Surgery and other sleep apnea cures

Howdy! In today's post I'll tell you about upper airways surgery as a sleep apnea cure. There are various nasal, throat, and jaw types of surgery. The fact is that they can help some but not all people with sleep apnea or snoring. More than that, there are better sleep apnea cures that should be considered first. Among them there are: medications, weight loss, change of sleep position, avoidance of alcohol and smoking before sleep, oral appliances. The most common sleep apnea cure for most people with obstructive sleep apnea is CPAP that I talked about last time. For some people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea these options will not work. Generally speaking, these people have a physical abnormality that is blocking their upper airways. In these cases surgery may be the only choice as it reduces or eliminate the tissue in the throat.

Upper airway surgery is site-specific and depending on the cause of obstruction it focuses on the soft palate, the uvula, tonsils, adenoids or the tongue. There are also more complex surgeries that are performed with the adjustment of other bone structures - the mouth, nose and facial bones.

There is no guarantee that this sleep apnea cure will solve your problem at once as more than one operation may be needed. There are also several side effects such as overnight hospital stay, pain, having the jaws wired shut (for several weeks), swelling throat, etc. Moreover, surgery as a sleep apnea cure may not be permanent and the problem may reoccur in course of time.

As I have already said that it is highly recommended to consider other possible sleep apnea cures first. Anyways, you should consult with an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon to find out if this is the best option for you.

The most effective sleep apnea cure or CPAP

So today I'm gonna tell you a few words about nCPAP or just CPAP. It stands for (nasal) continuous positive airway pressure. As you sleep CPAP provides you with a steady stream of air keeping your airway open. The fact is that CPAP is considered to be the most effective sleep apnea cure.

CPAP unit is about the size of a small box (some units are as small as 6 or 7 inches in length and weight 2 or 3 pounds). It has a fan that pushes air through a tube, connected to a mask that you wear as you sleep. Through this mask the air blows into the back of your throat what keeps the airway open and prevents cessation of breathing during your sleep. As simple as that! That's how the most effective sleep apnea cure works.

There are three kinds of masks used in CPAP:

- nasal mask (the most common one, it covers only your nose),
- full face mask (this type of mask may help if you have air leaks when using a nasal as it covers both your nose and your mouth),
- nasal pillows (soft silicone tubes that fit directly into your nostrils).

Of course, you should consult with your doctor about the type and size of the mask but the most important thing about it is that it should fit you well in order to prevent leaks without causing discomfort.

Many people use CPAP and find that this sleep apnea cure is the solution of their snoring and night breathing problems.

Sleep apnea cures and cures for snoring: are they the same?

So in the previous post we've come to the conclusion that treatments for snoring and for sleep apnea are not similar. Sleep apnea is a more radical upper airway obstruction that results in total cessation of breathing. So the treatment of it should also be more radical and intense. But, as a matter of fact, sleep apnea cures are almost the same as cures for snoring. The difference is in the way you apply them. While choosing the proper sleep apnea cure you should take into account the nature of the disease, its severity and intensity of other symptoms (I spoke about them in the previous posts of this blog as well as in Cures for Snoring and Stop Snoring Remedy blogs). And it goes without saying that sleep apnea requires a closer treatment monitoring.

Among the most popular sleep apnea cures there are:

- nCPAP (nasal continuous positive airway pressure),
- upper airway surgery,
- various oral appliances,
- weight loss,
- positional therapy,
- drug treatment,
- refusal from alcohol, smoking, muscle relaxants, sedatives and soporifics.

At present nCPAP is considered to be the most effective sleep apnea cure. Eventually it allows to improve the quality of your life and reduce the risk of acute cardiovascular pathology. That's why I'll speak about nCPAP in detail right in the next post.

But still you should bear in mind that the most effective treatment is a complex one. Therefore, one should not disregard other sleep apnea cures listed above.

Am I not convincing enough?

How do you do! If you paid heed to the links of this blog you must have probably noticed that I also keep two more blogs dedicated to snoring cures and remedies. What made me start a separate blog Sleep Apnea Cures, you ask? I'll tell you. Snoring and sleep apnea are different phenomena. Respectively, they should be treated, cured or remedied differently.

As a matter of fact, snoring usually accompanies obstructive sleep apnea. But sleep apnea is a more severe airway obstruction. When snoring the airflow is somehow hindered but still it can pass through the upper airways. In case of sleep apnea the airflow is completely blocked and a total cessation of breathing for several seconds. How can you diagnose obstructive sleep apnea? Well, it's quite easy. Just listen. A sleeping man is snoring... Snoring... Snoring... And then silence... A pause that may last up to two minutes and even longer. Something like sporadic sobs are heard and then snoring resumes but even loader and more intense... Yeah, how could my poor wife bear it is a mystery that I will never percieve! The fact is that it's not just harmless acoustics inconveniences. Sleep apnea tells on the general health condition considerably and if one doesn't treat it properly the consequences may be really deplorable. But before I speak of sleep apnea cures I wanna briefly touch upon those unpleasant things the disease may lead to.

Nowadays there is no data that proves the fact that obstructive sleep apnea may cause death. But nevertheless the basic thing is that the amount of oxygen gets significantly lower and a sleeping apnea person may be"getting blue" right before smb.'s very eyes. The brain signals a person to wake up so the sleep becomes fragmented (didn't you noticed it?) . The blood pressure become higher, the heartbeat gets faster. So generally speaking a person sleeps but doesn't rest. What comes next? Reduced immunity? Myocardial infarction? Acute stroke? Sudden death in bed? Am I not convincing enough? So everybody should not take a delay but resort to sleep apnea cures immediately until it's too late...

A snorer suffering from sleep apnea

Greetings! My name is Jack Snoring. I may make you laugh but my surname is also the name of the disease that I severely suffer from. But actually this is no fun and if you have the same problem you surely know it. Snoring... I turned into a loud snorer when 29 (my wife was wise enough to intimate it to me). But that was not the only thing. There was total cessation of breathing during my sleep from time to time. My general health condition was becoming worse and my spirits consequently more and more often low. Yeah, it was sleep apnea:( I started to drill the net and worm the books concerning the subject. At some moment I realized that there ain't so many good resources that contain really useful and comprehensible information about snoring and sleep apnea cures in one place. That's why I came up with a thought to start a blog entitled Sleep Apnea Cures where I plan to post the most relative information about effective methods of treating the disease. I must confess that I've tried lots of them and I can tell you it straight that it's not such an easy task to find the sleep apnea cure that suits you at best. But I did find something that brings me relief! Keep up with the blog and maybe you'll find a possible solution too.