Is Using a CPAP Machine the Same as Using Oxygen?
Sleep Apnea is a medical condition characterized by periods throughout the night where a person stops breathing, either due to a lack of brain signals, a type of sleep apnea called central sleep apnea, or narrowed or blocked airways, otherwise known as obstructive sleep apnea. These periods can occur up to hundreds of times a night and result in the sufferer being deprived of oxygen. The treatment for this oxygen debt? Continuous positive airway pressure therapy via a CPAP machine. If you’ve been diagnose with sleep apnea and are on the look out for treatment supplies, you may be wondering what a CPAP machine really does for you. Is it a way to deliver oxygen similar to an oxygen tank or is it something else entirely?
How Does a CPAP Work?
In most cases, sleep apnea is the result of a narrowed or obstructed airway. A person’s windpipe may bend under pressure from a heavy neck or chest or weakened muscles around the throat. In order to keep this airway open, a CPAP machine uses a motor to generate pressurized air, delivered via a CPAP mask, to keep the windpipe wind open.
Where Does Your CPAP Machine Get the Delivered Air?
The pressurized air delivered to the CPAP user is not oxygen from a tank. Rather, it’s taken in from the room and filtered before being delivered. While this air is made with oxygen, it’s not the same oxygen you’d receive from a tank. Rather, it’s simply room air you’d normally breath in. Because your CPAP machine also acts as a filter and may even use a humidifier, this air is also cleaner and more comfortable to breath during the night.
What if I’ve Got Sleep Apnea?
If you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, it’s important that you receive treatment for your disorder. CPAP machines are painless and effective in stopping the symptoms of sleep apnea and decreasing your risk of developing other serious medical conditions related to the disorder. If you’ve got questions about your sleep apnea, contact us at Advanced Sleep Therapy for help. We’d love to answer your sleep related questions as well as direct you to quality sleep apnea treatment supplies.
