If you’ve been told that you either snore loudly at night or sometimes stop breathing in your sleep, or you notice that you still feel groggy and tired even after sleeping for an extended period of time, you might have a condition that’s called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea, the medical condition in which an individual repeatedly stops and starts breathing in their sleep, affects nearly 18 million Americans. Of those 18 million Americans that are affected by sleep apnea, it is estimated that two to four percent of them is an undiagnosed cases. Undiagnosed cases are especially dangerous, as those affected people that are untreated are at four times a risk of stroke than those who are not afflicted by sleep apnea. Likewise, those afflicted by sleep apnea are three times as likely to shown signs of heart disease conditions.
While a potentially serious and life threatening medical condition, there are simple sleep apnea solutions available. During an average night of sleep, an individual with sleep apnea may experience up to 60 apneas per hour. One such form of treatment is performed through the use of a nightly CPAP machine.
A CPAP machine is a continuous pressure machine that gently blows stabilized, pressurized air through your airway while you sleep. The reason for the machine to blow constantly pressurized air is that it works to effectively guarantee that your throat does not collapse during the night, otherwise not allowing for an apnea to occur. This is achieved through the three CPAP machine supplies: a CPAP motor, CPAP tubes, a CPAP mask.
The CPAP machine supplies initially work by adjusting the CPAP settings so that the motor is pressurizing the in-take air to a specific, set standard. After that air has been properly pressurized, ready to be transferred to the user, it is pushed through your CPAP machine’s tubes towards the mask. The mask, which, when placed as suggested, covers the entire mouth, allows for the total transference of pressurized air from the machine, through the hoses, to the mask, and into the mouth and lungs of the user.
Some users complain about the discomfort of a CPAP machine, in that the mouth mask tends to slip off during the night, especially if they are someone who tends to roll around in their sleep. To help in these situations, there options of a CPAP nasal mask, which covers both the entire mouth and nose, and a full face CPAP mask, which has straps that can go around the head, so to ensure that the mask does not shift or slip from the face while the user is sleeping.
Once in possession of a machine, its cleanliness should be of concern. One such CPAP machine supplies the CPAP filter: that which cleans the in-coming air of debris. The recommended time for a filter’s replacement is twice every single month. Similarly, other replacement times for CPAP machine supplies are as follows: CPAP machine – every 5 years; tubing – every 3 months; full face mask – every 3 months; and nasal mask – every 3 months. Proper maintenance with the correct CPAP machine supplies can certify that your machine is working effectively and efficiently, all for you health.
The primary benefit to properly using a CPAP machine is that it will curb the issues of that come with the condition of sleep apnea, along with other countless benefits. However, these benefits will only be seen if a CPAP machine is being used as recommended.
As it currently stands, nearly 80% of patients with a CPAP machine do not use it as often as they should, with studies showing that nearly 50% of all CPAP users stop using them within one to three weeks of obtaining them. As recommended, for best results, patients should use strive to use their CPAP machine for at least 21 days in a month (70%), for at least 4 hours every night.
Only then, with proper use, settings, and overall cleanliness, can a CPAP patient find expected results, thus lowering their risk of sleep apnea, further lessening the negative side-effects of it.