Do you snore? Does your partner snore? Does your child snore? Chances are, there is someone in your family who is known to snore. The sound of snoring occurs when the structures in the back of the throat flutter during breathing. It can be harmless, the result of being overly tired after a long day at work. It can be medication induced. Snoring may occur from simply being overweight. It may, however, be the sign of a more dangerous disease called obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is an illness defined by pauses in a patient’s breathing, or shallow breathing, during sleep. These pauses can occur only a few times per hour, or they may occur over one hundred times an hour. Typically, the disease is first picked up by a spouse or family member. They notice pauses in breathing patterns lasting anywhere from a few seconds to over thirty seconds at a time. These pauses are usually followed by gasping noises and a return to the normal snoring pattern. This usually occurs during deep phases of sleep and cause the patient to awaken slightly into a more shallow phase of sleep or awaken altogether to a conscious state to catch their breath.
This pattern of alternating levels of sleep depth occurs many times per hour during each night’s sleep. Subsequently adults may feel tired the next day, despite thinking they had a full night’s sleep. They may fall asleep at work or while driving, doze off at meetings, or just lack energy during the daytime. In children, they may lack exercise tolerance and also feel tired. A paradoxical response may also occur. Children with sleep apnea may present with hyperactivity. Their tired state usually leads to attention problems and an inability to focus at school. Thus they may become hyperactive, because they do not have the energy to focus.
If left undiagnosed or untreated for months to years, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to significant lung and heart problems. It increases the risk for an abnormal heart rhythm, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, lung scarring, and obesity. Sleep apnea is a common disease and is often misdiagnosed or just missed altogether. It is estimated that 18 million people (1 in 15, or 6% of the population) suffer from sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea can be diagnosed by a primary care physician or pediatrician, a lung specialist, or specialist sleep medicine doctor. However, only an otolaryngologist (ENT), can both provide the diagnosis, and implement all treatment options (including surgery). An ENT physician can determine if surgery can cure (or greatly improve) the sleep apnea, or if alternative non-surgical treatment is necessary. Simply taking out tonsils and adenoids may be the only treatment necessary in certain patients with sleep apnea. Non-surgical treatment may include a mask to be worn at night, an oral appliance, weight loss, etc
About the Author:
Dr. Ramez Habib, M.D. F.A.C.S. is an otolaryngologist (Ear Nose and Throat) doctor with Otolaryngology Associates in Brooklyn, New York. To determine if you or a family member may be suffering from this disease or to receive information or treatment options for sleep apnea or just plain snoring call one of his state-of-the art ENT facilities. Other board certified speciality physicians in this practice are: Mohsen A. Habib, M.D., F.R.C.S, F.A.C.S, Christopher Song, M.D., F.R.C.S, F.A.C.S., and Francisca Yao, M.D.
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