Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) includes lifestyle changes, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) (to prevent the airway from closing during sleep), the use of dental devices (oral breathing devices) to help keep your airway open, medicine to help you stay awake during the day, and surgery. The goals of treatment are to relieve symptoms such as snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness and prevent other problems, such as high blood pressure. Your doctor will base your treatment on how severe your sleep apnea is.
In general, your doctor will have you try lifestyle changes and CPAP first. Surgery might be a first choice only if the sleep apnea is caused by a blockage that is easily fixed.
You may need to be treated for other health problems before you are treated for sleep apnea. For example, people who also have inflammation of the nasal passages (rhinitis) may need to use nose spray to reduce the inflammation. People who have an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) need to take thyroid medicine.
Children have the same treatment options as adults. But surgery (tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy) typically is the first choice because enlarged tonsils or adenoids cause most cases of sleep apnea in children. If surgery is not possible or does not work, children are treated using CPAP.
The first treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) consists of making lifestyle changes. Your sleep apnea may be helped if you:
All people who have sleep apnea should make these lifestyle changes. They may be all that is needed to relieve mild sleep apnea.
Some people use nasal strips, which widen the nostrils and improve airflow. Although these strips may decrease snoring, they cannot treat sleep apnea.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is nearly always the first medical treatment for sleepapnea.
Other medical treatment includesoral breathing devices. These devices reposition your tongue and jaw duringsleep, which opens up your airways.
Surgery might be thefirst treatment only when a blockage can be fixed easily,such as when you have overly large tonsils.
Ongoing treatment forobstructivesleep apnea (OSA) includes usingcontinuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or anoral breathing device and making changes in your lifestyle. Lifestyle changesinclude losing weight (if needed), improving sleep habits (such as sleeping onyour side and waking up at the same time every morning),avoiding the use of alcohol and certain medicines (especially sleeping pillsandsedatives) before bed, and stopping smoking. Sometimesmedicine to help you stay awake during the day is used along with CPAP.
If CPAP is not working, you may needanothersleep study to find out whether your CPAP machineneeds to be adjusted. You may also need to think about surgery. Surgicalchoices include:
If your obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) gets worse, talk to your doctor. You may need another complete sleep study, and you may need to adjust your continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. You may be able to take medicine to help you stay awake during the day. You may also need treatment for problems that sleep apnea may cause, such as high blood pressure.
In some cases, you may need surgery. Surgical options include:
Research shows that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) decreases daytime sleepiness, especially in people who have moderate to severe sleep apnea.1, 9 But CPAP may not work as well for people who have mild sleep apnea.9
CPAP can lower daytime and nighttime blood pressure.10
If you use CPAP to treat sleep apnea, you need to use it every night. If you do not use it, your symptoms will return right away.
Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in people with coronary artery disease lowers the risk of some heart problems.11
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: July 9, 2009 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Mark A. Rasmus, MD - Pulmonology, Critical Care Medicine, Sleep Medicine | |
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