By ; Adel Farig
If you are one of those who is often or once in a while awakened from a deep sleep gasping for some air, or you sleep aside someone snoring loudly there’s a strong possibility and chance that you have Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea commonly known as snoring is a common sleep disorder. Sleep Apnea patients breathing constantly interrupts and starts during his/her sleep time. It affects 20% of women and 35% of men. Men have higher incidence.4 percent of adults are suffering from OSA. In UAE the prevalence is even higher. Road Accident Survey study shows 20 percent of road traffic accidents are due to underlying sleep apnea.
Obesity in middle East as likely in the U.S, OSA could be one of the reasons .There is a correlation of high BMI and OSA risk. Some common symptoms of Sleep Apnea are daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, and restless sleep.
Dr Kalpana Nagpal, Senior Consultant ENT, Head, Neck and Robotic Surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital says that robotic surgeries have given a new and easy way out to the sleep apnea patients. Doctor highlights that now there is no need to ignore snoring or sleep apnea. As per the Dr Nagpal, Robotic Surgery is becoming increasingly popular among the surgical specialities and most of the institutions have or are investing in it. It has numerous benefits over the conventional methods like fast recovery, low infections, almost painless, almost no scar, low blood loss, great cosmetic results and better post-operative immune function.
“The Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) or snoring is a dangerous disorder and most of us laugh it off or ignore or learn to live with it”, says Dr Nagpal. She further explains that this condition arises when a person constantly stops breathing while sleeping due to the collapse in his/her airway. It isn’t clear why a person develops OSA, but triggers for the same are many ranging from weight gain, alcohol, sedative use, decreased muscle tone or the physical makeup of the person’s airway. If the condition is left undiagnosed/untreated or ignored for a longer span, the OSA can affect a person in many ways like the decreased quality of life, diabetes, impotence, high blood pressure, fatigue, stroke or cardiac arrest, memory disturbances etc.
As a doctor we want people to be aware and understand that there are new options for screening and treating both snoring and sleep apnea patients. We have patient testimonials giving excellent feedback. So, common people with persistently blocked nose or snoring or recurrent awakening or choking now have a permanent solution.
So, don’t laugh off snoring now! Meet the doctor or suggest your loved one to the doctor right away.
