Diagnosing Your Sleep Apnea Part One
Posted on | December 14, 2009 | No Comments
Acknowledging that you are suffering from sleep apnea can be difficult as patients are often unaware that they are waking up in the night, only noticing the tiredness that comes as a result. Once that’s done however, it’s important to realise that there are different forms and severities of apnea.
Sleep apnea comes in three forms, and recognising the form you’re suffering from is crucial to be able to correctly treat and ease the condition. Likewise realising the severity of the particular case can help find the most prudent cause of action.
The two main causes of sleep apnea are blockages in the nasal passage or trachea which make breathing difficult (obstructive sleep apnea); and malfunction in the brain that causes the patient to ‘forget’ to breath (central sleep apnea). The third type is simply a combination of these two effects (mixed sleep apnea).
Obstructive apnea describes the vast majority of cases and can be recognised by heavy snoring. Often the cause of obstructive apnea is obesity, though it can also be triggered by sinus problems or other blockages such as a deviated septum. The severity of this form of apnea will most likely be related to the severity of the problem triggering it.
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