Sleep apnea treatment
Treatment:
Sleep apnea treatment is For milder cases of sleep apnea, your doctor may recommend only lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or quitting smoking. If you have nasal allergies, your doctor will recommend treatment for your allergies.
If these measures don’t improve your signs and symptoms or if your apnea is moderate to severe, a number of other treatments are available.
Certain devices can help open up a blocked airway. In other cases, surgery might be necessary.
Diagnosis
Your doctor may make an evaluation based on your signs and symptoms and a sleep history, which you can provide with help from someone who shares your bed or your household, if possible.
You’re likely to be referred to a sleep disorder center. There, a sleep specialist can help you determine your need for further evaluation.
Therapies
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). If you have moderate to severe sleep apnea, you might benefit from using a machine that delivers air pressure through a mask while you sleep. With CPAP (SEE-pap), the air pressure is somewhat greater than that of the surrounding air and is just enough to keep your upper airway passages open, preventing apnea and snoring.
- Other airway pressure devices.
- If using a CPAP machine continues to be a problem for you, you might be able to use a different type of airway pressure device that automatically adjusts the pressure while you’re sleeping (auto-CPAP). Units that supply bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) also are available. These provide more pressure when you inhale and less when you exhale.
- Treatment for associated medical problems. Possible causes of central sleep apnea include heart or neuromuscular disorders, and treating those conditions might help.
- Supplemental oxygen. Using supplemental oxygen while you sleep might help if you have central sleep apnea. Various forms of oxygen are available with devices to deliver oxygen to your lungs.