CPAP Treatment

CPAP, the abbreviation for continuous positive airway pressure therapy, is a treatment method for patients who have sleep apnea. CPAP machines use mild air pressure to keep the airways open, and are typically used by patients who have breathing problems during sleep. More specifically, what CPAP therapy helps accomplish is making sure that your airway doesn't collapse when you breathe while asleep.

CPAP therapy is one of the most recommended treatment options for patients who have obstructive sleep apnea, in which not enough air reaches your lungs. CPAP therapy is also is used to treat infants whose lungs have not fully developed. The CPAP machine blows air into the baby's nose to help inflate his or her lungs. When you are prescribed to a CPAP machine, you will work with your sleep technologist to make sure that the settings that are prescribed to you work best for you. It is every sleep technologist's concern that the air pressure from the machine is just enough to keep your airway open while you sleep.

Although there is a noted adjustment period to using CPAP therapy, following this method of treatment can pay off significantly in the end: Keep your airway open while you sleep. Reduce or eliminate your snoring altogether. Improve your quality of sleep. Reduce or eliminate daytime sleepiness, a symptom of sleep apnea. Circumvent or significantly reduce high blood pressure.