Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment, and Symptoms – The OSA is different from sleep apnea, although it can both make a person pause to breathe while asleep. Here’s how to handle it.
Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by airway obstruction that causes the breath to pause, both in total and partial. As a result, people will be deprived of oxygen and repeatedly awake, even waking up feeling suffocated.
Obstructive sleep apnea is generally more common in men than women. Keep in mind, this sleep disorder can strike all ages. The question is, how does obstructive sleep apnea deal with?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Before knowing how to deal with obstructive sleep apnea, it is good to get acquainted first with the symptoms. OSA sufferers may experience some complaints, such as:
- The mouth feels dry and sore throat when waking up.
- Concentration is impaired.
- Depression.
- Hypertension.
- Memory is declining.
- Sleepy.
- Personality changes.
- Headaches during the day.
- Snore loudly for a long time almost every day.
- Fatigue, drowsiness all day.
- Choke, or gasp while sleeping.
What needs to be confirmed, there could be other obstructive sleep apnea signs that are not mentioned above. Therefore, try discussing with the doctor if experiencing the above symptoms.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment At Home
- Weight loss techniques
- Healthy lifestyle changes.
- Side sleeping position.
- Lift the head of the bed
- Play Didgeridoo.
- Oral or dental equipment.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment Options
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) management is divided into two nonsurgical and surgical therapies. OSA management is adjusted based on the patient’s Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI).
Non surgical therapy can be the use of continuous positive pressure (CPAP), oral appliance therapy, and medicines. While surgical therapy aims to correct abnormalities in the anatomical structure of the upper airways and volume. Until now CPAP was the main therapeutic choice used for OSA.
Nonsurgical Therapy
The procedures that can be administered to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients are CPAP, oral appliance therapy, as well as the use of a combination of Domperidone and pseudoephedrine drugs. However, CPAP is still the primary choice of therapy for OSA.
- Continuous Positive Pressure (CPAP)
CPAP is a pneumatic support tool that can maintain patency by increasing upper airway pressure. This tool works by applying positive pressure through a nasal or an oronasal mask during sleep hours. The positive pressure exerted is adjusted to the degree of OSA, and the positive pressure required is higher in patients with apnea that appears during rapid eye movement (REM), in the supine position, or in patients with severe obesity.
Efficacy of CPAP usually only begins to be felt after 2-7 days. CPAP is indicated in patients with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) >15 and AHI <15 accompanied by diurnal symptoms of hypersomnolence, impaired cognition, mood disorders, or accompanied by hypertension and coronary artery disease.
- Oral Appliance Therapy.
Oral appliance therapy is an alternative therapy other than CPAP. There are two types of oral appliance therapy: mandibular advancement devices and tongue retaining devices.
Mandibular advancement devices can maintain the patient’s jaw to position forward and open the airway. Tongue retaining devices keep the tongue from falling backwards and opening the airway. But mandibular advancement devices are more effective than tongue retaining devices.
- Drug Administration.
In addition to CPAP and lifestyle modification, there is a study conducted by Larrain, et al. Which states that the drug combination between Domperidone and pseudoephedrine is beneficial in the therapy of OSA patients. The combination of the two drugs is still rarely used in daily practice, but it is reported to reduce snoring, drowsiness, episodes of apnea, and oxygen desaturation during sleep.
The therapy given is Domperidone 10 mg with pseudoephedrine sulfate 60 mg for 3-5 nights. However, scientific evidence related to the use of a combination of these two drugs is still limited, so it must be studied further.
Surgery
Surgical therapy in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients aims to correct abnormalities in the anatomical structure of the upper airways. However, not all patients with OSA need to undergo surgery. The following are indications of surgical therapy.
Indications of surgical procedures in OSA are:
- Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) ≥ 20 times per hour
- Oxygen Saturation <90%
- Esophageal pressure below -10 cmH2O
- There are cardiovascular disorders such as arrhythmia and hypertension
- Neuropsychiatric symptoms
- Failure with non-surgical therapy
- Anatomical abnormalities in airway obstruction.
Types of surgery that can be performed in patients with OSA are
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPP),
- Laser-assisted uvuloplasty (LAUP),
- Radio frequency palate ablation (RA) and
- Tracheostomy.
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