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How to Recognize Sleep Apnea: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

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David Thomas
How to Recognize Sleep Apnea: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Do you find yourself excessively tired during the day, even though you've been getting enough sleep? Sleep apnea is a common disorder that can cause these and other symptoms. Sleep apnea causes your airways to become blocked during sleep. This blocks airflow makes it difficult for the brain to get the oxygen it needs. Sleep deprivation can lead to many health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Read on for more information about recognizing sleep apnea so that you can seek treatment!

 

What is Sleep Apnea?

 

Sleep apnea is a common disorder that is characterized by pauses in breathing while you sleep. Sleep apnea can occur many times during the night, leading to oxygen deficiency and other health problems. There are three kinds of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and a combination of both.

 

Central Sleep Apnea occurs when part or all of the brain's respiratory center doesn't send the correct signals to the muscles that control breathing. Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs when there is a blockage of airflow through your mouth and/or nose, usually due to soft tissues in the back of the throat collapsing during sleep. Mixed Sleep Apnea consists of both obstructive and central apneas throughout the night.

 

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

 

  • Loud snoring.
  • Pauses in breathing while you sleep. This can be 30 seconds or longer. There may not be sounds associated with the pauses, but your partner will likely notice that you are struggling to breathe. You may even have red or blue tinges on your face and lips due to the lack of oxygen.
  • Sleepiness during the day.
  • You were waking up with a sore or dry throat, frequent headaches, morning nausea and vomiting, problems concentrating during the day, memory lapses (such as driving somewhere but having no recollection of how you got there), high blood pressure, or heart disease.

 

How to treat Sleep Apnea?

 

Now we know what Sleep Apnea is; so, now the question is how do we treat Sleep Apnea? If you are diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, there are several treatment options. You can take Sleep Apnea Cape Girardeau medications, such as a continuous positive airway pressure machine or CPAP. Sleep Apnea Cape Girardeau surgery may be an option if your doctor feels that the tissues in your nose and throat are too large to be treated with medication alone. This is explained in detail below.

 

The first line of defense is CPAP therapy (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). This involves wearing a mask over your nose or mouth while you sleep that blows air into your throat so that it doesn't collapse and block the airflow. Another option is Oral Appliance Therapy, which involves wearing a mouth guard at night. If these don't work for you, surgery may be needed to remove the blockage or excess tissue in your throat that causes Sleep Apnea.

 

 

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