WHY YOU CAN’T STAY AWAKE: MANAGEMENT OF APNEA – CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE, OR CPAP
During CPAP you wear a nasal mask attached to a machine that pumps air and provides a constant degree of background pressure in the airway. This pressure keeps the passage between the mouth and the lower pharynx open. CPAP is widely available commercially, reasonably inexpensive (compared to surgery), and relatively simple to operate. But, as one sleep researcher put it, “you have to sleep with a machine that sounds like a vacuum cleaner for the rest of your life.” CPAP can be uncomfortable and irritating; in some cases eye complications, stemming from the presence of the mask, have been reported. The most important drawback, however, is psychosocial. For many of my patients, especially the younger ones and their spouses, the thought of sleeping with a nasal mask and an air compressor every night can be disheartening. In those cases where CPAP is appropriate, the patients must possess the proper mental attitude to use the technique correctly and faithfully.*146\226\8*
