Not being able to sleep is a challenging state of life! It can result in various mental health and self-esteem issues. Today, several people suffer from sleep apnea, because of which they cannot lead a balanced life. People who are aware that they might be suffering from this ailment should get in touch with a reputed clinic and get treated at the earliest.
Understanding sleep apnea
Simply put, sleep apnea is when the patient doesn’t breathe during their sleep for a small period of time. It means these people don’t have adequate oxygen flow. It makes them gasp for breath and wake up. Most people don’t even know that they aren’t breathing. Until they get medically diagnosed with this ailment, they feel that they are witnessing the normal sleep cycle.
There are times sleep apnea might appear like snoring. It can lead to several health issues and leave you unhealthy. Some of the conditions that it gives rise to include the following:
- It leads to mental health problems
- Result in memory loss
- Result in poor immune function
- It increases the scope for a heart failure
- Extreme irritation and anxiety for not being able to sleep
Most people need to get in touch with a doctor who deals in Ear Nose Throat, Head & Neck Surgery to treat this ailment. Usually, the standard treatment comprises medication, breathing devices, and surgery in rare cases. That aside, you should also make a couple of lifestyle changes as that can enhance the life quality of life to a considerable extent.
Understanding the medical diagnosis
Today, doctors judge patients based on their symptoms and signs. Additionally, they also check their sleep history. It can enable the doctor to know the probable cause of sleep apnea and come up with the best solution. Chances are, the doctor will ask you to visit the sleep disorder centre. Here a sleep specialist will decide if you need added check-ups and medical tests.
Usually, the evaluation includes an overnight sleep monitoring of the breathing and other body functions. Today, there is also an option for home sleep testing. The other test that gets used here is the Nocturnal polysomnography. During this test, the patient gets hooked to a particular device that checks the brain, heart, and lung activity. It also assesses the leg movements and breathing patterns. It is also essential to check the oxygen level in the blood while you are sleeping.
Lastly, the doctors also recommend home sleep tests to specific patients to check if they have sleep apnea or not. All these tests check the blood oxygen level and heart rate and assess the breathing patterns and airflow in the body.
After all the tests, if your doctor thinks the results are not normal, they will suggest the required medication and therapy. The portable monitoring devices might not be able to detect every sleep apnea case. It is possible that your doctor might tell you about polysomnography despite the average outcomes being normal.