Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Written by admin on January 4, 2011 – 1:51 am -
Sleep Management Solutions partnered with Philips brings you a detailed look at obstructive sleep apnea. What are the signs and symptoms and what you and your doctor can do about it.
Tags: apnea, obstructive, sleep, stop breathing
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Managing Sleep Apnea with Alternative Treatments
Written by admin on August 24, 2010 – 8:46 am -Not everyone likes traditional medicine. They feel a more natural solution is better for the body. Some people with sleep apnea seek alternative treatments as opposed to CPAP or surgery. Homeopathic medicine, yoga, and acupuncture are just a few alternative treatments available.
As with any treatment for a medical condition, caution should be taken when participating and always get a second opinion if something doesn’t seen right.
Homeopathic medications are all natural, not synthetic chemicals. These are thought to be healthier than laboratory created medicine. Even with natural remedies, certain medications are well suited for some people, but not others. Homeopaths are trained to assess the whole person and treat accordingly with the proper remedy.
Some sleep apnea alternative treatments and homeopathic remedies include; Sambucus for difficulty breathing or asthma at night, Sulfur for sleep issues and disturbances involving chronic conditions, Opium for those people needing more energy during the day to stay awake, and Arsenicum Album for breathing conditions that get worse at night. There are other medications homeopaths may prescribe depending on individual needs.
Yoga techniques target the whole body, striving for balance. It involves the mind, spirit, and body and creates a healthier you with peace and harmony. Many of the yoga breathing techniques can improve night time breathing problems.
The science of breathing, Pranayama, stresses the importance of proper breathing in our everyday lives. It also claims that what we consciously learn during the day will be remembered while sleeping. We can effectively train ourselves to breathe better in sleep.
Between January 2002 and August 2004 at the Sleep Division, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, a study was held to assess the benefits of acupuncture in sleep apnea patients. Surprisingly, it was found that acupuncture significantly decreased apneic events in the test group and not the control group. These findings were against what traditional scientists and doctors assumed they would be. Based on the results of this study, acupuncture seems to be a safe sleep apnea alternative treatment.
Patients with sleep apnea want alternative treatments for many different reasons. Some want a more natural treatment plan, others are searching for a cure out of desperation.
One thing that should be kept in mind while searching for an alternative remedy is that sleep apnea can be deadly. No alternative treatment can make you start breathing again if death occurs. The best course of action would be to try alternative medicine while complying with the CPAP and then slowly attempt to wean off of the positive pressure machine.
Several sleep apnea alternative treatments are acceptable, some are questionable, and many depend on the person. Not all treatments work for everyone. When looking for natural remedies, remember to ensure ongoing health during your search.
Always consult your doctor before beginning any treatment plan. Even if attempts at natural healing do not improve your sleep apnea, most alternative treatments will improve your mental well being.
http://www.sleepapneaosa.com
Tags: apnea, managing, sleep, treatments
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Methods Used to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Written by admin on August 21, 2010 – 5:29 am -Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be treated in numerous ways. What needs to be looked at is the patient’s medical history, the disorder’s severity, and crucially, the exact cause of the airway blockage.
Kids that have OSA do so typically due to chronically enlarged adenoids and tonsils. Tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies are successful at diminishing OSA substantially. The difficulty level associated with operations to reduce OSA in children can be very high, as for example with cases of reduced growth of the body alongside poor development of the right side of the heart. Fortunately, when OSA-associated high exhalation pressures are lowered complications to the cardiovascular system tend to reverse of their own accord. Careful precautionary practices are adhered to during the important postoperative period in children.
OSA treatment in adults who have poor oropharyngeal airways in combination with a large upper body frame are open to a variety of treatments. Unfortunately, this most common form of OSA tends not to have particular treatment methods that habitually work, each case needs specific evaluation over the best course of action.
Such methods for relieving obstructions consist of changes to the sufferer’s lifestyle, e.g. reducing alcoholic intake, avoiding medications that may relax the central nervous system (CNS) (e.g. sedatives, muscle relaxants), stopping smoking and reducing weight. Specially designed devices, such as pillows, that stop the sufferer from sleeping on their back can be effective in reducing OSA.
Oral appliances are sometimes used, these keep the patients airways open whilst they are asleep. Mandibular advancement splints (MAS) are sometimes advised to lessen mild to moderate OSA. MAS consists of a mouth guard, similar to that used with impact sports to protect the teeth, which holds the lower jaw a little more down and forward from its usual relaxed position. When in use the users tongue is moved farther from the back of the airways, possibly far enough so that some OSA sufferers are able to gain improved breathing.
When such methods fail to make enough of a beneficial impression GP’s will often suggest the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
CPAP comes in the form of a mask attached to the face which has a tube running from an air pump to the sufferer’s mouth and/ or nose, forcing controlled bursts of air through the obstructed air passageways and into the lungs. CPAP uses a constant air pressure found by performing an overnight test or ‘titration’ on the sufferer. Recent models of CPAP contraptions are able to reduce the exhalation pressure for improved performance and patient comfort.
Variable positive airway pressure (VPAP), known also as bilevel or BiPAP, monitors the patients breathing with an electronic circuit. Two different pressures are adopted here, inhalation has a higher pressure than exhalation. This system is more expensive than CPAP and is often used on people that have other respiratory problems or who find sleeping with higher exhaling pressures from CPAP difficult.
Automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) uses sensors that measure air pressure in conjunction with a computer that monitors the patient’s performance with breathing. Pressures exerted by the air pump are constantly adjusted, i.e. heightened when the user is finding breathing difficult, lowered when pressures are considered higher than necessary.
Various surgical ways of widening airways, or removing or tightening tissues in that area are used, the success rate tends to be low with these practices. In some cases patients adopt a combination of such therapies to reduce their OSA. Surgery is typically a last resort, used when none of the above, as well as other more experimental OSA reduction methods (e.g. pharmaceuticals like methylxanthine theophylline and modafinil, and neurostimulation e.g. pacemaker stimulation), have been deemed effective.
www.sleepapneafacts.info/Why-You-Should-Stop-Snoring.php . This sleep dedicated website contains a vast array of information specifically designed to help you get an improved nights sleep.
Tags: apnea, Methods, obstructive, sleep, treat, used
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Sleep Apnea: i used to have it, could it come back? do i still have it and it’s just not active or something?
Written by admin on August 9, 2010 – 5:29 am -hola, mmkay when i was little i had sleep apnea and i had to be monitored when i slept. and i guess i dont have it anymore because im not monitored and i dont take any medicines or anything.
what i’d like to know is:
*could sleep apnea come back one night?
*do people usually grow out of it
*is it usually in just babies/kids?
*is there medicines to take if it does/can come back?
Thanks <3
yes im sure it was sleep apnea, one night i stopped breathing and my mother woke up to the sound of me sleeping.
Tags: apnea, health, Insomnia, sleep, sleep apnea
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