OSA, or “obstructive sleep apnea” is not a simple condition to be ignored. It’s important to properly diagnose the condition to fully determine what’s causing it and how to treat it, so let me help you how to do that!
How to diagnose OSA? A polysomnography and a sleep study at home are the only way to properly diagnose OSA or obstructive sleep apnea.
A polysomnography is basically the same as a sleep study at home, but the difference is that you will sleep at a sleeping center where health experts and technicians will be monitoring your sleep.
The process is harmless, non-invasive, and guaranteed to be completely safe.
If you want to be properly diagnosed if you have obstructive sleep apnea or not, a polysomnography is the only way to do it. It will also help you determine what caused it and what is the best treatment that you need.
You may notice or know about a few signs of obstructive sleep apnea, but searching on your own will not help you get diagnosed officially.
It is best to have medical assistance from professionals rather than relying on what you have researched about by yourself. During the sleep study, a machine will help observe your body’s activities.
The sleep study’s sole purpose is for diagnosing sleeping conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea so it is definitely your only option.
During the study, there will be wires attached to a machine and taped to your body. Don’t worry, they are long enough to let you move around freely as you try to fall asleep.
They will monitor and record your brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing, eye movements, and leg movements.
Each one of these factors can help diagnose obstructive sleep apnea.
But after getting diagnosed, what’s next? What steps should you take if you do have obstructive sleep apnea? Well, don’t worry. We won’t leave you hanging so read on to learn how to cure obstructive sleep apnea.
How to cure OSA after getting diagnosed
Once you’ve properly diagnosed your obstructive sleep apnea, the next step is learning how to cure it. Most likely, your doctor will be the one to recommend what will be the best way to treat your condition.
Here is a list of a few treatment methods that may besuggested to you.
- Rapid Maxillary Expansion
- For children with obstructive sleep apnea. This process places an expandable brace on the roof of the mouth that increases the width of the upper jaw (maxilla).
- Over time, parents can adjust the brace using a special key to increase the amount of pressure for the teeth.
- Jaw Advancement Surgery
- For teenagers and adults. This process will surgically break the jaw bones, moved forward and then fixed properly with screws and plates and will change the person’s facial structure or profile.
- It might take months to recover.
- Surgical Airway Advancement
- Similar to the 2nd example. Bones of the upper and lower jaw will be repositioned in a way that will relieve airway obstruction.
- Nasal Strips
- Nasal strips are one of the earliest tools used to treat conditions like obstructive sleep apnea and its symptoms. Nowadays, there are newly developed nasal strips that you can try.
- Oral Appliance
- Oral pieces can help with obstructive sleep apnea and silence snoring, they are custom made to make sure it prevents the obstruction in the airways and counter sleep apnea.
- CPAP Treatment
- The CPAP or “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure” is a commonly used treatment and proven to be effective for obstructive sleep apnea patients and helping snoring.
- Lose weight
- Being overweight or obesity can be a cause of obstructive sleep apnea. You can potentially get rid of sleep apnea by getting plenty of exercises and maintaining a healthy, balanced diet.
- Stop or avoid smoking too much.
- Excessive smoking can cause or worsen obstructive sleep apnea. Reducing your smoke intake per day will also reduce the risk of OSA. If possible, quit smoking to potentially get rid of sleep apnea.
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- Drinking too much alcohol before sleeping can cause and worsen obstructive sleep apnea just like smoking.
- Avoid sedatives before going to sleep
- Certain sedatives can cause obstructive sleep apnea. Consult a medical expert to determine what type of sedative may be the cause.
- Maintain a proper sleep routine.
- Sometimes, we end up getting exposed to obstructive sleep apnea since we simply don’t sleep at the right time. Try to avoid staying up late and sleep early.
- Try to keep a proper sleeping position as well. Try to sleep with your head elevated or sleeping in a recliner chair.
- Don’t overwork yourself all the time.
- Going to sleep exhausted can make us a lot more prone to obstructive sleep apnea. It’s important to relax a little bit at first before going to bed to lessen the risk of sleep apnea.
- Treat chronic allergies
- Some allergies can trigger obstruction in your body’s airways and may cause you to have obstructive sleep apnea. Treat or avoid triggering your allergies to avoid sleep apnea.
Some of these are just simple lifestyle changes and sleeping position changes. You might be recommended to follow more than one of these treatments too, for more effectiveness.
For example, you are recommended to use an oral piece as well as lose weight to cure your obstructive sleep apnea.
What are the signs of OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea)
Earlier, it was mentioned that you may have noticed some of the signs by yourself. Here are 10 common signs of obstructive sleep apnea to help you confirm if you need to be properly diagnosed or not.
- Heavy snoring
- Maybe, it can be a sign of fatigue but snoring loudly and usually can be a sign of sleep apnea.
- Gasping for air during sleep
- The feeling of drowning without knowing it and suddenly you’re out of air.
- Insomnia
- Having trouble going to sleep because you have breathing problems that you may not notice
- This is also why we feel sick later on, the lack of sleep means lack of energy.
- Hypersomnia
- Having trouble staying awake in the morning because you were unable to sleep well due to your obstructive sleep apnea. We may also confuse sleepiness for sickness.
- Sudden weight gain or loss
- Obstructive sleep apnea can lead to uncontrolled weight gain or weight loss for some cases. It’s because
- Waking up with a headache
- Obstructive sleep apnea can disturb your body’s “charging” state. Since you can’t sleep well, your body will use energy for means that can help you breathe which may lead to headaches.
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- With obstructive sleep apnea, the person tends to snore and keep their mouth open when gasping for air which leads to a dried up mouth once we awaken.
- Decreased ability to focus
- Obstructive sleep apnea can give lack of sleep which will also result in difficulty to focus on anything
- Feeling uncomfortable
- Your lack of energy due to obstructive sleep apnea can make you feel uncomfortable and irritable without your knowledge
- Suddenly stop breathing during sleep
- Your housemates should notice this and tell you about it. Obstructive sleep apnea can disrupt breathing that may last for up to 10 seconds which is already risky.
In any case, it is important to get diagnosed for any complicated sleeping condition that you might have. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry.
What worsens OSA (obstructive sleep apnea)
There are certain factors that can make obstructive sleep apnea worse and become one’s cause of death. Some of these are natural factors that cannot be helped at all, but it’s important that you know about it.
- Obesity
- Can make breathing difficult even while asleep or not moving
- Hypothyroidism
- The condition wherein your body does not produce enough thyroid hormones, which is needed to control how to use energy received from food through metabolism. Bad metabolism can affect heartbeat and breathing.
- Acromegaly
- Opposite of hypothyroidism, acromegaly produces too much growth hormones which can affect your overall health including breathing.
- Allergies
- There are certain allergies that can worsen sleep apnea. Allergies that result with difficulty in breathing are the likes.
- Smoking cigarettes
- Excessive smoking can damage your body which may make it harder to function or relax properly, increasing the risk of sleep apnea
- Drinking liquor
- Too much liquor and drinking before going to sleep can cause sleep apnea.
- Drug usage
- Sedations or other types of drugs especially when being abused can result in sleep apnea or worse.
- Certain drugs, medications or such can worsen sleep apnea and lead to sudden death
- Being male
- Observations reveal that males tend to have sleep apnea more than females
- Though this factor cannot be avoided, knowing about it will help you understand the reason why you are prone to sleep apnea
- Being old
- Observations also revealed that older adults are more prone to sleep apnea than younger ones due to more complicated health issues that may trigger sleep apnea
Other natural causes of obstructive sleep apnea can be a thick neck, narrow throat and having a round head. Avoid triggering your allergies or get medications for other conditions to cure your sleep apnea.
When you don’t diagnose OSA (obstructive sleep apnea)
But what happens if you let it be? If you ignore obstructive sleep apnea, there are a few things that can happen and most of them are very dangerous so it is very important to get sleep tested for diagnosis.
Here are the risks posed by obstructive sleep apnea.
- Heart failure
- May lead to fatal conditions such as brain damages or even death
- Heart attack
- Can also be severely life-threatening
- Irregular heartbeat
- Worsens the ability to breathe
- Can trigger anxiety
- Can lead to other heart diseases
- Stroke
- Can leave permanent damage
- May lead to paralysis
- Can cause death
- Depression
- Not an easy condition to treat
- Can lead to self-harming
- Diabetes
- Leaves you prone to more heart attacks
- High Blood Pressure
- Aside from your physical health, this can also affect your mental health and relationship with people around you including your work
- Can lead to other life-threatening conditions
- Increases ADHD
- Sleep apnea reduces your ability to focus which is what happens when you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
- Having a lack of control to focus can lead to frustration and risk of other danger
- Headaches
- You may wake up with a bad headache which will lead to other problems listed here
- Can lead to brain problems
- Lack of daily energy
- Your energy will be reduced since you are unable to sleep well. This can lead to risky conditions that may put someone in danger
- Seizures
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
Related Questions
Can I drive with OSA?
Depending on your sleep clinic’s diagnosis for your OSA and how it can affect your daytime sleepiness or all around sleepiness, you may or may not be able to drive.
However, as long as your doctors officially give you the permission to drive, you can provide the medical details from your clinic to DVLA after declaring your OSA condition with them to help you continue driving.
You are required to declare your medical conditions such as OSA to DVLA for your own safety as well.
Does having sleep apnea qualify for disability?
Currently, sleep apnea does not have a disability listing but the SSA (Social Security Administration) have listings for breathing disorders, heart problems and mental deficits which sleep apnea can affect.
Meeting any one of those criteria can qualify a sleep apnea patient for disability benefits.
Will sleep apnea affect my travel insurance?
Sleep apnea only affects life and health insurance but travel insurance usually isn’t affected. However, if your sleep apnea is severe and causes you to get into accidents during travel or driving, it might become different.
