Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a temporary loss of oxygen to the body. A patient with apnea snores, followed by several or even two-minute breaks in breathing, ending with a greedy gasp. Apnea leads to chronic hypoxia in the body. In the vast majority of cases, the cause of apnea is obesity and the patient must start leading a healthy lifestyle. Special CPAP dentures are also helpful. This is basically a sleep apnea mask that the patient puts on at night. The apparatus forces air into the mouth with increased pressure, making it easier for the patient to breathe. Modern devices can be equipped with, among others, air humidifiers, thanks to which the patient does not have the feeling of a dry throat after waking up. Sleep apnea must be diagnosed by a doctor. If a patient is diagnosed with sleep apnea, he or she may apply for reimbursement of the cost of purchasing a CPAP device from the Polish National Health Fund and several other institutions. CPAP devices are also available on the market in the auto CPAP version, which supplies exactly as much oxygen as the patient needs.
Further possibilities
Snoring can also be caused by several other body conditions that must be checked by your doctor. A very popular cause of snoring is also a deviated nasal septum, an overgrowth of the base of the tongue, an excessively flaccid or elongated soft palate, an enlarged turbinate or tonsils. Depending on the diagnosed cause of snoring, the patient is referred to the appropriate treatment to correct the defect. It can be surgery, but also laser surgery, injection and many other treatments.
