CPAP Masks Offer the Greatest Relief from Sleep Apnea

When looking for relief from sleep apnea, physical treatment offers better results

For those with sleep apnea, there are several choices for treatment. Since there are no medications for the treatment for sleep apnea, the prevailing treatments for sleep apnea are physical treatment and surgical treatment.

Physical treatment options

Physical treatment is a blanket term for devices which circulate air through a patient's airways. There are a few varieties of these machines, called CPAP, VPAP, and APAP respectively. Each machine consists of the basic parts of an air compressor, a CPAP mask, and hoses which carry the air from the compressor to the mask.

The CPAP machine is the most basic of the three options. It supplies a steady stream of air through the mask which keeps airways open. The VPAP machine is designed for people who have trouble sleeping with the CPAP machine. This trouble could come from trouble exhaling while the machine is circulating air, or some other problem. VPAP overcomes this problem by using sensors that monitor pressure and lower the pressure of the air it circulates while the patient exhales. This makes it easier for patients to breathe naturally with a VPAP. A final option is the APAP machine. The APAP has been approved for treatment, but since it is most recent entry into the physical treatment arena it is not fully supported by doctors and insurances. Like the VPAP, the APAP constantly senses the pressure and adjusts the output accordingly. The difference is that the APAP monitors the patients breathing and increases its output air pressure only when the patient is having trouble breathing. When the patient begins breathing normally again, the APAP decreases its output air pressure.

Surgery alternatives to physical treatment

If using a physical treatment device every night is unappealing or not practical, surgery is another option. There are several surgeries available, but at the center of the treatment is increasing the space in airways. Nasal surgery such as turbinectomy or surgery such as a tonsillectomy can increase airways enough to provide relief. These surgeries are less invasive, but also offer a lower long term success rate. On the other hand, maxillomandibular advancement has proven to be a successful treatment for sleep apnea, but is more invasive. During this procedure the patient's upper and lower jaws are moved forward to create more room in the airways.

Due to the fact that physical treatment is more consistently successful and less dangerous than surgery, physical treatment is the most prevalent treatment for sleep apnea. If patients have discomfort with their masks there are replacement masks available. The different masks are often focused on being a more comfortable CPAP mask, offering cloth instead of hard plastic, and different array of straps.