Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition of cessation of breathing for a few seconds during sleep. OSA can occur when the upper airway is closed while efforts to breathe continue. In general, when we sleep, all in a state of relaxation / rest, here included respiratory muscles from the tongue, palate especially the soft palate (soft palate) so that the upper respiratory tract is relatively narrow.

Extreme narrowing of the airways due to various reasons will result in disruption of the air flow during sleep, degrees ranging from the mildest to severe. Generally, narrowing of mild upper respiratory tract is characterized by snoring during sleep, up to severe narrowing of the cessation of breathing during sleep (OSA).

After a few moments sleep without breathing (generally 10 seconds up to 2 minutes), the brain responds to conditions of oxygen deficiency in the body with awake / choking reflex which sometimes OSA sufferer himself did not realize it. These disorders can occur in such a weight (waking many times in one night) thus resulting in poor sleep quality.

OSA Symptoms

Symptoms are often experienced by patients with OSA is generally attributable to poor sleep quality, such as:

·         Excessive drowsiness during the day

·         Snore / snoring during sleep

·         Stop breathing during sleep

·         frequent waking during sleep due to choking

Other symptoms which are also associated with OSA include:

·         Memory loss / forgetfulness

·         Decline in intellectual abilities (cognitive)

·         Decreased sexual desire

·         Depression

·         Headaches in the morning (after waking up)

The Cause of OSA

Most cases of OSA are believed to be caused by:

·         Old age (natural or premature),

·         Brain injury (temporary or permanent),

·         Decreased muscle tone,

·         Increased soft tissue around the airway (sometimes due to obesity), and

·         Structural features that cause airway narrowing.

Diseases allegedly caused by OSA:

·         Hypertension

·         Coronary heart disease

·         Stroke

·         Metabolic syndrome (metabolic syndrome)

·         Depression

Management of OSA

The purpose of handling / treatment of OSA would prevent the symptoms of OSA and the impact of OSA such as snoring itself, excessive daytime sleepiness and prevent the continued impact of the body such as the risk of high blood pressure and other diseases. Management of OSA covers:

·         Lifestyle changes including weight loss, exercises, sleep modification techniques (sleep facing side, raises a pillow), avoid smoking, alcohol, sleeping drugs and stress.

·         CPAP (continuous positive airway presure), is a device worn during sleep where the function is to provide positive air pressure into the airway during sleep, so there is no airway obstruction.

·         Dental devices/oral breathing devices, which aims to keep the airway open during sleep by realignment the positions of your tongue and chin.

·         Drugs which help to keep awake during the day.

·         Surgery

In general, doctors will perform the treatment depends on how severe the OSA is. Normally be advised in advance to start with lifestyle changes and the use of CPAP. Before directly addressing the OSA, the doctor usually treat other health problems associated with OSA. For example if you suffer from inflammation of the nose (rhinitis) which causes blockage in the nasal airway, the doctor will add a treatment with a nasal spray (nasal spray) to overcome the disorder, or people with thyroid hormone deficiency (hypothyroidism) then it will be given medications to increase the metabolism of these hormones.

Please note in general, that the management of obstructive sleep apnea in children and adults is no different. However in general the choice of tonsillectomy (tonsillectomy) with or without adenoidectomy becomes the primary choice in children as enlargement of the gland tonsil (palatine tonsila) is the major cause of obstructive sleep apnea in children. The use of CPAP in children performed if the choice of surgery is not possible.