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Coronavirus Questions and Answers for Patients Suffering From Sleep Apnea
The world has begun a chaotic state with the novel coronavirus, also known as the COVID-19 outbreak. While medical experts and scientists are learning and studying this extremely infectious pathogen, reports show different statistics
For some, mostly younger and healthy people, the aftermath is mild or asymptotic, but for those older with other chronic conditions, the disease is quite deadly. Given that obstructive sleep apnea is a condition that concerns sleep aspiration, it’s essential to highlight how to manage sleep apnea during the COVID pandemic.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Airflow of an Obstructive sleep Apnea patient
Sleep apnea is a condition that mainly manifests during sleep, and over time, it can have severe health implications. Patients who suffer from sleep apnea experience low and stopping of breathing cycling. It shows by patient stopping and starting to breathe again, causing snoring, deficiency of breath, and gasping for air.
It’s hard to diagnose it medically, but patients can recognize it if they experience snoring or tell them that they do. Patients remember it by noticing they felt weak and tired even after a full sleep cycle.
Types of sleep apnea
- Central sleep apnea
Shows, when the brain doesn’t send and receive the needed signals for muscles in the throat that help control breathing.
It is also known as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, which requires proper ventilation machines to soothe sleeping.
What Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
The broader symptoms of sleep apnea consist of:
- loud snoring
- shortness of breath
- chocking
- feeling thirsty and having a dry mouth
- morning headache
- insomnia
- laziness
- daytime fatigue concentration problems.
Factors That Lead to Sleep Apnea.
Similarly, to the neck condition, a small airway can lead to an improper position of tonsils and adenoids. When they enlarge, they can barricade the airway, eventually resulting in sleep apnea.
- Gender
An ancient but compelling and detailed study revealed that sleep apnea is more commonly found in males than females.
- Age
Importance of keeping your CPAP Machine during this Pandemic.
While there are situations where sleep apnea occurs in younger people too, it’s most often occurs in older people with weaker respiratory functions.
- Smoking
Given that smoking already devastates the respiratory system in itself, it doesn’t surprise that smoking too enhances sleep apnea. Research has revealed that smokers are three and more times more susceptible to develop obstructive sleep apnea.
- Alcohol and drugs
Different studies found that abusing alcohol, sedating, and tranquilizing drugs, as well as their combinations, can aggravate the conditions behind obstructive sleep apnea.
How to manage sleep apnea during the COVID pandemic
As mentioned above, doctors are still studying the conditions that cause the coronavirus symptoms to worsen. The most common factors that see the patients’ states deteriorating and eventually passing away are health conditions and age.
Do CPAP machines aggravate coronavirus?
Sleep aspiration can also be the cause of this virus to get worse. Sleep apnea patients whose state is dire enough to use a CPAP may also be the risk group, mainly because sleep apnea is related to other conditions. Cleaning CPAP supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic can help avoid getting the virus.
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