Day by day, modernity is increasing.. increasing.. diseases are also increasing. Many kinds of diseases that cannot be understood and cannot enter the mouth have now arrived. Sleep apnea is not such a strange disease. But it is only recently that it has been pronounced more often. Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that occurs during sleep. This can lead to suffocation and death in deep sleep. This is what the medical world calls sleep apnea. According to a recent study, statistics say that around 5 crore people in India alone are suffering from this ‘Sleep Apnea’.
What is sleep apnea?
Obstruction in one’s airway, i.e. if one is snoring and sleeping, we think one is in a deep sleep. But, that is wrong. Snoring is caused by obstruction of breathing during sleep. If not properly treated, it can lead to death in sleep.
Types of sleep apnea
There are three types of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Central Sleep Apnea, and Complex Sleep Apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by tightness or disorder in the throat muscles. It means stopping breathing during sleep.
The second type is central sleep apnea. A person suffering from this type of disease has a blockage in his upper airway when he goes into deep sleep. As a result, the person becomes suffocated and unable to sleep. Sometimes sleep apnea occurs when the signals from the brain to the muscles aren’t getting through properly. This is called ‘central sleep apnea’.
In other words, if there is a blockage somewhere in our respiratory tract, breathing disorder will occur and it will be difficult to breathe and sleep apnea will occur. It can also be caused by stuffy nose, dry throat, thick neck and obesity. A combination of the above two types of obstructive and central apnea is called complex sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea occurs in 3 percent of lean people and 20 percent of obese people; Men are more affected than women; women are affected after menopause. If this disease is not treated at an early stage, diseases related to the heart vessels will also occur. But the sad thing is that many people do not know that they have this disease.
What is the connection between COPD and sleep apnea?
COPD is a lung disease and sleep apnea is a breathing disorder. Difficulty in breathing occurs when the lungs stop working. When such breathing air is obstructed, respiratory distress occurs. Due to this, breathing air is obstructed while sleeping at night. This causes sleep apnea. These are the links between COPD and sleep apnea.
What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?
Some kind of tiredness in the body all the time, headache or irritable mood on waking in the morning, dry tongue in the morning, sudden changes in mood. Symptoms include sleeplessness throughout the night. Deep snoring, difficulty breathing during sleep, gasping for air during sleep, insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, distraction, and irritability are also symptoms of apnea.
Also, if loud snoring occurs continuously during sleep, you should consult a doctor immediately without delay. Only then, if the disease is serious, will lead to immediate appropriate treatment.
Experiments
A test called a polysomnogram is usually done to determine if a person has sleep apnea. The method of this test is to examine a person during his sleep. That is, one’s sleeping pattern, snoring volume, respiratory tract disturbances, and deep sleep are calculated in this. Based on that, the severity of the impact will be quantified. Then, dynamic MRI. Scans also detect any blockages in the trachea, find out the cause of the blockage and correct it.
What are the treatments?
The best course of action is to follow the methods recommended by doctors to stabilize one’s airway during sleep. For some, doctors may prescribe breathing aids. A device called CPAP (Continuous Positive Airways Pressure) is placed in a person’s nose. It keeps the air pressure in the person’s nose steady during sleep and prevents suffocation of the respiratory tract. Some people are advised to make changes in their lifestyle
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Protect yourself!
Alcohol consumption and smoking habits should be avoided. Maintain a proper body weight. Regulate sleeping time at night; Avoid fast food. Avoid taking too much medicine for any disease. Early detection and proper treatment should be done.