You can recommend alternative treatments for sleep apnea if your patients are not willing to wear a CPAP. We have written about sleep Apnea, a serious disorder that can cause sleep disruptions and should be treated by a professional.
CPAP Therapy is a treatment that sleep doctors and technologists recommend to patients suffering from sleep apnea. What if a patient wants to avoid CPAP therapy?
There are many options for sleep apnea treatment that can be used if you don’t want to wear a mask. Below are 5 options.
1. Instead, wear an oral/dental appliance
We have written extensively about oral and dental appliances as an option for patients suffering from sleep apnea. Here’s a refresher.
Patients who prefer an oral device to a CPAP mask are becoming more comfortable with this treatment option.
How it works
Oral sleep apnea treatment devices prevent airway collapse by keeping the tongue in place or sliding the patient’s jaw forward, so that patients can breathe while they sleep.
An oral appliance can be fitted by a sleep technologist, a dentist who is trained in sleep medicine.
Who is it for?
Patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea and who can’t tolerate or CPAP should consider oral appliance therapy.
2. Sleep Apnea Surgery
How it works
Most options will reduce or eliminate extra tissue from your throat, which can cause your airway to become blocked during sleep.
While some procedures may not require any invasiveness, others are more complicated. The following are the most common areas that you will need to be treated for sleep apnea:
- Uvula and soft palate
- Tonsils and Adenoids
- Tongue
- Lower and upper jaws
These questions may be asked if your patient is thinking about having surgery to correct their sleep apnea.
- How successful is the operation?
- What will the procedure do for my sleep apnea or snoring?
- Is surgery better than CPAP, or oral appliance therapy?
- What are the potential side effects and risks?
Surgery may not be the best choice for everyone. Surgery may be more beneficial for some people than for others. Some of the negative aspects of surgery include:
- Pain
- Bleeding and swelling of the throat
- Jaws wired closed for several days, and restricted diet for several weeks
- Stay in a hospital for the night
The benefits of sleep apnea may not last forever in many cases. Some patients may experience sleep apnea again at a later date.
Who is it for?
The effectiveness of surgical treatments in treating sleep apnea is not as high as that of CPAP or oral appliances. If CPAP and oral appliance therapy fail, there are many surgical options that might work for your patients.
3. A Weight Management Program
If your patient is obese or overweight, weight loss may be an option to improve or eliminate their sleep apnea symptoms. People who are overweight often have thick necks and extra tissue in their throats that can block the airway.
Who is it for?
This program is available to overweight people who can physically participate in a weight management plan. Although losing weight won’t cure sleep apnea completely, it can help.
Here are some things to keep in mind
Patients with narrow airways or nasal passages will not benefit from this approach.
4. Positional Therapy
What is positional therapy?
Positional Therapy is a treatment strategy for positional sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can be caused by sleeping on one’s back. This is known as the “supine” position. When they are sleeping on their sides, their breathing is normal.
A special device may be worn around your waist or behind for positioning therapy. This device keeps you in the side-to-side position while you sleep.
Who is it for?
A clinical trial published in 2012 showed that positional therapy could be an effective treatment. Patients with positional OSA were tested.
5. Change some of your daily habits
Your patients can make lifestyle changes to reduce their snoring or improve their sleep apnea symptoms. Sleep apnea symptoms can be improved by behavioral changes, such as quitting smoking and quitting drinking alcohol.
Alcohol can relax your throat muscles, which can lead to you snoring or your airway collapse. Your patients may benefit from a decongestant before going to sleep if they have allergies.
