Regular readers of our blog posts already know a CPAP is a face mask and machine for people who snore, often due to problems inside the nose that block healthy breathing.
But, as a curious cosmetic plastic surgeon, we also scan forums and bulletin boards for news about CPAP (which stands for “continuous positive air pressure,” a fancy way of saying “forcing air into your lungs through your nose”.)
So we note some users have found that nasal surgery makes their CPAP work even better.
The basic start of all this is raw snoring….ear-splitting, freight train decibel, nocturnal snoring that makes the bedroom curtains flap in the breeze and can be heard downstairs, if not the next house. Pity the sleep-robbed mates of snorers.
Snoring can have many causes but some of the most common are:
- A deviated septum
- Swollen turbinates, structures higher up in the nose
A septum is the thin wall of cartilage that separates your two nostrils. When bent, twisted or otherwise deformed, they can block the breathing channels in the nose.
Turbinates warm and humidify the air you breathe. But they often react to allergies and other conditions by swelling, again blocking healthy, quiet breathing.
Curious about the numbers of healthy and blocked breathers, The University of Washington’s Sleep Disorders Center studied 306 CPAP users for two years. They wanted to find why some did not wear the CPAP mask regularly. (Read more about nose surgery and CPAP use.)
After exams, 108 patients showed abnormal nasal exams and were also the same group who did not use the mask correctly, if at all. The study authors concluded patients with abnormal nasal exams had decreased CPAP use and tolerance.
Concluded the authors: why not treat nasal conditions before prescribing a CPAP?
Yet another study at the Stanford Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Palo Alto, California, found that turbinate treatments, when appropriate, appear to benefit nasal obstruction and ease the breathing of CPAP users.
But before you say “yes” to a CPAP, ask yourself if any medical professional has actually looked up into your nose to see and diagnose the state of your nose and if its internal architecture allows for easy, quiet breathing.
Perhaps that would be the best first step possible!
