No one enjoys long days caused by sleepless nights. How many people have to endure long days because of sleepless nights? The answer is 30 percent of males. Do you wonder why? The answer is late-night snoring that causes nights to become unnoticeable yet sleepless. Around 30 percent of males suffer from some sort of sleep apnea. There are two types of sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Central sleep apnea is when your brain stem does not tell your breathing muscles to function properly. The brain stem is a section of your brain that connects to your spinal cord. There are several medical conditions that can cause this type of sleep apnea. Strokes, heart attacks, and congestive heart failure are all examples of conditions that could possibly lead to central sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea is where breathing repeatedly stops for a few seconds during sleep. This causes a decrease in oxygen levels in the blood and often awakens one during sleep. The most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is obesity. This is because the fat and muscle around the throat and tongue become relaxed during sleep and blocks the passageways of airflow.
Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) is one treatment for obstructive and central sleep apnea. CPAP provides a steady flow of air pressure in your airways. It is a mask worn over the nose and mouth delivering pressurized air throughout the night. Here at the Shea Clinic Ear Nose & Throat we also offer injection palatoplasty. This is just injecting a sclerosing agent into the soft palate, this causes scar tissue to stiffen so that it does not flutter as air passes by. The postoperative is painless and the procedure takes only 30 minutes under local anesthesia.
Our patients have been gratified to know about these simple procedures, which have helped them so much. Please give us a call at 901-761-9720 and let us know if you would like additional information.