Sleep Apnea
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder where a patient has repeated breathing interruptions during sleep which in turn cause the choking sound as the body struggles to take in air. These interruptions occur when the upper airway and airflow are blocked during sleep. Patients can experience these interruptions many times each night and can be caused by structural abnormalities or brain malfunctions. Whenever breathing stops, your body’s oxygen intake is affected, and this can have serious consequences. Sleep apnea affects millions of Americans, but few do anything about it.
What Are The Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea?
Patients that are suffering from sleep apnea can feel sleepy during the day and often lose focus. These symptoms can cause driving and work-related accidents. In addition, patients with sleep apnea can display one or more of the following symptoms:
- Loud snoring
- Abrupt awakenings from sleep
- Awakening with shortness of breath
- Epidodes of breathing cessations witnessed by another person
- Waking up with a headache in the morning
- Waking up with a dry mouth or a sore throat
- Difficulty staying asleep
- Attention problems
- Irritability
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form of sleep apnea. OSA occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat relax. These muscles support all of the surrounding tissues such as the tonsils and the side walls of the throat. When the muscles relax, the airway narrows or closes. Your brain senses this inability to breathe and briefly wakes you from sleep to reopen the airway. These lapses in sleep can be so brief you don’t even remember them. These actions can involve a snorting, choking, or gasping sound and can repeat the pattern up to 30 times per hour all night.
Snoring
Sleep Apnea and snoring usually go hand and hand with each other and is one of the many symptoms of it. Snoring is when a sound is created from vibrations of the soft palate that happen when you breathe, partially obstructing sleep. Usually a harmless condition, it can indicate rising health concerns. If the snoring becomes loud and Habitual, it can disrupt sleep, especially if you have a partner sleeping with you. Snoring is most common in men and older people, usually from being overweight.
Snoring Treatment In Webster, TX
If snoring is a persistent problem you would like to get rid of, there are several treatment options, Ranging from surgical intervention to home remedies. Snoring mostly can be treated by changing your lifestyle with some medications you can acquire from your pharmacist that can be an efficient combo to treat it. Some of these methods include:
- Losing weight
- Sleeping on your side or stomach
- Nasal strips and dilators
- Medications to help with decongestant
- Quit smoking
In some cases, you may need nasal sprays or additional methods of treatment. If these problems persist and you are also experiencing severe sleep apnea, corrective surgery is most likely the next step.
How Clear Lake Dental Care & Implant Center Treats Sleep Apnea
At Clear Lake Dental Care, our treatments for sleep apnea start with lifestyle changes such as losing weight, limiting alcohol consumption, or quitting smoking. Next, we progress to oral appliance therapy, SomnoDent. Patients that are experiencing severe cases may require surgery as they are in danger of developing serious medical conditions such as high blood pressure and heart problems.
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