Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Some people who snore badly have significant blockage to their breathing when asleep. This interruption to normal breathing can cause oxygen levels to fall and lead to poor quality sleep, often causing sleepiness during the day. Those affected often wake up feeling unrefreshed, as if they haven't slept properly.
The Epworth score questionnaire can be found online. If you are scoring 10 or more and you are a heavy snorer, you may have sleep apnoea.
Any significant blockage is termed 'sleep apnoea syndrome', and if not recognised and treated it may have serious health effects.
People with possible sleep apnoea should have a clinical assessment. This includes examination of the nose, mouth, throat and neck. An overnight home sleep test is required to confirm the diagnosis and it's severity.
Sleep apnoea may be treated by weight loss, surgery in selected cases or ‘CPAP’. CPAP stands for “Continuous Positive Airways Pressure” and usually involves wearing a mask at night connected to a machine that delivers a gentle air pressure. This stops the tissues around the throat and mouth collapsing in during sleep, which helps to correct the sleep apnoea.
Treatment with CPAP in Scotland is not available privately preliminary overnight sleep tests can be arranged
Apnoea literally means "not breathing". (The US spelling is 'apnea’)
If you would like to arrange an appointment to discuss your symptoms further, please do so via using one of the available options on our contact us page.