Sleep Disorder - Sleep Apnea

Hello,

I am Dr. Manav Manchanda, Pulmonologist. Today I will talk about sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep disorders are very common in our population. Or 10% of the population has this problem at some point in life. Obstructive sleep apnea is a very common form of sleep disorder. The risk factors for having the problem of obstructive sleep apnea is basically when the person is overweight, thick neck circumference, or hen he has increased the alcohol intake or when he is a heavy smoker. These are the common risk factors that the patient develops. Now the common symptoms that these patients are present to us is patient with day time sleepiness. Sometimes, the problem is so severe that he is driving the care and he sleeps off. This can lead to fatal accidents.

Spouse also complaints that the patient has the problem of snoring loud and because of the spouse is not able to sleep. This is the problem when the patient or the spouse usually complaints or when the patient comes to us. Now the common problem that these patients lands up into like diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, brain stroke, loss of daily activities and the sedentary lifestyle. How do we test this out? We do a procedure called a sleep study. Mosty these patients are subjected to sleep study in the hospital where we have machines which test out the disorders. It is like an ECG machine where we can test out the patient's problem. It can be done at home also, but we always prefer to do in the hospital. We test the snoring activity, the limb, the leg movements, the activity of the brain and the eyes and the activity of the muscles. If we see any problem then we prescribe various therapies to the patient. Why this problem is causing so much strain on the body?

The sleep is the function of the body which is very important to give rest to all the organs. So, when the patient is not sleeping properly, the patient is suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. Oxygen goes into the body is very less. That gives a lot of stress on all the organs of the body. So, the function of the body is to give rest to the body. So, what is the treatment for this problem? The treatment is consist of lifestyle modification. And most of the important component in weight loss. Every patient should be asked to do any regular activity. If you are drinking or smoking so these should be stopped completely. Next is the role of the C-Pap Machine. It is the common device which is offered to these patients of obstructive sleep apnea. It is a device with a mask. After the application of this mask, the oxygen goes properly. This machine comes in small size and very compatible to carry around. Mask can also be chosen by patient comfort. In a nutshell, I will say that this is a very common disorder. I hope my talk will increase the awareness among the general population.

Thank You.