Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Your Condition
If you notice that you’re not sleeping well, or that your partner complains of your snoring all the time, it might be time to seek medical attention to see if you have sleep apnea. While there are typical warning signs of this disorder, a common symptom is snoring. Often, if you visit your health care professional and they suspect that you have this condition, they will send you for a sleep study and these are the people who will do the diagnosing or your condition.
Before you seek medical attention, however, you should know that sleep apnea is a condition where a person actually stops breathing in their sleep, which can cause them to suffocate while they are sleeping. What generally happens is the soft tissue in the mouth and throat cause a blockage to the airway, so even if a person with sleep apnea keeps breathing, they may not be getting enough oxygen to their blood. This can cause additional issues, such as heart and circulatory problems, so it is important to have sleep apnea properly diagnosed.
When you go to the doctor about your snoring problem, you should know that snoring is often just one warning sign or symptom of the condition and there are other signs which your doctor may take into consideration such as a thick neck. Often, sleep apnea occurs in men who have thick necks, so this is something your doctor may look for. Other warning signs include constant fatigue, even though you get a full 8 hours of sleep and obesity. For many, these are indicators that they are suffering from sleep apnea.
The two main causes of sleep apnea include enlarged tissue of the soft palette and uvula, or (the back part of the roof of the mouth and the tissue that hangs down in the middle of the back of the mouth) if these tissues aren’t generally enlarged, it may be that they over-relax when the person is sleeping, which causes these tissues to press on the airway and potentially block it.
If your health care professional recommends that you seek a sleep study, you will go to a place that specializes in watching your heart rate, breathing, eye movement, brain activity and the oxygen level in your blood while you sleep through the night. The process is painless and is the most accurate way to determine if you suffer from sleep apnea.
If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, depending on the severity, your health care professional may recommend that you use a machine while you sleep, which will help to ensure your body receives enough oxygen while you sleep and if you should stop breathing, it triggers an alarm to wake you and start you breathing on your own again. Your doctor may also recommend that you lose weight and do certain exercises that are said to strengthen the muscles in the soft palette and help to prevent them from over-relaxing.
Many people who have sleep apnea find that when they go on a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise in an effort to lose weight, in addition to changing the position in which they sleep helps them to get a better, quieter night of rest.
Related Entries
- Bed Wetting and Sleep Apnea Problems for Children
- Getting a Sleep Apnea Diagnosis
- Finding Treatment From a Sleep Apnea Doctor
- Tips for Getting the Right Sleep Apnea Diagnosis
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