Sleep apnea (AP-ne-ah) is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.

Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They may occur 30 times or more an hour. Typically, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.

Sleep apnea usually is a chronic (ongoing) condition that disrupts your sleep. When your breathing pauses or becomes shallow, you’ll often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep.

As a result, the quality of your sleep is poor, which makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is a leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness.
Overview

Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Doctors usually can’t detect the condition during routine office visits. Also, no blood test can help diagnose the condition.

Most people who have sleep apnea don’t know they have it because it only occurs during sleep. A family member or bed partner might be the first to notice signs of sleep apnea.

The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. In this condition, the airway collapses or becomes blocked during sleep. This causes shallow breathing or breathing pauses.

When you try to breathe, any air that squeezes past the blockage can cause loud snoring. Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in people who are overweight, but it can affect anyone. For example, small children who have enlarged tonsil tissues in their throats may have obstructive sleep apnea.

Read more here and watch the featured animation that shows how obstructive sleep apnea occurs.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Common sleep apnea symptoms include:

Waking up with a very sore or dry throat
Loud snoring
Occasionally waking up with a choking or gasping sensation
Sleepiness or lack of energy during the day
Sleepiness while driving
Morning headaches
Restless sleep
Forgetfulness, mood changes, and a decreased interest in sex
Recurrent awakenings or insomnia

 

Simple steps save lives – This series of eight videos teaches you the steps to put in place to prevent a drowning.

Please see our updated post

Water & Pool Safety

June is National Safety Month and one of the best ways to stay safe is be informed. With that in mind, here is some information on a very common type of food poisoning, particularly in our part of the world.

Over 400 known fish species have been classified as potential ciguatoxin carriers. Ciguatera is a type of food poisoning. Examples of species associated with cases in Florida and the Caribbean region include barracuda, grouper, amberjack, snapper, tuna, kingfish, eel, trevally, seabass, mackerel, hogfish, and mahi-mahi. Cooking fish does not kill the heat-stable toxin. Ciguatoxic fish do not carry a foul odor or taste.

The symptoms associated with ciguatera may include: vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain or cramping, itchy skin; aching teeth, muscles, or joints; tingling sensation in the extremities, painful urination, and temperature reversal with a typical onset within 24 hours following fish consumption.

Gastrointestinal symptoms typically present first, within 24 hours of exposure, followed by neurological symptoms which usually begin 1-2 days following the exposure.

Rare secondary cases of mother-to-child transmission during breastfeeding and male-to-female sexual transmission have been reported.

Read more about the treatment and find out what you should do and what you should NOT to do if you think you have ciguatera poisoning.