Sleep Apnea Mouth Guard

If you have been experiencing symptoms such as short breath, dry mouth, morning headaches, drowsiness and abrupt awakenings, then you should ask your doctor about the treatment for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious sleeping disorder where a person stops breathing many times when sleeping. A person may stop breathing for up to one minute each time. If this condition is not treated on timely manner, then it could result in more serious conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. This explains why it is very crucial to treat this condition the moment you realize that you have it. There usually two main types of sleep apnea which are;

• Obstructive sleep apnea – This type will occur when throat muscles relax during sleep.
• Central sleep apnea -This type occurs when the brains fails to send the right signals to the muscles which control breathing.

Treatments for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The following are the treatment options available for obstructive sleep apnea condition;

• [CPAP]Continuous positive airway pressure – In this method, a machine is used to deliver air pressure via a mask placed on your nose as you sleep. This process ensures that the air pressure is slightly greater than that of the surrounding air ad this helps to keep the air passages open. By so doing, you are able to prevent apnea and snoring.

• [EPAP] Expiratory positive airway pressure – These are devices which are placed on the nostrils before you go to sleep. This device allows free movement of air when you inhale but forces the air to pass through small holes in it when you are exhaling. This process creates pressure on the airways thus ensuring that they are open throughout your sleep.
• Sleep apnea mouth guard – This is a devices that have been specifically designed to ensure that there is no obstruction on the airway either by changing the position of the tongue or altering the position of the jaws.
• Surgery – If the other treatment options have failed, surgery is considered. The main reason why surgery will be carried out is to enlarge the airways from the nose through the throat thereby helping the patient get rid of snoring. The surgery may involve jaw repositioning, tissue removal, tracheostomy as well as implants.

Treatment for Central Sleep Apnea

The other kind of sleep apnea has its own recommended treatments and it is worth taking note of this important information;

• Treatment of underlying medical conditions – Treating some of the possible causes of this condition could help to alleviate this condition. Some of the conditions that could result in this type of apnea include neurovascular disorders and heart conditions.
• Supplemental oxygen – Supplemental oxygen could play an important role in curbing this type of sleep apnea. There are various devices and forms of oxygen which can be used for this reason.

• Continuous positive airway pressure – it involves wearing a mask on your nostrils as you sleep. A pump is used to ensure that there is air in your airways to prevent them from falling. This process helps to prevent obstruction.
• Adaptive servo-ventilation – This is a new treatment for sleep apnea. This device has the capacity to learn a person’s breathing patterns and then storing that information in a built in computer. When a person is asleep, the device uses pressure to ensure that you breathe continuously without stopping.

 Natural Treatment for Sleep Apnea

Each treatment for sleep apnea mentioned above can cost you few dollars to several hundreds but their natural alternatives that you can consider;

• Learn to sleep on your side– Sleeping on your back makes it easier for the soft palate and the tongue to collapse thus blocking the airways
• Avoid alcohol, muscle relaxing medications and sleeping pills– These items relaxes throat muscles making it easy for them to collapse and block the airways.
• Get rid of extra weight– Obesity and being overweight increases one’s chances of suffering from obstructive apnea. Ask you nutritionist about dietary changes that you should make to lose this extra weight.
• Stop smoking– Smoking has been found to cause the swelling of upper airway. This will not only worsen snoring but also apnea.

These are all proven effective and each treatment for sleep apnea must be considered seriously for effective results.