甚麼是睡眠窒息症 | What causes sleep apnea

睡眠窒息症有三種:
第一種是氣管被阻塞而無法呼吸，稱阻塞性窒息。
第二種是腦部無法控制呼吸稱為中樞性睡眠窒息症。
最後是混合性睡眠窒息症，即同時有阻塞性及中樞性的睡眠窒息。
There are two main reasons why sleep apnea occurs: airway obstruction or a disconnect between your brain and your body.
Airway obstruction is by far the most common type, causing the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
A disconnect between your brain and body causes central sleep apnea.
Some people have a combination of both types of sleep apnea. (Mixed or complex sleep apnea).

阻塞性睡眠窒息症 | Obstrucive Sleep Apnea

阻塞性睡眠窒息症是一種常見的睡眠疾病。調查顯示，香港約有4%的中年男士和2% 的中年女士患上此病。
在睡眠時，由於患者上呼吸道的肌肉過度鬆弛，以致阻塞呼吸道，引發短暫呼吸停頓 (窒息)的情況。患者會因為血含氧量下降而驚醒，醒後呼吸回復正常並重新入睡。但 由於短暫窒息的情況會在整晚重複出現數十甚至數百次，以致大大影響睡眠質素，令 患者日間出現渴睡的情況，並影響日常生活及工作。
如患者得不到適當的治療，會加重心肺負荷，增加患上高血壓、心臟病和中風等併發 症的風險。因此，任何人士若懷疑患上睡眠窒息症，應諮詢醫生的意見，決定是否需 要接受檢查或治療。
When you go to sleep, your throat and tongue muscles relax. This can cause the soft tissue in your mouth and throat to fall back and obstruct your airway.
Blocked nasal passages can also contribute to the problem. the obstruction stops you from breathing properly causing your oxygen levels to drop.
After about 10 seconds, your brain detects the low oxygen level and sends a signal to your body to wake up and breathe. At the same time, your blood pressure spikes.
You wake up and take a deep breath, then go back to sleep.
This can be repeated many times a night without you even noticing.

阻塞性睡眠窒息症症狀 | Symptoms for obstructive sleep apnea

• 鼻鼾 | snoring
• 睡眠期間喘氣或呼吸暫停
  Gasping for breath or paused breathing during sleep
• 睡眠質素差或失眠 | Restless sleep, insomnia
• 夜尿頻繁 | Frequently urinating at night
• 醒來盜汗 | Waking up with night sweats
• 起床時喉嚨乾燥、疼痛 | Waking up with a dry, sore throat
• 早上頭痛 | Morning headaches
• 白天總是感到疲倦 | Feeling constantly tired during the day
• 記性差難以集中 | Having trouble concentrating and remembering thins
• 性慾減退 | Impotence and reduced sex drive
• 情緒波動 | Mood swings
• 體重增加 | Gaining weight
• 高血壓 | Hight blood pressure

中樞性睡眠窒息症 | Central Sleep Apnea

由於腦部中樞系統無法正常傳遞呼吸訊息，令患者出現窒息。一般出現於患有心臟病、腦部疾病或創傷、中風或先天性疾病等的嬰幼兒或成人，亦可因藥物或高海拔引發。
With central sleep apnea, your airway is not obstructed, but your brain isn’t sending the normal signals to your body to tell it to breathe.
Your breathing stops for 10 seconds or more. During this time your body makes no effort to breathe.
It’s quite likely that you don’t snore with central sleep apnea.
Central sleep apnea may be caused by certain prescription painkillers. It may also be brought on by high altitude or by a medical condition such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, infection or neurological disease.

中樞性睡眠窒息症症狀 | Symptoms for Central Sleep Apnea

• 突然醒來感覺呼吸困難 | Waking up suddenly feeling breathless
• 坐起站立時氣促 | Shortness of breath that is relieved by sitting up
• 失眠，難以入睡 | Insomnia, with difficulty staying asleep
• 白天嗜睡 | Daytime sleepiness
• 夜間胸痛 | Chest pain at night
• 注意力不集中 | Trouble concentrating
• 早上頭痛 | Morning headaches
• 運動困難 | Difficulty exercising

甚麼是連續正氣壓呼吸機 | What is CPAP

連續正氣壓呼吸機(以下簡稱呼吸機)是用於治療中度阻， 塞性睡眠窒息症的常見儀器。 每當睡覺時，患者都必需 使用呼吸機。
呼吸機先把空氣加壓，然後通過面罩把已加壓的空氣輸入患者的上呼吸道，使呼吸道在整個呼吸過程中都能保持暢通。
CPAP, or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, treats breathing problems such as sleep apnea and chronic snoring, giving people healthier sleep and helping them enjoy better daytime alertness.
CPAP applies mild air pressure to a person's upper airway to keep their airway open so that they can breathe normally while they sleep.

呼吸機的基本配件 | CPAP Components

呼吸機的基本配件包括:鼻罩/全面罩、頭帶、接駁喉管、呼吸機 及濕化器。

• 使用者先用頭帶把鼻罩/全面罩固定在鼻或口鼻部份，然後透過 接駁喉管與呼吸機連接。啟動呼吸機後，氣流便會產生並通過接駁喉管及鼻罩/全面罩 進入上呼吸道，保持氣管暢通。
• 此外，使用者可選擇附加一個濕化器，以減輕乾燥空氣對上呼吸道的刺激。

CPAP equipment includes: Mask, Hose, CPAP machine and humidifier.

• User need to wear the correct mask, connects it with the hose, then connects the other end of hose to the CPAP machine. Turn on the machine, the air will be delivered from the machine to the hose, then to the mask, and finally to your throat when breathing.
• Furthermore, you can use the humidifier to provide the mositure if you feel too dry when breathing.

呼吸機種類 | CPAP Type

呼吸機可分為固定呼吸機及自動呼吸機兩款。
固定呼吸機只會輸出一個固定的氣壓， 而自動呼吸機則會按使用者的需要而自動調節輸出的氣壓。
當使用者出現呼吸道阻塞時，自動呼吸機會自動增加氣壓打通呼吸道;當呼吸道回復 暢通後，呼吸機會自動減低輸出的氣壓。
由於自動呼吸機的使用者無須持續接受高氣壓，所以一般會較使用固定呼吸機為舒適，但它的價錢亦較昂貴。
There are 2 types of CPAP pumps: fixed pressure and automatic pressure.
Fixed pressure pumps apply continuous pressure that has been pre-set to suit your specific requirements.
Automatic pressure pumps monitor airflow and continuously adjust air pressure based on your changing needs throughout the night. These kinds of pumps are most useful for people whose pressure requirements vary during sleep.