Sleep apnea treatments – three main options
There is no shortage of individuals who are looking for sleep apnea treatments. Millions of people across the globe suffer from sleep apnea. You may be one of them if you come across debilitating symptoms such as excessive daytime sleepiness, intermittent headaches throughout the daytime, heartburn, swelling in the legs, pains in the chest when asleep, unnaturally loud snoring, constant tossing in sleep, intermittent chocking in the nighttime.
Three sleep apnea treatments
The good news is that there are several sleep apnea treatments to consider. The purpose of this article is to explain the three main treatment options you can consider if you are a victim of this condition.
- Lifestyle sleep apnea treatments
The most basic and often recommended treatment for sleep apnea is making some changes to your lifestyle. Basically, you will be asked by your doctor to adapt the following healthy habits as a treatment.
- Weight management
Losing some weight might be necessary specifically if you are overweight. If you have a higher BMI, you are more vulnerable to experience sleep apnea so reducing weight will be recommended.
- Maintain a regular sleep pattern
You should adopt a clockwork sleeping habit because so it helps your body adjust to normal sleeping patterns.
- Sleep on your side
When you sleep flat on your back, that increases heartburn, which is one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea.
- Avoid alcohol consumption
You will have to give up on alcohol. Moreover, your doctor will have to check over your current medicines that may be worsening symptoms. One of the best sleep apnea treatments is to avoid taking sleeping pills and sedatives before bed.
- Stop smoking, now!
Cigarettes contain hundreds of harmful chemicals that can prevent the airways from opening adequately and thereby worsen sleep apnea.
- Medical Treatments
If your condition doesn’t get better after the previous sleep apnea treatment, your doctor will recommend medical treatments. You might be asked to wear a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) at night so that will prevent your breathing airways from closing while you sleep.
In fact, CPAP is a treatment that is prescribed to address moderate and severe sleep apnea cases. However, symptoms are likely to come back immediately once you stop wearing this gadget.
On top of that, there can be other breathing devices to help you. However, you shouldn’t wear any of those devices unless it is prescribed by your doctor.
- Surgical treatment
If none of the above has worked for you, your doctor will recommend surgical treatment. There are several types of surgeries to address this issue and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is the most common surgical treatment for sleep apnea. Treatments like tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy are other surgical treatments that are conducted to remove tonsils and adenoids. Also, surgical procedures to removes bone tissue might be prescribed.
With that said, at least one of the above sleep apnea treatments will help you regain a normal life. So, be sure to contact your family physician if you have started to experience the symptoms mentioned at the beginning of this article.
