1 Stop Snoring

For those who are obese, persistent snorers and touching 50, gathering information about obstructive sleep apnea, a common but tough-to-diagnose sleep disorder makes sense. This is particularly relevant if the individual has chosen to ignore snoring and does nothing to control obesity.

Why knowing about it is important is that this disorder has a habit of creeping in stealthily. Usually, the condition remains undiagnosed because majority of the identifying features appear during sleep. However, we would discuss such issues later in the article. Let us first get familiar with the disorder.

What is the condition all about?

Arising mainly out of neglected snoring, the disorder is characterized by recurrent pauses in breathing during sleep. Caused by narrowed airway, a single pause lasts for about 10 seconds and depending on the seriousness of the condition, a patient may experience 5 to 30 such pauses in an hour, repeated several times during the night.

Of the three types of the condition, obstructive type is most common. 50% of patients diagnosed, invariably has this particular type of the disorder. It happens when there is complete collapse and blockage of the airway. Apart of the short term breathing distress, the disorder eventually leads to heart problems, ischemic heart conditions and even stroke.

While obesity triggers the onset, irrational weight gain is both a feature as well as an after-effect of the condition.

Sleep apnea symptoms: tough to catch

Though common, it remains one of the most undiagnosed conditions because of the elusive nature of the features. Usually the bed partner notices the early signs including loud and persistent snoring, choking and gasping during sleep, restlessness in bed, intermittent pauses in breathing, etc and calls for medical help.

What ultimately drives the patient to seek medical help are signs like rapid and irrational weight gain, excessive daytime sleepiness, deterioration of mood, etc.

Sleep apnea treatment

Therapy options depend entirely on the severity of the condition. Management of obesity and restoration of normal breathing are usually the two primary goals of doctors for managing the condition, when it is between mild and moderate.

Weight reduction measures include physical workouts, diet control and doing special exercises for toning and strengthening the breathing muscles. These critical muscles usually become weak and flaccid with extra fat accumulation. Putting the patient on CPAP therapy, suggestion to sleep on special pillows, quitting alcohol, changing sleeping position, raising pillow height are some other measures.

Surgery is the last and compelling choice for managing more severe conditions. Several options are available here too and the choice is made according to the site of obstruction in the airway and cause of the illness.

When signals are confusing

There are chances of the illness remaining either undiagnosed or getting misdiagnosed because of certain overlapping signals shared with other sleep disorders. For example it could mean one of the hypersomnia symptoms or it could even mean the onset of narcolepsy.

But if you analyze the illness carefully, what is narcolepsy? Arising out of neurological malfunctioning, it results in sudden sleep attacks, a feature unique to this disorder only. What about the age of onset? Obstructive sleep apnea sets in around 50 years of age; other sleep disorders set in much earlier.

Are you looking for information about sleep apnea symptoms, then feel free to visit Douglas Kidder’s excellent free report on obstructive sleep apnea.

Related posts:

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: How And Why Does It Set In?
2. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Beginners’ Guide
3. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: The More Aware You Are the Better You Cope
4. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: The More You Know About It, the Better Control You Have Over It
5. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: If You Are Nearing 50, Knowledge about It Helps
6. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Fundamentals
7. Sleep Apnea Symptoms: The Sooner You Know What They Are The Quicker You Can Seek Therapy
8. Sleep Apnea Symptoms: Noticing Them Is Tough but Not Impossible
9. Sleep Apnea Symptoms: Most People Miss Them and Suffer As A Consequence
10. Sleep Apnea Symptoms: Noticing Them Is Tough but Not Impossible