Treatment and Prevention
There's no medication therapy for sleep apnea, but several treatments are
known to be successful, alone or in combination:
- lifestyle changes - These can help eliminate factors that cause
or aggravate sleep apnea. If the condition is related to obesity, losing weight
can often solve the problem. Sleeping on your side, quitting smoking, and
avoiding alcohol and tranquilizers (which can worsen snoring and interfere
with control of breathing) all help to control sleep apnea.
- continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) - A special close-fitting
mask is worn over the nose and provides a constant airflow from an air pump
to the upper airway, supporting and holding it open. So far, this is the most
successful treatment for sleep apnea, no matter what the cause, often making
a noticeable difference after only one or two nights.
- dental appliances - These can be worn at night to stop the throat
from closing up or the tongue from falling back, keeping the airway open.
These are useful for OSA.
- surgery - As a last resort, excess soft tissue can be removed to
clear the airway. This works for heavy snoring, but only seems to help in
about one half of sleep apnea cases.