Disolwer

In your dream, you are running and running. Someone is behind you, chasing you. Your heart beats painfully as you run, trying to evade your tormentor. But he is gaining! And just as his hands close around your neck, you woke up from the nightmare, with a pounding heart. It does seem like a bad dream but if this happens often during a night’s slumber coupled with stopped breathing, then this may be a case of sleep apnea.

An extreme incidence of snoring can make a person’s breathing stop; this is known as sleep apnea – or what is called an apneic spell in one’s slumber. Sleep apnea can vary in gravity – ranging from mild, moderate, to acute; it would all depend on the number of times that apneic spells occurs while a person is deep in slumber. The nightmare effect of someone chasing an individual is a very common symptom across all instances of sleep apnea.

Grumpiness and drowsiness during the day are other symptoms of sleep apnea; these are caused by the poor quality of sleep of the person. Many people will also feel extreme exhaustion during the day, and will wonder why they are so exhausted; this fatigue is caused by their poor quality of sleep. There is also the lack of concentration, lack of sexual drive and sometimes depression. People who suffer from sleep apnea are also prone to or have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and heart diseases, making them very vulnerable to strokes.

So how do we treat sleep apnea? There are numerous methods of treating sleep apnea. One conservative method necessitates a drastic change in lifestyle and habits: lessening one’s alcohol intake and reducing weight. Another is curing any allergy or sinusitis first as this can block the air passage when breathing through the nose during sleep and, hence, may trigger the start of snoring. For severe cases of sleep apnea, an individual may opt to undergo surgical procedure to remedy the disorder.

Surgical procedures performed in the nose, the palate, the tongue, or through the trachea are various ways to cure sleep apnea. A consultation with your ENT specialist is recommended to determine which treatment is best. Thus, even with sleep apnea, there is still hope for the sufferer. There are still ways to get to that happy, sweet dreamland we all wish for.

Consult a qualified ENT specialist Singapore for your hearing loss and cough problems.