess tissue from the back of a person’s throat, but the long term success is unknown. Nasal continuous air pressure, CPAP, is the most common treatment The person wears a mask over their nose and air is blown in by a connected air blower. The blown in air physically holds the airway open in the back of a person’s throat. While CPAP is a very effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, not every patient can get used to the machine and wear it the entire night. The last type of treatment, which is getting to be more popular, is the use of an oral appliance. They are similar to orthodontic retainers. They fit over the upper and lower teeth or tongue. The appliance repositions the lower jaw so that when the person sleeps, the airway is kept open and doesn’t collapse. This improves oxygen intake which is very important. The appliances are fabricated and customized for each patient and are easy to wear. Once treatment is started for obstructive sleep apnea, the person’s symptoms usually diminish or disappear quickly, and their quality of life will improve. A refreshing, good night’s sleep is now a possibility. If you think that you, a friend or a loved one might have obstructive sleep apnea, contact your physician or a dentist specially trained in this field.
Newtown Dental Care 7 Cambridge Lane Newtown PA 18940 |
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