Can't Stand Your CPAP Machine? Are There Less Invasive Alternatives To Help Treat Your Sleep Apnea?
Posted on: 19 January 2016
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If you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea and given a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to help maintain your airway in an open position throughout the night, you may find your sleep quality hasn't improved as much as expected due to the noise and disruption caused by your CPAP mask. Are there any equally effective (but less intrusive) options to help you breathe easier at night? Read on to learn more about the probable causes of your sleep apnea, as well as what you can do to control or treat this condition without compromising your quality of sleep.
What causes sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a type of breathing disorder that often affects those who are overweight or have a restricted airway (such as former smokers). When you fall asleep, your muscles -- including the muscles in your throat -- relax. While those without sleep apnea are able to continue breathing even with fully relaxed throat muscles, others may have any excess throat tissue fall backwards, blocking your airway and causing you to wake up. Those with severe sleep apnea may go through this cycle hundreds of times each night. Because each of these disruptive cycles last only a second or two, you likely won't even remember waking up.
Over time, untreated sleep apnea can lead to some significant health problems -- increasing your risk of heart attack, stroke, or even falling asleep behind the wheel. Because of this, it's important to seek medical advice and to continue to try treatment options if the first one doesn't work out.
What are some non-invasive treatment options for sleep apnea?
If you're not able to wear your CPAP mask reliably, you may want to try something less noisy or invasive. Fortunately, there are some options that shouldn't disrupt your normal routine and will allow you to get more (and better-quality) sleep to improve your health.
Oral appliance therapy may be your next stop after rejecting your CPAP machine. The oral appliance is a type of mouthguard that helps keep your throat tissues in place to prevent them from collapsing into your airway after you've fallen asleep. These mouthguards are custom-fitted and fairly unobtrusive -- after the first night or two, you probably won't even notice it. For those who tend to grind their teeth during the nighttime hours, an oral appliance can also help protect the enamel on your teeth from permanent damage.
To learn more about sleep apnea, contact a dental office like Sunshine Dentistry.