Sleep apnea and other sleep disorders are diagnosed by sleep tests, which usually take place in a sleep center chevy chase. Well, sleep apnea is one of the few disorders, whose diagnosis can be done within the comfort of your own home.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder, in which a person, who is normally sleeping, will suddenly stop breathing. The most alarming thing about sleep apnea is that when a person stops breathing, you might not be able to notice it, nor will your bed side partner. This sounds very dangerous, and it can be in some cases, but the death rate from sleep apnea is very low and not a lot of people die from this disorder. When a person stops breathing, it can resume after a couple of seconds.
Now, let’s talk about how sleep apnea is caused. Sleep apnea is caused by the blocking of the airways, which promotes stopping of breathing. When you are sleeping, the air pressure is not enough for your airways to remain open and they collapse and close down, which results in stopping of breath. This is the general run down of how sleep apnea is caused.
Diagnostic Test For Sleep Apnea
In order to diagnose any sleeping disorder, a test needs to be carried out, in which a person’s sleep is monitored throughout the night. Everything is recorded and monitored, whether it be brain activity, limb movement, eye movement, twitching, heart rate, pulse, oxygen saturation in the blood, etc. A sleep apnea test can also be conducted at home. It is a small instrument, which is easy to handle and control. Here is how it works:
At Home Sleep Apnea Test Kit
Sleep apnea test kit consists of a monitor, which will track your sleep, oxygen levels in your blood and how you breathe while you are asleep. Although it does monitor the simple and basic things, it is not as detailed as a night sleep study, which is carried out in a hospital. An at-home sleep test can be used, if you are extremely overweight, if you snore a lot and your sleeping pattern is disturbed. It will get the job done very easily and efficiently without having you go to the hospital.
Pros Of At-Home Sleep Apnea Test
Here are the major plus points of an at-home sleep apnea test.
It Is Less Expensive
If you think about it, an at-home sleep apnea test is way cheaper than a detailed and scheduled sleep study. It does the basic and concise version of things a detailed sleep study would do, and if you are getting the results right, then you don’t need to spend the money on a sleep study.
It Is Effective
As mentioned previously, an at-home sleep apnea test does the majority of the things a sleep study does, so its efficacy is not questionable at all. You can get correct results using this at-home test kit and the diagnosis will be correct too.
It Is Easy To Use
An at-home sleep apnea test is very easy to use. You don’t need a technician to get it hooked on you. You can do it yourself as you go to sleep at night.
Cons Of At-Home Sleep Apnea Test
Some of the not-so-good things about this test are as follows:
A Doctor Needs To Prescribe It
One of the cons of this at-home test is that you still need a doctor’s permission to use this instrument. It is not available over the counter and you need a doctor’s note or prescription to use it.
It Is Good Only For Patients With Strong Symptoms
People with mild symptoms of sleep apnea and other sleeping disorders will not be happy to know that this test will not work on them. It only works on patients who have strong symptoms of difficulty in sleeping, snoring loudly and shortness of breath while they are asleep.
Now you know how to conduct a diagnosis test for sleep apnea at home. So, if you see any symptoms of sleep apnea, then you can easily conduct this test. And don’t forget the fact that you still need the advice of your sleep apnea doctor bethesda for an at-home test.
