The battle to breathe at night: How to care for someone with obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder in which patients experience repeated apnea and hypopnea during sleep. This condition not only affects the patient's sleep quality, but may also lead to symptoms such as daytime fatigue, inattention, memory loss, and even cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in severe cases. Therefore, nursing care for patients with obstructive sleep apnea is particularly important. This article will provide readers with an easy-to-understand popular science guide from the aspects of understanding obstructive sleep apnea, daily care points, improvement methods, and avoiding care misunderstandings.

1. Detailed understanding of obstructive sleep apnea

1. Pathogenesis

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs due to a variety of factors. During sleep, the body's muscles relax, including those that support the upper airway. For some people, this muscle relaxation can cause the upper airway to narrow or collapse, especially in the nasal cavity, back of the mouth, or throat area. When breathing cannot overcome this obstruction, airflow is reduced or stops completely, causing apnea.

2. Symptoms

⑴ Snoring: This is one of the most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, but not all people who snore have OSA. ⑵ Apnea: Apnea is a prominent symptom of obstructive sleep apnea. Patients may experience breathing cessation for a few seconds to tens of seconds during sleep, which is usually accompanied by a decrease in blood oxygen saturation. ⑶ Waking up at night: Due to the lack of oxygen caused by apnea, patients may be awakened by suffocation during sleep. ⑷ Daytime fatigue: Due to poor sleep quality at night, patients may feel extremely tired, sleepy, and weak during the day. ⑸ Inattention and memory loss: A decrease in sleep quality may also affect brain function, leading to inattention and memory loss.

3. Risk Factors

⑴ Obesity: Being overweight is one of the main risk factors for OSA, as excess fat tissue may increase pressure in the upper airway. ⑵ Age: As we age, the elasticity of muscles and tissues decreases, increasing the risk of OSA. ⑶ Gender: Men are more likely to develop OSA than women. ⑷ Genetic factors: People with a family history of OSA may be more susceptible to the disease. ⑸ Anatomical abnormalities: Deviated nasal septum, enlarged tonsils, or retruded mandibles may increase the risk of OSA. ⑹ Lifestyle habits: Long-term heavy drinking, smoking, and irregular sleep habits may aggravate the symptoms of OSA.

4. Impact on health

If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to a range of serious health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cognitive decline. In addition, OSA can affect a patient's mood and mental health, leading to problems such as anxiety and depression. Therefore, the understanding of obstructive sleep apnea is not limited to it being a simple sleep disorder. It is a complex disease that can negatively affect multiple systems of the body. Early identification and appropriate treatment are essential to prevent complications and improve the patient's quality of life.

2. Daily care points

1. Observe symptoms: Family members should closely observe the patient's sleep and record the frequency and severity of symptoms such as snoring and apnea so as to adjust nursing measures in time.

2. Keep the airway open: Before going to bed, patients can try to clean the nasal cavity, use a humidifier, etc. to keep the airway moist and open. In addition, avoid sleeping on your back, because the tongue root and soft palate are easy to fall back when lying on your back, aggravating the narrowing of the upper airway. It is recommended to sleep on your side or prone.

3. Control your weight: Obesity is one of the important causes of obstructive sleep apnea. Losing weight can effectively improve the patient's symptoms. It is recommended that patients develop a reasonable diet plan and increase exercise to achieve a healthy weight range.

4. Regular work and rest: Maintain good work and rest habits, avoid staying up late, overwork and other bad behaviors. Adequate sleep can help reduce fatigue and relieve symptoms.

5. Avoid drinking and smoking: Drinking and smoking can irritate the upper respiratory tract and aggravate the patient's symptoms. Patients should strictly quit smoking and drinking and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

6. Use of assistive devices: For patients with mild symptoms, oral appliances, nasal dilators and other assistive devices can be tried to improve airway patency. However, before use, you should consult a professional doctor to ensure safety and effectiveness.

3. Improvement Methods

In addition to daily care, there are things you can do to help relieve your obstructive sleep apnea symptoms. Here are some suggestions:

1. Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation therapy: For patients with more severe symptoms, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (such as CPAP) is an effective treatment. It can prevent the upper airway from narrowing or blocking during sleep by providing continuous positive pressure airflow to the airway. However, it is necessary to follow the doctor's advice when using it to ensure that it is worn and used correctly.

2. Surgery: For obstructive sleep apnea caused by certain specific reasons, such as abnormal nasal structure and enlarged tonsils, surgery may be an effective option. However, the risks and effects of surgery vary from person to person. After fully understanding the pros and cons of surgery, you should decide with your doctor whether to undergo surgery.

4. Avoid nursing misunderstandings

When caring for a patient with obstructive sleep apnea, avoid the following common misconceptions:

1. Ignoring symptoms: Many patients and their families have insufficient knowledge of obstructive sleep apnea and tend to ignore its symptoms. This may lead to delayed treatment and even serious complications. Therefore, attention should be paid to changes in the patient's symptoms and timely measures should be taken.

2. Self-medication: Some patients may purchase and use some drugs on their own to relieve symptoms such as snoring. However, improper use of drugs may aggravate symptoms or cause other adverse reactions. Therefore, patients should use drugs reasonably under the guidance of doctors.

3. Over-reliance on assistive devices: Although assistive devices can improve patients' symptoms to a certain extent, over-reliance on them may cause patients to ignore other effective improvement methods. Therefore, when using assistive devices, they should be reasonably selected and used in combination with the actual situation of the patient and the doctor's advice.

In short, the care of patients with obstructive sleep apnea needs to take into account a variety of factors, including symptom observation, maintaining airway patency, controlling weight, maintaining a regular work and rest schedule, avoiding bad habits, and taking appropriate improvement measures. At the same time, we must avoid misunderstandings in the nursing process to ensure that patients can receive scientific and effective care. Through reasonable care and improvement measures, I believe that patients can overcome the trouble of nighttime breathing and have a healthy and comfortable sleeping environment.

Author: Leng Juan, Chengdu Fourth People's Hospital, Sichuan Province