OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA (OSA) is a condition of airway obstruction during sleep that occurs repeatedly and lasts more than 10 seconds.
How easy will it be for you to snooze or fall asleep in the situations described below? The answer is the number of points on the scale below:
0 – never
1 – small possibility
2 – average possibility
3 – big possibility
If you have collected more than 10 points, it is worthwhile to take an interest in the topic.
A doctor’s appointment is advisable first.
1. General recommendations: change eating habits, reduce body weight, avoid: alcohol, sedatives and sleeping pills, position on the back during sleep.
2. Using CPAP is the treatment of choice for OBS. CPAP device generates an air stream under positive pressure, then through a flexible tube and mask covering the nose or nose and mouth gets into the upper airways. The effect of the device is to eliminate snoring and apnea and restore proper sleep. Before applying this treatment it is worthwhile to test the tolerance of the device for a few nights. Such treatment is better tolerated by people with severe forms of illness.
3. Surgical treatment removes an obstacle to breathing, which may be: a crooked nasal septum, nasal auricle hypertrophy, nasal polyps, oversized palatal tonsils, elongated soft palate and uvula (vibrating palate during sleep gives an acoustic effect in the form of snoring), oversized tongue base (excess fat around the tongue muscles), as well as mandibular constriction and retraction. The following treatments may be indicated: correction of the septum and/or nasal auricles, removal of nasal polyps, correction or removal of the palatal tonsils, Celon soft palate or tongue base. For mandibular abnormalities, mandibular ejection devices or surgical treatment are used.
4. Surgical treatment of obesity for persons with significant overweight.
Luiza Jonczak, specialist in internal medicine, specialist in pulmonology. Researcher at the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases. She received…
