What Is It? Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, Which Is What CPAP Stands For, Is Usually A Great Way To Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea. It Makes Sense To Use A Machine To Make Air And Send It To Your Nose Through A Hose And Face Mask To Keep Your Airway Open While You Sleep. Even Though It's Been Around For A While, It's Still The Best Way To Treat Sleep Apnea. In Fact, We Use CPAP Standards As A Yardstick To Measure The Effectiveness Of All Other Treatments That Aren't CPAP. Even So, It's Hard To Get Used To CPAP. If You Use CPAP, You Might Know What Some Of Its Problems Are Like. CPAP Has Some Problems CPAP Can Be Very Helpful, But Only If The Patient Knows How To Use It Right. Some People Don't Have A Good Fit With The Face Mask. CPAP Can Be Used With Nasal Masks, Masks That Cover The Mouth And Nose, Or Masks That Cover The Whole Face. Even So, These Options Don't Work For Every Patient Because They Don't Fit Every Face Shape. And If The Mask Doesn't Fit Right, It Lets Air In. When A best CPAP Mask Leaks, It Blows Air Into The Eyes, Which Can Dry Them Out. This Can Get So Bad That Patients Need To See An Ophthalmologist To Find Solutions For Dry Eyes. These Leaks Also Make Noise, Which Can Annoy Patients And Keep Them Awake. Patients Try To Tighten The Straps To Stop The Leaks, Which Makes Sense. But If The Straps Are Too Tight, They Get Headaches And Marks From The Straps On Their Faces. Some People Who Only Use The Nasal Mask Find That The Air Blows Right Into Their Nose And Out Of Their Mouth. This Can Be Very Annoying And Make It Hard To Sleep. But Even People Who Can Find A Mask That Fits Have Trouble With CPAP Machines Because They Are Hard To Use. The CPAP Is An Interesting Machine. It Can Be Hard To Carry Around, You Can't Really Talk When You're Wearing It, And You Have To Keep It Clean. Because Of These Problems, Frustrations, And General Problems, Many Patients Look For Alternatives To CPAP. What Are The Best Things To Use Instead Of CPAP? Patients With Apnea Who Are Looking For Alternatives To CPAP Have Four Main Choices. Here's A Quick Look At Each One: Therapy with Oral Appliances Pros This Non-CPAP Alternative Is A Good Option For Many Patients Who Don't Want To Use CPAP. However, It Only Works For Mild Sleep Apnea. Cons It Doesn't Work For Cases That Are Worse. For Some People, This Therapy Makes Their Jaws Hurt and Can Cause Their Teeth to Not Line Up Right. Oral Appliance Therapy Can Also Be Pricey, And Your Insurance May Not Cover It. Pillow for Sleep Apnea This Is Just A Wedge-Shaped Pillow That Makes You Sleep On Your Side. Pros This Is A Cheap, Easy-To-Use Alternative To CPAP For People Who Have Sleep Apnea Because Of How They Sleep. Based On The Results Of Their Sleep Study, Patients Should Know If This Is A Good Choice For Them. Some People's Sleep Apnea Gets Worse When They Lie On Their Back. It Goes Away When They Lay On Their Side. So, A Pillow That Makes It Easier For Them To Sleep On Their Side Can Fix Their Sleep Apnea. Cons This Won't Work For People Whose Apnea Isn't Caused By How They Sleep. Nasal Decongestants And Surgery To Open Up The Nose AirwayThe Goal Of These Treatments, Whether They Are Pills (Taken By Mouth Or Put On The Skin) Or Procedures, Is To Open The Airway So The Person Can Breathe Better. When We Do This Through Surgery Or Medicine, People Say They Feel Like They Sleep Better. But If You Did Their Sleep Study Again, It's Often The Same. Patients With Apnea Will Still Have The Same Number Of Pauses In Breathing During The Night. From Their Point Of View, They Feel Like They Sleep Better. Pros Even Though This Doesn't Get Rid Of Apnea, It Can Help People Use Their CPAP More. If The Nose Is More Open, The CPAP Machine Doesn't Have To Put As Much Pressure On It. Plus, The Person Feels Like They Are Sleeping Better. They Also Snore Less, Which Is A Plus. Cons When You Have Surgery, You Have To Recover. Plus, Even Though The Patient Seems To Be Sleeping Better, They Still Have The Same Apnea They Did Before. Sleep Apnea CPAP Alternatives Bipap This Is CPAP With Two Pressure Levels. Bipap Has Two Levels: One For Inspiration And One For Breathing Out. You Inhale At One Pressure, Then The Pressure Changes, And You Exhale At A Different Pressure. It Makes It Easier To Breathe With A CPAP. Pros This CPAP Option Is A Little Easier To Use, Especially For People Who Need More Air Pressure. When The Air Force Is Strong, It's Hard To Let Out Air When The Pressure Is High. Bipap Makes This Problem Less Of A Problem. Cons Still, It's A CPAP Machine, And It Still Doesn't Come Cheap. You Have To Buy The Machine, The Hose, And The Mask. Every Year, You Have to Buy New Parts. Inspire Inspire, Which Is Also Called Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation, Is One Of The Alternatives For Sleep Apnea That Doesn't Need Any Extra Equipment. A Small Pacemaker Placed Under The Skin Moves The Tongue Forward While You Sleep At Night. This Opens Your Airway. Pros The CPAP Machine Is Turned Off. To Turn It On At Night, You Just Need A Remote. There's Nothing Hard To Do After Surgery. You Don't Have To Sleep With A Hose Attached To You All Night, And You Can Sleep In Any Position. The Remote, Which Is About The Size Of A Computer Mouse, Is All You Need To Bring With You When You Travel. It's The Newest, Best, And Most Useful Alternative To CPAP On The Market. Cons Inspire Does Require Surgery. It Is More Invasive Than Other Options, And People With Moderate To Severe Sleep Apnea Who Have Already Tried CPAP Without Success Are The Only Ones Who Can Get It. Patients Must Also Be In A Certain Weight Range To Be Eligible For Inspire. After Surgery, However, It’s Easy and Effective. If You've Had Trouble With CPAP And Want To Know If Inspire Or Another Non-CPAP Option Might Work Better For You, Give Us A Call To Set Up A Consultation.
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September 2022
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