The Most Common Signs of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

What would be your situation if you experienced challenges breathing 30 times per hour while awake, resulting in losing your breath, choking, and coughing? You will likely rush to the emergency dental clinic near you in panic. However, approximately one in 15 people experience similar problems while they are asleep, suffering from the problem called sleep apnea.

Unfortunately, sleep apnea near you is generally undiagnosed because people experiencing apneic episodes are unaware of what they are confronting. People are clueless about this condition and don’t realize they are dealing with a severe sleep-related disorder.

Many become aware of the problem only when a bed partner or roommate observes your loud snoring and disrupted sleep. Unfortunately, many patients are referred to cardiologists and other medical specialists identifying some sleep apnea effects like heart disease and stroke. Recognizing the signs of sleep apnea can help you receive treatment before the associated health issues worsen.

The Familiar Signs of Sleep Apnea

You might not be aware that you have sleep apnea because you are sleeping or nearly asleep when it happens. However, there are some indicators you must watch out for. They are:

Sleepiness: You wake up tired regardless of how much sleep you had, feeling sleepy during the daytime and dozing off while driving vehicles.

Snoring: Your loud snoring wakes up your bed partner.

Gasping & Choking: Waking up with breathlessness gasping for air, or the sensation of choking is a sign of sleep apnea.

Feeling Awful after Waking up: Severe sore throats, dry throat and mouth, and morning headaches are associated with this condition.

Challenges Sleeping: Insomnia, waking up repeatedly, and feeling restless at night indicate you have sleep apnea. This problem is prevalent among women.

Cognitive Mood Changes: you might experience problems with your memory, anxiety, depression, and express loss of interest in sex.

There are two varieties of sleep apnea in Laguna Beach. They are obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea results from complete or partial blockage of the airway. Risk factors of OSA include being male, overweight and over 40, and having a large neck besides tonsils. In addition, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a family history of sleep apnea, and national obstruction are also risks of obstructive sleep apnea in many people.

Central sleep apnea results from the nerves controlling the breathing rhythm failing to transmit signals to your breathing muscles. People using opioids and other medications or have heart failure or experienced strokes earlier are at risk of central sleep apnea.

What Happens When You Are Affected by Sleep Apnea?

Recognizing obstructive sleep apnea and receiving treatment for the condition is incredibly important. The problem can cause heart disease, stroke, and vehicular accidents if left untreated.

Associated problems of obstructive sleep apnea include heart failure, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cognitive issues, headaches, and arrhythmia.

The treatment options for sleep apnea depend on the severity of the symptoms and the sleep apnea type affecting you. If you have severe OSA, you find relief from a CPAP device requiring you to wear a mask when sleeping every night. You must also follow up with your sleep medicine specialist for regular monitoring if you are advised of a CPAP machine for relief from this problem.

If you have mild or moderate obstructive sleep apnea, you can contact the dentist in Laguna Beach, providing dental appliances to wear when sleeping to reposition your tongue and jaw or nasal devices. However, before receiving the treatment from the dentist, you must have yourself diagnosed by a sleep medicine specialist undergoing the polysomnography test to determine the severity of the condition affecting you.

If the Laguna Beach dentist advises dental appliances, you cannot consider purchasing over-the-counter devices because they are not designed for treating sleep apnea. Instead, you benefit better by having a customized device fabricated for you by the dentist and need regular monitoring by the professional to ensure the dental appliance is functioning appropriately and you are getting the desired relief.

Although the CPAP device is considered the gold standard for treating severe obstructive sleep apnea because advanced technology enables sleep physicians to monitor every breath you take when sleeping when using the CPAP device from home using Internet-based systems, oral appliances are better tolerated by people because of their portability and ease of use. Mild to moderate sleep apnea symptoms are comfortably treated by dental appliances provided by dentists after customizing them for your mouth.

If you think you have sleep apnea, discuss the problem with Laguna Family Dentistry providing dental appliances to overcome the condition. However, please do not leave the situation untreated because it causes additional life-threatening issues. Instead, treat yourself with this practice to overcome sleep apnea before your condition worsens.