ANCSLEEP BLOG

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that affects many people. It is characterized by many pauses in breathing throughout the night that cause your body to wake up to begin breathing again. These cessations are caused by a blockage to your airway, most likely by a large tongue that has slid to the back of your mouth, or by the relaxation of the muscles in the back of your throat. 

This narrowing of space makes it hard for you to breathe and can lead to snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, and feeling like you did not get enough rest. OSA can also lead to hypertension, obesity, heart disease, and many other diseases. It is more common in men, those with larger neck circumferences, overweight/obese individuals, and those who smoke. 

The current standard treatment for OSA is a continuous positive airway pressure, or a CPAP machine. It blows air to stop the muscles in the back of your throat from collapsing so that way you continue breathing throughout the night. Even though it can provide immense relief, it still comes with its fair share of side effects. Continue reading to learn about what to expect with a CPAP. 

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects nearly a billion people in the world. It is a sleep disorder that involves cessations of breathing throughout the night. These pauses can significantly disrupt sleep, leading to excessive daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, and other health issues. 

The mainstay treatment for OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) which is a large mask that fits over the nose and mouth and provides enough pressure to keep the airway from collapsing. Due to the size of the CPAP machine, and the tubes and discomfort, many individuals may choose to not use a CPAP, which can worsen and prolong their disease. 

However, new technology may offer something a little more comfortable: Micro CPAP. We are going to review what they are and how they work so you can talk with your doctor to see if it's the best option for you. 

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a machine used for those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is a sleep disorder that is characterized by multiple cessations in breathing throughout the night. OSA can have negative consequences like excessive daytime sleepiness, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. It's important to be properly diagnosed using a sleep study, or a polysomnography, and then treated with a CPAP. 

CPAP therapy provides significant relief to those with OSA. Untreated individuals often gasp and choke while trying to breathe. CPAP delivers enough pressurized air to help sleepers breathing passages remain open. THis can significantly reduce sleep apnea symptoms, but can cause some side effects like dry mouth.

Humidifiers for your CPAP can reduce some of these negative issues. Some models even have built-in humidifiers to make it easier. It's important to take care of your CPAP by using the proper water. Is that tap, or is distilled the best? Continue reading for more information about why distilled is the best water to use in your humidifier. 

For those of you who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine on a nightly basis, you may be considering whether or not to purchase a CPAP cleaner. CPAP, short for continuous positive airway pressure, is a type of therapy used to treat breathing problems that occur as a result of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Because those diagnosed with the disorder experience segments of breathing cessation during sleep, CPAP machines have been known to successfully keep the airway open by gently blowing pressurized air through the airway. This constant pressure keeps the throat from collapsing.

After someone with sleep apnea has participated in a sleep study, and has been told that he or she would benefit from CPAP therapy, the individual must obtain a CPAP machine. Once the individual has learned how to operate it, results are best achieved if the machine is used on a nightly basis.

As a result of the frequent use of the CPAP machine, knowing how to keep the device clean is of the utmost importance. Not sanitizing your CPAP machine could have dangerous side effects. Continue reading to learn more about how to keep you CPAP clean and functioning.

If you are one of the 22 million Americans that suffer from sleep apnea, it is likely that you own a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine. CPAP therapy has positively impacted hundreds of thousands of patients who have experienced life-changing results as result of a better night's sleep.

If you have a CPAP machine, your sleep consultant has likely taught you how to use it. However, many people who own CPAP machines do not know how to properly care for their device. Some individuals who don't know who to clean their equipment properly are at risk for potential dangers such as:

• Exposure to bacteria
• Exposure to mold
• Developing allergy symptoms
• Catching pneumonia
• Being at risk for sinus infections

Therefore, knowing exactly how and when to clean your CPAP machine is of the utmost importance for your health.