If you’ve been watching the news, you may have heard a story recently about President Biden displaying strange markings on his face one morning. Many Americans raised concern about the health of the President, wondering what could have caused such indentations to appear. Thankfully, The White House was quick to issue an explanation: President Biden is one of the millions of Americans who suffer from sleep apnea, and the strange markings on his face were due to the mask from his CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine.
But what is sleep apnea? Despite it becoming increasingly common among American adults, there are still many people who don’t know what this dangerous sleep disorder really is.
There are three types of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex. Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is the most common type of sleep apnea in America, affecting approximately 30 million Americans. Though sleep apnea is more common in adult men over the age of 50 who are obese or overweight, obstructive sleep apnea can affect anyone of any age, including women, children, and those who have a healthy body weight.
Obstructive sleep apnea is defined as a sleep disorder which causes the airway to become blocked during sleep. This can cause the patient to struggle to breathe, making them gasp and choke for air throughout the night. The difficulty breathing can cause lowered blood-oxygen levels which can cause serious damage to the body, including an increased risk of developing everything from depression and anxiety to certain cancers, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease.
As with President Biden, the most common treatment for sleep apnea is the use of a CPAP machine, however because it can often be uncomfortable, many people who are prescribed CPAP therapy simply don’t use their CPAP machine as prescribed. This of course diminishes the effectiveness of the treatment, causing symptoms to worsen.
Thankfully, you don’t have to deal with the strange face markings, uncomfortable masks, and difficult to clean machinery of CPAP machines anymore. The solution is a sleep orthotic from Dr. Abelar. Sleep orthotics are discreet, easy to clean, and custom fit to your individual mouth for optimum comfort. They have even been found to be more effective than CPAP therapy, because they’re more likely to be used.
Don’t resign yourself to the frustration of CPAP therapy. If you’re looking for a better solution to the complicated and annoying machinery better-known as a CPAP machine, contact Dr. Abelar today to discuss a custom sleep orthotic, and get back to enjoying a comfortable night’s sleep!
