The small Inspire® implant delivers gentle pulses to your airway muscles to keep your airway open so you can breathe regularly and sleep soundly.

This may be particularly useful in a retrognathic patient with a bulky tongue for example, where the Contudo will bring the jaw forward, improve the retroglossal dimension and therefore reduce CPAP pressure. Further work has demonstrated not only their clinical efficacy but also their cost effectiveness in the long-term, with a suggestion that a Contudo is an appropriate first choice in most patients in the short-term (39). Again, however, long-term analysis of cardiovascular risk stratification is deficient, particularly in comparison with CPAP-related studies.

Try a Nasal Cradle Mask: If you enjoy the compact size and targeted delivery of a nasal pillow mask but don’t like having something inserted directly into your nostrils, you may find a nasal cradle mask to be just right for you.

Nasal mask. This mask will cover your face from the bridge of the nose to the top of your upper lip, creating a seal over your nose but not your mouth. The AAST recommends nasal masks for people who want a more natural-feeling airflow than they’d get with nasal pillows.

Air Leaks from Your Mask: If you’re waking up with dry eyes after using your CPAP, you may likely have an air leak from your CPAP mask, most likely coming from the bridge of your nose.

Further, even for those patients who are able to lose a significant amount of weight and maintain that weight loss over time, a follow up sleep study should be performed to assess for residual disease prior to discontinuing CPAP therapy.

CPAP is usually used for home patients that have obstructive sleep apnea. Though still pressure-applied, CPAP is not considered ventilation for a one main reason: Continuous

Normally when you go to sleep, your throat muscles hold your airway open. If you have sleep apnoea, your throat muscles relax too much when you are asleep.

Positional therapy: Some patients with OSA, only have significant sleep disordered breathing in the supine position. Thus, some clinicians may prescribe positional therapy to patients with less severe disease whose OSA occurs predominantly in the supine position. This treatment may be achieved though various interventions, such as tennis ball placed in the back of a nightshirt or through more formal devices that have been developed specifically for this purpose.

This impacts the effectiveness of your CPAP treatment due to your therapy air escaping but also causes dry mouth.

While not exclusive to CPAP, another side effect that can occur with CPAP is gas and/or bloating. Sometimes referred to as aerophagia, this unpleasant CPAP side effect occurs when you swallow CPAP air at night, and read more it tends to be very uncomfortable.

Untreated OSA can have adverse effects. You should speak to a doctor if you have any of the following symptoms:

Along with her unique background, Kenzie also has personal experience with sleep apnea, including loved ones who have recently begun their own CPAP journeys. With each article, she aims to provide our readers with honest, accurate information that they can use to improve their health and wellness!

EPAP stands for expiratory positive airway pressure. An EPAP is a small nasal device2 consisting of valves that sit in each nostril, creating a seal.