There Are Several Different Sleep Apnea Treatments

There are certain factors that can contribute to a persons sleep disorder. These include weight loss, reduction of alcohol consumption, stopping smoking, try to sleep on your side and get plenty of sleep. Sleep apnea treatments may be your next step if the previous factors do not help.

One of the main treatments of sleep apnea is a CPAP or Continuous positive airway pressure device. This involves the patient wearing a close fitting mask over their nose, which is attached to a continuously flowing air supply via a plastic flexible hose. This hose is connected to medical air pump that sits either on the floor or on a bedside table. This flow of air creates a dilating pressure from the mask through to the nose into the upper airway, which in turn allows the breathing to be uninterrupted. Being able to sleep without an obstructed airway drastically improves the quality of sleep for the patient.

The CPAP device is the most successful and the most studied of the sleep apnea treatments. It usually works regardless of whatever the cause of the patient’s sleep apnea. The reason that a person suffers from this condition is that the tongue falls and causes the upper airway to narrow, especially when lying on your back.

A more drastic form of a sleep apnea treatment is a surgical procedure on the back of the throat to remove soft tissue that is not needed. This type of surgery increases the size of the patient’s upper airway. What specifically is removed is the soft palate that hangs down at the back of the throat and in some cases the tonsils and any other soft tissue that seems excessive. This particular operation is uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP).

If the patient does have this surgery then it is necessary for them to follow up with the surgeon afterwards to ensure that this sleep apnea treatment has greatly reduced the patients sleep disorder. Results indicate that there is an approximate fifty percent chance that patients will improve. Some patients have been known to relapse but it is believed that weight gain may have contributed to it.

Another of the sleep apnea treatments available to sufferers is the Thornton Adjustable Positioner or TAP. This option is available from your dentist. The dentist fits it by pulling the lower jaw forward so that it does not fall open, which causes impedance in the airway. Research has not been concluded on this form of treatment since it is rather new.

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