Treatment Options
Medical Therapies
For milder cases of sleep apnoea, your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption or treating your allergies and sinus infections. If these measures don’t improve your signs and symptoms or if your apnoea is moderate to severe, a number of other treatments are available. Certain devices can help open up a blocked airway. In other cases, surgery may be necessary.
Moderate to severe cases of sleep apnoea may be treated a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. This involves using breathing apparatus as a nose or mouth piece to assist with your breathing while you are asleep. It detects apnoea during sleep and increase the airway pressure to prevent the collapse and obstruction of the airway.
A mandibular device, similar to a gum shield, can also be used to treat mild sleep apnoea. It is a dental appliance worn during sleep to pull the lower jaw forward. This is useful if the main problem area is in the mouth or tongue base.
