What Causes Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
There are many different ways to treat obstructive sleep apnea today. In recent years, physicians have to come to better understand the varying types of sleep apnea in general, therefore, they have better ways to treat it. If you are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, this means something is directly interfering with your breathing passages. For unknown reasons, tissue will fall and block the actual airway. This can be tissue from the throat, nose or mouth. This condition can be very dangerous. When something like tissue falls blocking your airway at night and disrupting your breathing, you are not getting the proper amount of oxygen you need while sleeping. The patient will typically be advised to not sleep on their back, but their sides. This will keep the obstructive tissues from falling. If the tissue is not in the way, you can breathe normally. Enlarged tonsils can also cause blockage of the airway. If you lie on your back, you will find your tonsils cause the pressing obstruction.
Can Obstructive Sleep Apnea Become Worse?
There are several key issues which can cause obstructive sleep apnea to escalate and become worse. Alcohol is one factor. If you consume regularly, muscles used to keep the passageway open become relaxed. This will allow tissue to fall into the passageway. Obstructive sleep apnea can be escalated by certain medicines also. These include, but are not limited to, antidepressants, allergy medicine, anxiety pills and most sedatives. Someone who is overweight is also more susceptible to sleep apnea because there is an increase in the amount of tissue which can fall and obstruct you airway.
Unless your obstructive sleep apnea is so severe as to threaten the life of the sufferer, a doctor will choose the least intrusive method of treatment. One option sounds simple enough. There are dental pieces available which act to raise the jaw, forcing your airway open at night. There also happen to be devices which physically keep people from rolling over on their back at night while sleeping. These can range from a harness type of apparatus to specially made pajama tops which will prevent you from rolling over. The pajama tops have something in the back material to physically make lying on your back impossible.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Surgery
As with most afflictions, if it is too severe obstructive sleep apnea surgery might be unavoidable. Tissue removal will cure obstructive sleep apnea. If surgery isn’t necessary, there are sleeping masks which force the air way open. This also forces air to keep the obstructive tissue at bay. You wear this at night while you sleep. This at home air treatment is sure to provide relief from obstructive sleep apnea.
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