|
What’s alarming is that people with obstructive sleep
apnea are not aware that they sleep poorly. Dr. Hernandez
suggests that if you experience excessive daytime sleepiness,
loud snoring, abrupt awakenings accompanied by shortness
of breath, awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat, morning
headache, and difficulty staying asleep, you should submit
yourself for checkup right away.
“Obstructive
sleep apnea could affect anyone, although it is most common
in overweight people. Falling asleep during the day not
only decreases your work productivity, it could also cause
fatal accidents, particularly to those who drive or whose
work involves machines. And because you’re lacking
oxygen while you sleep, this could give rise to medical
problems like hypertension, or can lead to sudden death
from a cardiac event,” explained Dr. Hernandez.
Sleeping on the job? You may have sleep apnea!
To
know if you’re suffering from obstructive sleep
apnea, an ENT (ears, nose and throat) doctor would usually
make an evaluation based on your signs and symptoms. Treatment
also differs depending on what causes blockage in the
air passages and age of the patient.
“At Asian Hospital, we offer comprehensive
analysis and treatment procedures to help sleep apnea
sufferers. Patient care is also guaranteed with the hospital’s
highly qualified otorhinolaryngologists and state-of-the-art
medical facilities,” said Dr. Hernandez.
Asian Hospital provides a range of treatments
geared towards reducing socially unacceptable snoring
to treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. This range from
the non-invasive, minimally invasive up to more involved
surgical therapies.
For snoring, simpler procedures such as
clearing the nasal passage by straightening the septum
(septoplasty), reducing the size of the turbinates (radiofrequency
turbinoplasty) or removing obstructions (endoscopic surgery
for nasal polyps) are available. If the palate is the
main source of snoring then the latest wave in minimally
invasive management is also offered. The Pillar Palatal
Implants provide stiffness to the soft palate to reduce
noisy breathing at night. Although implants are inserted
into the palate, there is no downtime making it an attractive
option for busy patients.
For frank sleep apnea, positive airway
pressure treatment is advised. This is a device that blows
air into the patient through a mask over the nose that
eliminates episodes of shallow breathing and obstruction.
However, for those who do not find this appealing, surgical
options are available. This may be in the form of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
(removal of excess tissue in the throat), tonsillectomy
with or without adenoidectomy, genioglossus advancement
(pulling the tongue forward by tethering it to the back
of the chin), and maxillomandibular advancement (moving
the upper and lower jaws forward).
To
know more about sleep apnea treatment, call any of the
Ear, Nose and Throat specialists at Asian Hospital and
Medical Center at 771-9000 to 02.
|
