When breathing of a person during sleep is reduced or stops, this condition could be diagnosed as sleep apnea.Routine visits to the doctor, however, are usually not enough to detect sleep apnea and this disorder often goes undiagnosed. Most patients would not know if they have sleep apnea because it only happens to them while sleeping. This condition could only be noticed if a patient’s family member or bed partner calls attention to the problem.

A diagnosis of this condition would reveal either of three types of apnea. These apnea classifications are central apnea, obstructive apnea, and combined central and obstructive apnea.

If the brain of an asleep person fails to activate the muscles for breathing, central sleep apnea occurs. On the other hand, if the sleeper’s airway collapses, there is obstructive apnea. This is the most common type of sleep apnea and occurs mostly in overweight patients. Obstructive sleep apnea has several possible complications. Such possibilities that could occur are high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, sleepiness during the day resulting in concentration and thinking difficulties that may lead to accidents while driving. Diagnosis and evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea is done through physical examination, medical history and polysomnography on the patient. If you think you might be suffering from sleep apnea you should see a doctor for sleep apnea treatments.

Seeking treatment is very crucial for a patient diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. It is tempting for most people afflicted with this disorder to forego treatment. The treatment may involve the inconvenience of wearing dental appliances and masks nightly. Using a sleep apnea dental appliance is uncomfortable at first but you can get used to it. A chin strap for sleep apnea is slightly less uncomfortable, but is very unattractive. There’s surgery, but it’s painful and there is no guarantee for successful treatment.For these discouraging reasons on surgery and personal appliances, only 10% of sleep apnea patients have been estimated to have undergone treatment.

It is therefore important to educate the rest of the 90% of those patients of the consequences of non-treatment of their disorder.r In addition to putting themselves at risk, they likewise pose risk to others particularly when driving. To the patient, the non-treatment of obstructive sleep apnea carries the increased risk of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, poor work productivity, reduced attentiveness, and in extreme cases, untimely death.

Persons with obstructive sleep apnea should discuss treatment with their doctor right away. Other than surgery, wearing mask and dental appliances, there are more palatable treatments of patients. These include behavioral therapy, continuous positive airway pressure, auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure, and bi-level positive airway pressure.

Some lifestyle changes of patients could also help in apnea treatment. Avoiding alcoholic drinks, reducing weight and quitting smoking are some lifestyle change options. Sleeping at a 30-degree elevation of the body could also help by preventing the collapse of the airway due to gravity. The reduction in the gravitational cause of sleep apnea could also be achieved by sleeping on a sideways position.

For those who want surgery, several procedures may be undertaken. Procedures that may be suggested include, nasal surgery, tongue reduction surgery, palate implants, bariatric surgery, maxi-mandibular advancement and uvulopapatopahryngoplasty.