Can Sleep Apnea Be Cured?  

If you have been looking for a sleep apnea cure, the bad news is that there is not a sleep apnea cure as of yet.  Luckily, there is a lot of ongoing research that is bringing us a bit closer to a cure every day.  Even though there isn't a true cure for sleep apnea, there are treatments that may make a significant difference in the patient's life. Mild cases, and ones in which medical care is started early, often see positive results in a short time. Getting treatment now is better and will help for a more positive long term prognosis.

Getting Treatment  

The first thing you need is an accurate diagnosis of apnea.   If you or your doctor suspects you have sleep apnea, you will need to have a test performed that will usually require that you stay in the hospital over night. This is known as a polysomnogram (PSG). To administer this test, the patient would come to the sleep lab in the early evening and have electrodes placed on several parts of the body to monitor key areas.

After falling asleep, the data would be recorded and reviewed by the sleep technician who remains with the patient throughout the night. This test will give your doctor all of the information that they need to make a definitive diagnosis. 

In addition to a diagnosis, the polysomnogram will also give your doctor an idea of the severity of your apnea. In mild cases, a weight loss program may be recommended as obesity can actually exacerbate the condition. Another beneficial treatment is positional therapy in which the patient is told to sleep on their side instead of their back. Since throat muscles tend to collapse with this condition, by sleeping on their sides, the effects of gravity on the neck is minimized and this can reduce the apnea episodes.  

Treatment of Severe Cases  

In severe cases many patients have found that dental appliances are found to be helpful with this disorder, by keeping the mouth and airways open, but these should never be considered a cure. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines are widely used and offer a great deal of help.

These devices direct a constant flow of air into the breathing passages and keep these airways obstruction-free. While many consider this a cure for sleep apnea, it is not a cure since they are dependent on the machine.  The CPAP is only a tool until we find a cure. 

Another option in severe cases is surgery.  But surgery is always a last resort and is only considered after all other treatment options have failed.  There are many complications from surgery, with the most serious being an increase in the swelling of the throat muscles and tissues, which can cause suffocation. If that was not enough, anesthesia can cause many complications for a patient who suffers from sleep apnea.