Diagnosis Sleep Apnea

Defined in many medical journals and documents, sleep apnea is always defined as a sleep disorder (somnipathy). It happens when pauses in breathing during sleep occur more often than normal.

We could say that sleep apnea is a type of snoring with a longer pause in the process of breathing, more precisely, inhaling the air. In most cases, air inflow is obstructed mechanically, partially or fully, by blocking the upper airway, and this is obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA (the most common type of sleep apnea). The other two types of sleep apnea are central sleep apnea, or CSA (which is caused when the brain fails to send signals to the muscles that control breathing), and complex sleep apnea (which is a combination of the previous two types). 

If ignored or left untreated, this condition is considered dangerous for human health, as it can cause or worsen the existing medical problems (various types of cardiovascular issues, including high blood pressure, heart attack, heart disease, stroke) and can even have lethal consequences (heart failure).

The medical condition of sleep apnea is diagnosed by doing a sleep study (done by the medical professionals, in a lab, or at home). Before confirming it with the professionals, you can first check for yourself… You can examine and evaluate your sleeping and daily behavior, check for the signs or symptoms of sleep apnea, you can consult with your bedroom partner, or can use a smartphone app to monitor your potential loud snoring.

We listed before common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea (you can read here in more details on how to know if you have sleep apnea), so let’s remind ourselves:

Common signs of sleep apnea:

Reduced or absent breathing, known as apnea events

Frequent loud snoring

Gasping for air during sleep.

Common symptoms of sleep apnea:

• Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue
• Decreases in attention, vigilance, concentration, motor skills, and verbal and visuospatial memory Dry mouth or headaches when waking
• Sexual dysfunction or decreased libido
• Wake up often during the night to urinate.

When you know what to pay attention to, it is very easy to confirm you might have sleep apnea. But do keep in mind that only professional medical staff can diagnose sleep apnea.

CPAP Therapy - The List

If you are new to CPAP therapy (or even if you are not new but want to add something that will help you relieve discomfort, or something that will help with equipment maintenance) there are a few things that you must and/or should have. We have created this list of devices and accessories and divided it into "Essentials" and "Non-essentials". 

CPAP Therapy Essential(s)

This is a shortlist. The only thing that is essential for CPAP therapy is CPAP Device (CPAP Breathing Machine).

The continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device's main principle hasn't changed from the time when it was invented. Its only and main goal is to provide a user with pressurized air that will keep their airways open and with that prevent obstructive sleep apnea condition. The main part of the CPAP machine is the motor/air compressor. It generates a continuous stream of pressurized air (room air) that travels through an air filter into a flexible tube, that is connected to the CPAP face mask and thus delivers air under (prescribed) pressure into the mask that’s sealed around the patient’s nose and mouth (or just one of those two, depending on a mask type). 

Besides CPAP, sleep apnea therapy can be done using similar devices, BiPAP and APAP. Although same in the principle of work, these two machines have a different ways of delivering pressurized air. CPAP is providing a continuous flow of air. BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) is kind of an upgraded version of CPAP; Instead of keeping the constant positive air pressure, BiPAP has 2 air pressure phases: low and high air pressure (higher pressure level for inhalation, lower pressure for exhalation. This helps to make the breathing process a bit easier for some people who find the constant same level air pressure uncomfortable). APAP (Automatic Positive Airway Pressure), is a more advanced solution since the air pressure is automatically adjusted according to the patient's breathing.

All three mentioned PAP devices have three main parts (motor, tubes, mask) and can have some more more-less optional parts (humidifier, muffler, mask strap covers…).

You can read more details about PAP devices and accessories in one of our previous blog posts.

CPAP Therapy Non-essentials

Coming to non-essentials, we can list a lot of products and devices…The CPAP industry is developing rapidly and it's no longer just providing essential things (CPAP devices), but it is also providing some accessories that help sleep apnea patients in many other ways…

We have listed a few CPAP non-essentials that we believe should be considered at least useful additions.

• CPAP Pillow - A CPAP pillow can help ease the CPAP use discomfort, relieve the head and neck pain, and improve breathing. It is considered a medical pillow; that being said, a CPAP pillow is not a prescription therapy but you might get a recommendation from your physician to use it. Why is it special and what makes it different than regular or anatomic memory foam pillows? Well, CPAP pillows are specially designed pillows, with dents and cuts created in such a way that it follows the CPAP mask and tube/hose, making it a perfect fit that keeps the CPAP mask in its place, and tubes untangled. After starting using the CPAP pillow many CPAP users find the stress-relieving effect of using it a life-changing moment.

• CPAP Cleaner Device - CPAP Cleaner Ozone Sterilizer Disinfector Sanitizer, UV CPAP Sanitizer…whatever type of automatic CPAP cleaner you decide to use, you will make a good decision! Cleaning your CPAP equipment (especially your mask and tubes) is a must, it’s an everyday activity you should take seriously. We already wrote about the risks of not keeping your CPAP equipment sanitized and clean, the risk of getting health issues is high and real. Cleaning and sanitizing manually is a solution, and it works just fine. But the issue with manual cleaning is that it takes time to do it… On the other hand, an automatic CPAP cleaner device will do the same job with just a fraction of your time spent on manual cleaning. 

For the best cleaning and sanitizing results, we recommend using CPAP Ozone Sanitizer from PrimeClean.

Do keep in mind that besides automatic cleaning devices, there are other CPAP Cleaning Supplies you might use, but they are mostly for “first aid” cleaning (sanitizing wipes, sanitizing sprays…).

• CPAP Humidifier – If your CPAP device doesn't already come with a humidifier (it's a slim chance for this since a humidifier is kind of a standard nowadays), then you should definitely consider buying one. Having a humidifier with CPAP is especially important if you live in an area with dry air. The air passing through CPAP comes from the room air and can be dry, so it is something to avoid if possible. Humidifiers add moisture to the air that is pushed to your CPAP mask, which further helps to breathe.
  
  
• Heated Hose – Unlike a humidifier, a heated hose is usually not part of the standard CPAP device package. A heated hose maintains the warm temperature of the air that goes to your CPAP mask; it goes from the humidifier’s water chamber up to the mask. The additional benefit of a heated hose is that it prevents an issue called the “rainout” (condensation that sometimes collects on the inside of the regular hose when there is a temperature difference between the air and the equipment).

Other accessories worth mentioning are a chin strap (to prevent mouth breathing if you are using a nasal or nasal pillow mask), CPAP mask gel (if you have skin irritations caused by a CPAP mask), CPAP mask strap covers (to prevent mask straps leaving irritation or marks on your cheeks and face skin)…

CPAP Therapy - How Expensive Will It Be?

The most expensive investment for CPAP therapy is the CPAP device. In general, when talking about PAP machines, 2 companies are the top choice, ResMed and Phillips Respironics. Even though there are quite a few companies by now that produce PAP machines, it is very few that can be named next to ResMed and Phillips Respironics…those few good manufacturers worth mentioning are Somnetics, Fisher & Paykel, DeVilbiss, Apex Medical…

For a decent, reliable CPAP machine you will have to spend around $500 to $1000. It's a lot, but do keep in mind that since the CPAP machine is a CPAP prescription therapy, it is most likely fully or partially covered by your health insurance. And if you have in mind that you can get some used CPAP machine, for free or buy, we already wrote why that might not be the best idea!

All other mentioned, and not mentioned devices and accessories, usually come way cheaper than the CPAP machine itself…most things you can buy for well under $100. 

So, in general, if your health insurance is covering your sleep apnea therapy, the total cost of the therapy shouldn't be your worry at all. All you need to do is start using it and enjoy all the benefits of life without sleep apnea symptoms.