Pascagoula Sleep Apnea Guide: Causes, Dangers, and How to Find Relief

People with sleep apnea often experience long-term health issues like excessive daytime drowsiness, which can be dangerous in certain situations. In the worst cases, it can lead to accidents and problems with work and family responsibilities.

Medical conditions like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease increase your risk of having obstructive Sleep Apnea Pascagoula. Other risk factors include being male, being overweight and age.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea involves a blockage in the airway, restricting oxygen flow to the brain. This causes people to stop and start breathing repeatedly throughout the night. People with obstructive sleep apnea often snore and are tired, fatigued and irritable during the day.

This type of sleep apnea can result in heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure and obesity. It can also impact cognitive function, leading to memory problems and depression. Children with obstructive sleep apnea may have poor school performance and behavior issues.

Treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea include weight loss, changing lifestyle habits, treating underlying health conditions and surgery. One common procedure is a jaw surgery known as maxillomandibular advancement. This moves the upper and lower portions of the jaw forward compared to the rest of the facial bones, which can help enlarge the space behind the tongue and soft palate. Other procedures involve reducing the size of the tonsils, somnoplasty (radiofrequency energy) and a hypoglossal nerve stimulator.

Central Sleep Apnea

When central Sleep Apnea Pascagoula is present, the brainstem is not sending signals to breathing muscles. This can be due to spinal cord injuries, heart disease, stroke, and other medical conditions. When CSA is present, there are episodes of abnormal breathing that cause drops in blood oxygen levels. This can lead to a bluish appearance of the skin, a condition called cyanosis.

Most cases of CSA occur as a complication of another health issue or medication/drug use. Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, which is generally self-limiting, CSA is usually more severe and requires treatment.

Bed partners or family members often first notice pauses in breathing. Your doctor will perform a physical exam and ask about your medical history to determine if you have symptoms of CSA. Your doctor may also order an overnight sleep study, called polysomnography, to confirm a diagnosis. These studies will help your doctor find the underlying cause of your CSA and recommend a treatment.

Treatment Options

If you have symptoms of sleep apnea, such as feeling tired even after a good night’s sleep or excessive daytime sleepiness, talk to your doctor. They may refer you to a sleep specialist. You may need to undergo testing, such as an overnight sleep study (polysomnogram), to get a diagnosis.

If you have obstructive Sleep Apnea Pascagoula, you may benefit from treatment, such as using a continuous positive airway pressure machine. Other treatments include weight loss, avoiding alcohol and sedatives before sleeping, changing medications, nasal surgery, oral appliances or jaw surgery, adjusting your position while asleep, or exercises to strengthen your face and mouth muscles. Supplemental oxygen, CPAP alternatives and hypoglossal nerve stimulation are also options. Treating any associated medical problems might improve your symptoms and prevent complications and death from heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure. Follow-up visits are important to monitor your progress.