Apnee syndrome. Signs of apnea in children and adults

Dangerous for health and life, repeated attacks of apnea require compulsory treatment. Those who got rid of this condition have many times the risk of developing heart attacks and strokes.

Content

In a dream, a person does not control his actions and does not remember what is happening to him. Attacks of an insidious disease called apnea occur regularly precisely in the moments of sleep. At the same time, the patient does not even suspect that his life and health are in serious danger.

Apnae is a temporary respiratory arrest

The word "apnea" translated from ancient Greek means "stop, absence, cessation of breathing." But not every breathing delay can be called apnea. As a rule, serious attacks that require attention and compulsory treatment last from 10 seconds to 2 to 3 minutes and occur several times per hour. Rare short -term (up to 10 seconds) holding breath in a dream also require attention, as they can be the first signs of apnea development.

Important: in the risk zone there are mainly smoking men more than 60 years old, using alcohol or taking sleeping pills before bedtime. Often, people with a deformed nasopharynx, a curved nasal septum, enlarged adenoids and tutors also suffer from night breathing stops.

Apneo can be central, obstructive or mixed. In the first case, the fault of respiratory holdings in a dream is a violation of the brain caused by congenital pathologies or black-brain injuries. Obstructive apnea occurs when narrowing the respiratory path, and mixed can over time change its shape.

Distinguish between light apnea (up to 10 cases per hour), average (10 - 30 cases) and heavy (30 or more seizures). In the most difficult cases, the total respiratory stop per night is 3 to 4 hours.

Signs of apnea

Apnea is a disease that is difficult to diagnose. Most of the signs of apnea coincide with the signs of other diseases, and the patient himself often even suspects the presence of breathing problems during sleep.

True signs of apnea can be considered:

strong snoring that interferes with the household
long falling asleep and heavy awakening
intermittent restless sleep with uneven breathing
frequent urination at night
sore throat and head, which manifest during the period of awakening
fatigue, drowsiness, decrease in performance
awakening from the sensation of suffocation, the dreams in which any restriction of breathing occurs
grinding teeth in a dream
sleepwalking

Important: if the first signs of apnea are detected, consult a doctor. Otherwise, the progression of the disease is possible, which over time can lead to a critical decrease in oxygen level in the body, disorders in the functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, the development of chronic bronchitis or bronchial asthma.

What is the danger of apnea in a dream?

The consequences of night apnea can greatly affect human health. Those who have been suffering from breathing stops for a long time are familiar:

heart disorders, blood pressure surges
headaches, dizziness
constant state of fatigue
depressive mood
nightmare dreams
the appearance of phobias, persecution mania
sexual problems (unwillingness of intimacy)
dissatisfaction with its appearance and behavior
But the main danger of apnea syndrome is the likelihood of death in a dream from breathing stop.

How does apnea affect the heart and pressure?

The heart of a person suffering from apnea is strongly overloaded. This is explained by the fact that with constant awakening from breathing stops, the structure of sleep is disturbed. The deep phases necessary for relaxation and restoration of the body do not come. Instead of relaxing in work, a sympathetic nervous system is included in the work. The heart rate increases greatly, the pressure increases
Arterial pressure also increases simultaneously with the overlap of the respiratory tract. In order to wake a person and prevent him from dying of breathing, the body has to very quickly produce a huge amount of adrenaline. The blood pressure is sharply changed because of this and can reach 250-270 units
At that moment, when a person unconsciously tries to breathe air, not having the physical ability to do this, blood from the limbs enters and accumulates into the heart area. Thus, the heart turns out to be overloaded and there is a jump in the pressure at each attack of apnea

How to determine apnea? Diagnosis of sleep apnea

A person cannot determine the apnea independently. Usually, those who only suspect the presence of this disease come to the doctor. The patient’s households who have noticed a breathing stop in a dream, alternating with loud snoring, can also ask for a specialist.

For a full examination of the patient and determining the quantity and duration of breathing stops, the Summarian will ask the patient to spend the night in a special clinic laboratory. All testimonies during sleep are recorded on a special device - a polysonograph. The doctor works with the results. Depending on the severity of Apnae, he prescribes treatment.

Heavy form of apnea

The heavy form of apnea is most dangerous to health. It is characterized by long frequent breathing holdings. In 1 hour, 30 or more attacks of apnea may occur, and for the entire period of night sleep - about 500. The total duration of the daily respiratory arrest in severe cases reaches 3 to 4 hours.

Important: prolonged attacks of heavy -form apnea cannot take place without a trace for health. If you do not take measures to eliminate the Apnee syndrome, after some time the disease will affect the work of all organs and systems of the body.

Surgical treatment in severe forms of apnea

Surgical treatment of apnea is possible only after the establishment of surgical causes of the disease and indications for surgical intervention. Anotomy, tonselectrom, correction of the nasal septum, reduction of rollers in the throat, complete removal or cut off part of the palatine tonsils, excision of part of the soft sky, and a change in the shape of the lower jaw can get rid of apnea syndrome. In cases where the cause of sleep apnea is obesity, its surgical treatment is possible in order to restore normal sleep without breathing stops.

During the operation, the patient is immersed in drug sleep. Using an endoscope, the doctor determines the exact volume of surgical intervention and begins to work. An operation is considered successful, the result of which is the normalization of the patient’s breathing in a dream 6 to 10 weeks after surgical treatment.

Attone attacks. How to cope with Apnoe attacks?

Self-medication with apnea is extremely undesirable, but you can still help yourself with repeated attacks. This will need:

Quit smoking. It is smoking in most cases that provokes a decrease in the tone of the pharyngeal muscles and swelling of the walls of the nasopharynx, which causes narrowing of the respiratory path. If you completely do not succeed in getting rid of the pernicious habit, you need to at least limit the number of cigarettes smoked per day and not smoke two hours before night sleep.

Learn to fall asleep without sleeping pills. One of the acts of sleeping pills is a decrease in the tone of the pharyngeal muscles, which weights apnea syndrome. Alcohol also has a similar effect.

Lose weight. To alleviate the attacks of apnea helps to reduce body weight by even 7 - 15%. Significant weight loss can significantly improve the situation.

Learn to sleep on the side. Dream on the back contributes to the western of the tongue during the breath of air. If you change the pose of sleep, you can slightly alleviate the situation.

Provide a slight elevation of the head of the head during sleep. You can achieve this by raising the front legs of the bed on a small wooden block, or by placing a plywood at an angle of 10 - 15 ° C under the mattress in the area of \u200b\u200bplacement of the pillow.

Important: if the actions taken did not facilitate the attacks of sleep apnea, you should seek medical help.

Apnee in children

There are two main reasons for the development of apnea in children: tonsil hypertrophy and congenital disorders of the central nervous system. If children of any age may suffer from an increase in APNOE due to an increase in adenoids or glands, then violation of the functioning of the central nervous system can cause holding respiration in a dream mainly in infants.

Important: parents can notice respiration in a child during night or daytime sleep. Children's apnea is sometimes accompanied by reflex muscle contractions, a change in skin color. If an APNOE attack is found in a child, adults should immediately wake it up and carefully do a light breast massage. Before the baby falls asleep again, you need to make sure that the room is fresh enough, and the child has no extra clothing. These factors play an important role in the formation of the structure of sleep.

Any case of a children's apnea should be a signal for immediate seeing a doctor. Usually pediatricians offer to be examined in a hospital. Children suffering from severe forms of apnea syndrome are prescribed drug treatment or mask breathing during sleep periods.

Important: parents who suspect their child apnea can record a few minutes of sleep of the baby on the video. By this entry, a pediatrician or children's ENT will be able to determine exactly whether the child has holding breath in a dream. If there is a real danger, the doctor may offer to solve the problem quickly.

Signs of Apnee syndrome: tips and reviews

Nika: “The husband has a big problem that he does not want to notice. In a dream, his breath holds his breath for 20-60 seconds. I don’t sleep at night - I listen. It used to help when I pushed him, but now he does not react. When in the morning I tell my husband about this, he does not believe. I'm thinking about writing down on the phone "

Sveta: “My husband has excess weight. I think it was he who caused a sleepy apnea, from the attacks of which he has been suffering for more than 5 years. When I watched his diet, forced only dietary food, he lost well and apnea retreated for a while. Then he abandoned the diet, and it all started again. They wanted to do the operation, but ENT said that it would help for a short while if you do not change the lifestyle ”

Oleg: “Those torment that I have experienced in recent years, I do not even want to remember. When I realized that Apnae - the enemy of my life and my health, I decided to fight. The last straw was an increase in pressure and heart problems. I turned for help to the ENT doctor who prescribed me Sipap-therapy. Now I sleep calmly, thanks to a special device. He normalizes his breath in a dream. In addition to the fact that I finally began to get enough sleep at night, I also lost a decent weight. Now I can confidently say that for effective treatment of apnea, you need to contact a specialist as soon as possible "

Those who want to get rid of the attacks of apnea should understand that they will have to treat not the disease itself, but its cause. Until the factor provoking the holdings of breathing in a dream is eliminated, they will continue regularly.