This may sound mind-boggling but the fact remains that 16 million of the 18 million Americans who suffer from sleep apnea do not even know that they have this condition. Two main reasons for this mass ignorance are: sleep apnea symptoms mostly show up during sleep; lack of awareness about the sleep disorder, why it happens, what triggers it, etc.
Sleep apnea happens when snoring is left untreated. Airways narrow causing obstructive breathing. The condition is characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep, where a single pause could last for about 10 seconds. If the condition is serious, one may experience 5 to 30 such pauses in an hour.
If the upper respiratory is blocked or collapsed, the condition is then called obstructive sleep apnea, the more common variety of this condition.
What causes the onset?
Obesity is the prime trigger of this condition. Obesity leads to snoring, which when left untreated, worsens into sleep apnea. Incidentally, body weight is closely associated with the onset, growth and development of this sleep disorder. In fact, the relationship between sleep apnea and weight gain spans over the entire course of the ailment. While obesity triggers the onset, weight increase remains an important signs as well as a consequence of the condition.
Over and above obesity, deviated nasal septum is yet another common trigger. Septal deviation, when major, results in blockage of the nasal passage, causing breathing distress including snoring. When left untreated, the same situation worsens with time. The only way the septum can be rectified and repositioned is with the help of surgery.
What kind of signs should one look out for?
The bed partner is the person who usually notices the first signs. These include loud snoring, restlessness in bed, choking and gasping during sleep, etc.
The signs that eventually get noticed by the patient are rapid and unexplained weight gain, excessive daytime sleepiness, lack of libido, frequent urination at night, dry mouth and sore throat in the morning, depression, irritability, etc.
Aren't some of the features seen in other illnesses?
Yes, you are right here. In fact, this is what causes diagnostic confusion at times, since many features of this illness indicate other sleep disorders as well. For example, daytime drowsiness could mean hypersomnia or even narcolepsy.
How to ensure correct diagnosis? It can be cone in two ways: one is to depend on the result of the sleep apnea test that reveal the type of illness accurately; the second way is to scan and compare the characteristic features of other sleep disorders and draw necessary conclusions.
Let us take one illness at a time. What is narcolepsy? It is a disorder of neurological origin that happens when the brain is not able to monitor the regular sleep-wake cycles. But what causes hypersomnolence? The causes for the onset remain unknown, since the condition is idiopathic.
A narcoleptic typically experiences recurrent bouts of daytime naps that could last from a few seconds to several minutes. Patients affected with another sleep disorder usually go off to sleep gradually.
Sleep apnea treatment is based on the cause of onset as well as severity of the sleep apnea symptoms. It involves using devices and even surgery if the condition is severe enough. Treating another condition may involve using only stimulants and antidepressants.
Sleep apnea happens when snoring is left untreated. Airways narrow causing obstructive breathing. The condition is characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep, where a single pause could last for about 10 seconds. If the condition is serious, one may experience 5 to 30 such pauses in an hour.
If the upper respiratory is blocked or collapsed, the condition is then called obstructive sleep apnea, the more common variety of this condition.
What causes the onset?
Obesity is the prime trigger of this condition. Obesity leads to snoring, which when left untreated, worsens into sleep apnea. Incidentally, body weight is closely associated with the onset, growth and development of this sleep disorder. In fact, the relationship between sleep apnea and weight gain spans over the entire course of the ailment. While obesity triggers the onset, weight increase remains an important signs as well as a consequence of the condition.
Over and above obesity, deviated nasal septum is yet another common trigger. Septal deviation, when major, results in blockage of the nasal passage, causing breathing distress including snoring. When left untreated, the same situation worsens with time. The only way the septum can be rectified and repositioned is with the help of surgery.
What kind of signs should one look out for?
The bed partner is the person who usually notices the first signs. These include loud snoring, restlessness in bed, choking and gasping during sleep, etc.
The signs that eventually get noticed by the patient are rapid and unexplained weight gain, excessive daytime sleepiness, lack of libido, frequent urination at night, dry mouth and sore throat in the morning, depression, irritability, etc.
Aren't some of the features seen in other illnesses?
Yes, you are right here. In fact, this is what causes diagnostic confusion at times, since many features of this illness indicate other sleep disorders as well. For example, daytime drowsiness could mean hypersomnia or even narcolepsy.
How to ensure correct diagnosis? It can be cone in two ways: one is to depend on the result of the sleep apnea test that reveal the type of illness accurately; the second way is to scan and compare the characteristic features of other sleep disorders and draw necessary conclusions.
Let us take one illness at a time. What is narcolepsy? It is a disorder of neurological origin that happens when the brain is not able to monitor the regular sleep-wake cycles. But what causes hypersomnolence? The causes for the onset remain unknown, since the condition is idiopathic.
A narcoleptic typically experiences recurrent bouts of daytime naps that could last from a few seconds to several minutes. Patients affected with another sleep disorder usually go off to sleep gradually.
Sleep apnea treatment is based on the cause of onset as well as severity of the sleep apnea symptoms. It involves using devices and even surgery if the condition is severe enough. Treating another condition may involve using only stimulants and antidepressants.
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For more information about sleep apnea symptoms, then be sure to visit Douglas Kidder's site and be informed as well about sleep apnea treatment.
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