Sleep apnea symptoms treatment.
FDA approves radio-wave treatment for snoringTreatment shrinks tissues that block air passagesJuly 28, 1997Web posted at: 10:52 p. sleep apnea symptoms treatment. Snoring-treatments-in-uk. m. EDT (0252 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) -- The U. S. sleep apnea symptoms treatment. Types of sleep disorders. Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment that uses radio waves to shrink tissue in air passages and eliminate snoring. The treatment, called somnoplasty, was created by Somnus Medical Technologies of Sunnyvale, California, which is expected to announced Tuesday that the technology has been approved. The treatment involves piercing the tongue, throat or soft palate with a needle connected to a radio frequency generator. sleep apnea symptoms treatment. Sleep-apnea-support-groups. The inner tissue is then heated to 158 to 176 degrees, in a procedure that takes approximately half an hour. The inner tissues shrink, but the outer tissues, which may contain such things as taste buds, are left intact. Forty million Americans -- more than one in seven people -- suffer from habitual snoring, according to a report by the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research issued in 1994. Another seven million to 18 million Americans suffer from a related problem, sleep apnea, but the somnoplasty was not approved for those problems. Snoring occurs when throat muscles relax during sleep. The sleeper tries to breathe through an opening in the back of the throat that is too small, causing the soft palate to vibrate and create the sound that is the bane of non-snorers everywhere. Doctors wary of surgical remediesBefore resorting to surgical solutions such as somnoplasty, however, physicians say there are a number of lifestyle changes that should be tried first. They include losing weight, exercising, stopping smoking, sleeping on one's side and refraining from alcohol at night. Even special snoring pillows and the nose strips popular among athletes and available over drug store may help. Also, dentists can make devices that hold the tongue in place and keep the passage clear. For those suffering from sleep apnea, there are dental devices that hold the tongue and jaw forward to keep the passage in the back of the neck open. For the most severe cases of apnea, there are air pressure devices. The most common is called continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, and involves wearing an air pressure mask while sleeping that forces air down the back of the throat and keeps the passage open. Before she had the first of two somnoplasty treatments, Christine Higgins of Baltimore snored so loudly that her husband often slept in a guest room. "Now, he can sleep with me," she said.
Sleep apnea symptoms treatment.
Snoring || Sleep apnea symptoms treatment. || Sleep-apnea-monitor || Snore-sound-byte