What is the treatment for OSA?

General measures

Things that can make a big difference include:
• Losing some weight if you are overweight or obese.
• Not drinking alcohol for 4-6 hours before going to bed.
• Sleeping on your side or in a semi-propped position.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

This is the most effective treatment and is used if other treatments are not successful. This treatment involves wearing a mask when you sleep. A quiet electrical pump is connected to the mask to pump room air into your nose at a slight pressure. The slightly increased air pressure keeps the throat open when you are breathing at night and so prevents the blockage of airflow. The improvement with this treatment is often very good, if not dramatic.
If CPAP works, (as it does in most cases) then there is an immediate improvement in sleep. Also, there is an improvement in daytime wellbeing as daytime sleepiness is abolished the next day. Snoring is also reduced or stopped. The device may be cumbersome to wear at night, but the benefits are usually well worth it. Comments like "I haven't slept as well for years" have been reported from some people after starting treatment with CPAP.
Surgery

Surgery is not often useful. However, sometimes an operation may be helpful to increase the airflow into your airway. For example, if you have large tonsils or adenoids, it may help if these are removed. This is more commonly done in children with OSA. If you have any nasal blockages, an operation may help to clear the blockage.

What are the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea?

People with OSA may not be aware that they have this problem as they do not usually remember the waking times at night. It is often a sleeping partner or a parent of a child with OSA that is concerned about the loud snoring and the recurring episodes of apnea that they notice. One or more of the following also commonly occur.
• Daytime sleepiness. This is often different to just being 'tired'. People with severe OSA may fall asleep during the day with serious consequences. Drivers with OSA have a 2-12 increase risk of having a car crash compared to average.
• Poor concentration and mental functioning during the day.
• Morning headaches.
• Depression.
• Being irritable during the day.
People with untreated OSA also have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke.

Who gets obstructive sleep apnea?

OSA can occur at any age, including children. However, it most commonly develops in middle aged men who are overweight or obese. It is thought that as many as 2 in 100 middle aged men and 1 in 100 middle aged women develop OSA.
Factors that increase the risk of developing OSA, or can make it worse, include the following. They all increase the tendency of the narrowing in the throat at night to be worse than normal.
• Overweight and obesity. Particularly if you have a thick neck as the extra fat in the neck can squash the airway.
• Drinking alcohol in the evening. Alcohol relaxes muscles more than usual and makes the brain less responsive an apnea episode. This may lead to more severe apnea episodes in people who may otherwise have mild OSA.
• Enlarged tonsils.
• Taking sedative drugs.
• Sleeping on your back rather than on your side.