Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Does snoring rule or ruin your life?
Snoring is a nuisance to all!
Why is this question of significance to you?
Most of us joke about partners or friends snoring and how they sometimes even go totally silent between snoring episodes. Most of us do not know that this is life threatening business.
Statistics show that one of the types of sleep apnea, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is present in one out of every eight people (12%) older than 30, 16% in people older than 40 and more than 20% in people older than 50.
Quality sleep is vital for humans to function optimally! Disturbed sleep has an adverse negative effect on our daily lives. We can achieve much healthier sleep and life through awareness.
Sleep apneais the most common of all sleep disorders and can be described as episodes where you stop breathing while you sleep.
Of the two types of sleep apnea, central sleep apnea (which is associated with the central nervous system, consisting of the brain, spinal cord and nerves branching off from the spinal cord) is the lesser seen. This type is caused when the brain impulse that causes the breathing muscles to function is periodically absent.
OSA however, as reflected by the above statistics, is much more common. OSA is often, but not always, associated with SNORING followed by a QUIET PERIOD of non-breathing and then a loud GASP that follows the apnea. The snoring then resumes until the next apnea occurs and the average number of OSA’s recorded per night is around 250.

Sleep Apnea is often responsible for, or contributes heavily towards the number of symptoms or health related issues experienced.
Do you suffer from any of the following :
day-time tiredness and sleepiness,
headaches,
often waking up with a headache,
loss of memory or concentration,
grogginess,
snoring,
gasping during sleep,
falling asleep when reading, watching TV or driving,
high blood pressure,
difficulty losing weight,
difficulty managing depression,
listlessness or no drive for physical activities?
Then you might just be suffering from sleep apnea!
OSA can have any of a range of causes and if you wonder about your state you should consult a specialist in this field.
Frequently asked Questions about OSA:
Questions frequently asked include whether OSA is treatable. The answer is “YES”, often by minor surgical procedures, sometime by sleeping with a specialised mouth guard but mostly the best treatment is a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device.
Most medical aids pay for the studies and most have benefits for the CPAP device.
This treatment is mostly chronic and you cannot stop using the CPAP device or mouth guard after losing weight.
Snoring interferes more with family life than using one of these devices. The CPAP device or mouth guard is fitted just before you go to sleep and is remove the immediately after you wake up.
CPAP does not give oxygen but it keeps the airway from obstructing. “There is no pillow you can sleep on that will keep your airway from obstructing if you suffer from OSA.” Jauckie Viljoen, a sleep study technician, said.
He added that it is easier to increase your metabolism when you constantly use CPAP to treat your OSA.

It is not a given that your children will suffer from OSA if you have it, however, some of the anomalies that cause OSA can be inherited genetically. According to Jauckie there are several treatments available and only a proper examination process will reveal the best treatment for each patient.

For more detail call Jauckie on 044 690 8150 or 083 2622 307

Sleep Lab

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *