Positive airway pressure (PAP) is one of the most common treatments for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that affects 3 to 7% of the population. Positive airway pressure is a way to offset the breathing difficulties that these patients have throughout the night. There are two types of machines that can assist with sleep apnea treatments. One is called a CPAP and the other is called a BiPAP. We are going to talk about the difference between these two and which one to use in which situations. 

What is CPAP Therapy?

CPAP therapy is a treatment  that is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes you to repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night. With OSA, you stop breathing because your throat muscles relax, your airway becomes obstructed, and you to stop breathing. Each time this happens - which is many times throughout the night - you rouse to begin breathing again. Each time this cycle happens (stop breathing/waking) is referred to as an “apnea event” or apnea.

Be comfortable with CPAP Therapy

CPAP is often scary for people who are concerned they have obstructive sleep apnea (or have already been diagnosed with it). After all, it doesn’t exactly look comfortable. People who already use it sometimes struggle with ensuring that their CPAP is effective. Let’s look at the main ideas behind:

• What a CPAP is
• What CPAP therapy is used for
• How to keep your CPAP effective
• How to maintain your CPAP
• Additional CPAP Tips

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?

Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition and sleeping disorder where you repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night, anywhere from 5 to 30+ times per hour. Each time you stop breathing you rouse yourself out of sleep to begin breathing again, though in the morning you will not remember waking up.

Your airway becomes obstructed because the breathing muscles in the back of your throat relax, causing the back of your throat to collapse fully or partially, blocking your airways. Each blockage/arousal cycle is called an apnea or apnea event.

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?

Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition and sleeping disorder where you repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night, anywhere from 5 to 30+ times per hour. Each time you stop breathing you rouse yourself out of sleep to begin breathing again, though in the morning you will not remember rousing.

What is a CPAP Machine

A CPAP device/machine, or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, is a small, rectangular box with a motorized fan inside and an adjacent humidifier. It is the primary tool used in CPAP therapy and is considered the gold standard for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Be Comfortable With a CPAP

A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is often scary for people who are concerned they have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or have already been diagnosed with it. After all, it doesn’t exactly look comfortable. People who already use it sometimes struggle with ensuring that their CPAP is effective.

Let’s look at the main ideas behind:

• What a CPAP is
• What CPAP therapy is used for
• How to keep your CPAP effective
• How to maintain your CPAP
• Additional CPAP Tips

What is CPAP Therapy?

CPAP therapy is a treatment path that is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition and sleeping disorder that causes your throat muscles to relax, your airway to become obstructed (by your tongue or tonsils), and you to stop breathing and subsequently rouse many throughout the night – each time this happens is sometimes referred to as an “apnea event” or apnea.

What is a CPAP Machine?

A CPAP device/machine stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. CPAP is considered the gold standard of obstructive sleep apnea treatments and in ensuring you are breathing (and sleeping!) continuously throughout the night.

For individuals diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea who use a CPAP machine on a daily basis, common issues arise that may interfere with quality of therapy. Especially for individuals who are about to or have just started using a CPAP device, typical problems that CPAP machine users run into are important to know about.