CPAP Pillows Help Sleep Apnea Patients and Their Families
62Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous condition where a sleeper’s air
supply is suddenly cut off, causing a loud choking noise. This can
happen hundreds of times a night, making difficult for the patient and
anyone within hearing distance to get a good night’s sleep. Some
patients make such loud noises that they can be heard throughout an
entire house. There are many causes of sleep apnea, including tumors or
birth defects, so anyone experiencing symptoms should see their doctor
as soon as possible.
Many patients respond to using a Cpap Machine and CPAP pillow in combination with their
doctor’s care. Overweight patients with sleep apnea are urged to loose
weight if their doctor recommends it. The extra flesh can press down on
the neck and chest, putting even more pressure on the airways. Using a Cpap Pillow can ease the comfort of using this machine and also help to hold the patients head in place while sleeping.
CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. A CPAP machine helps
to prevent the sleeper’s airway from closing. A CPAP machine is a
complicated device with:
• a lightweight face mask
• air supply in the form of a flow generator
• flexible hose to connect the flow generator to the mask
• pillow
There are optional features that can be added, depending on the
manufacturer and the patient’s individual needs. These include
humidifiers, a separate generator in case the power goes out and chin
straps.
CPAP pillows are not only recommended by doctors for sleep apnea
patients, but for people with chronic allergies that may have difficulty
breathing while lying down. They also can help some people with cluster
headaches, a mysterious and extraordinarily painful condition that
begins about an hour after a patient has fallen asleep. Oxygen therapy
has helped some cluster headache sufferers as well as preventative
medication. Some desperate patients heard about oxygen therapy and tried
using a CPAP pillow and Cpap Machine to help prevent or even abort their excruciating
headaches.
CPAP pillow and Cpap Mask Devices take some time to get used to. Just the sensation of
having a mask on the face can be strange. The patient and anyone else
sleeping in the same room as the patient will also have to adjust to the
machine’s noise. But the body does eventually adjust.






