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When inflamed, the tonsils will swell up which can make it difficult to breathe. Excessive tonsillitis can even cause sleep apnea. This condition, if not detected and treated promptly, can cause dangerous complications to your health.
1. What is sleep apnea?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder in which you stop breathing for more than 10 seconds or repeatedly reduce ventilation during sleep with symptoms of snoring and snoring. excessive daytime sleep.
People with sleep apnea are often able to maintain airway clearance while awake, but present with obstruction during deep sleep. Your deep sleep is interrupted by severe blockages and arousals that wake you up to go into light sleep. This awakening will help you re-establish the airway that accompanies a long breath.
Sleep apnea can occur at any age but is most common in middle age, more common in men than in women.
People who are obese, have abnormalities in the structure of the upper respiratory tract such as enlarged tonsils, small jaws, large tongues, etc., people who drink a lot of alcohol, use sedatives, or have a family member who has apnea when they have trouble breathing. Sleep apnea increases the risk of sleep apnea.
Signs to help identify sleep apnea:
Snoring: This is the most common sign of sleep apnea, along with panting, gasping, and end-of-breath apnea. Snoring is loudest when lying on your back, less when lying on your side. Fatigue all day: If you have sleep apnea, you often feel tired, memory impaired, difficult to concentrate at work, mood changes, irritable. Drowsiness during the day: You can fall asleep while at work, even while driving. Headache on waking: This condition is caused by changes in brain oxygen levels during the night. Sleep apnea can cause a lack of oxygen throughout the body, affecting organs such as the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, etc. increased risk of stroke due to cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction.
Therefore, prolonged sleep apnea can seriously affect health and has the risk of sudden death.
Ngủ ngáy là dấu hiệu phổ biến nhất của tình trạng ngưng thở khi ngủ
2. How to know if you have sleep apnea or not?
If you suspect you have sleep apnea, you should see a doctor to be examined and checked by a specialist to see if you have this syndrome. Your doctor will rely on your clinical manifestations, and other methods of testing and evaluation, including:
2. 1. Sleep polysomnography
Sleep polysomnography is the gold standard for the diagnosis of sleep apnea. The meter will record all physiological changes that occur during sleep.
Polygraph measurements taken during your sleep. You will be fitted with sensors on several locations on the body such as head, face, chest, legs, fingertips to record a number of indicators during sleep. The polysomnography machine will record the following readings:
EEG EEG Electromyography of the eyes Electromyography of the chin Electromyography of the legs Blood oxygen saturation Respiratory ventilation Respiratory muscle movements Intensity of your snoring. The polysomnogram is completely painless or uncomfortable for you. This is a method that allows an accurate and detailed assessment of the cause and severity of sleep apnea and associated sleep disorders.
2. 2. Flexible endoscopy during sleep
This is a very essential survey tool to accurately determine the area of congestion and the degree of congestion during sleep. You will be put to sleep and monitored by the anesthesiologist. Your doctor will then perform an endoscopy to examine the exact area of the blockage and how much of it is while you sleep so he can find the best treatment for you.
3. Why does tonsillitis cause sleep apnea?
Our country has a tropical monsoon climate with characteristics of hot, humid, rainy, there are periods of change of seasons, sudden changes in temperature and humidity, making respiratory diseases easy to break out. and became common, including tonsillitis .
Most people think tonsillitis is not a dangerous disease. But if you have chronic tonsillitis, it can cause many unpredictable complications, sometimes even life-threatening.
When inflamed, tonsils will always be red and swollen many times larger than usual. You will always feel sore throat, discomfort, feel short of breath, snoring occurs more frequently.
The reason why tonsillitis is too much to cause breathing difficulty is because when it is inflamed, the tonsils will swell, compressing the throat, preventing air from flowing through the pharynx. In addition, bacteria that attack the tonsils also attack the nose area, causing rhinitis and nasal congestion, making it difficult to breathe.
Excessive tonsillitis causing obstruction of the upper respiratory tract is an extremely dangerous disease. Patients need to detect the signs of the disease quickly to receive timely treatment, to avoid dangerous complications later. Obstruction of the upper respiratory tract causing difficulty breathing will cause you to lose sleep, snore, affect sleep quality, leading to body weakness. More dangerously, you may face sleep apnea that can occur at any time.
Large swollen tonsils causing sleep apnea is very dangerous and completely possible. When the tonsils are too swollen, they will block your throat, making it difficult for you to breathe. When you sleep too deeply, you can have uncontrollable apnea. If not treated in time, oxygen will not be supplied to the brain and the consequences can lead to death.
4. How to treat swollen tonsils that cause sleep apnea
If tonsillitis is too severe, causing mild difficulty breathing, it can be treated with medicine. But when the disease is severe, the inflammation of the tonsils lasts long, the tonsils swell, causing sleep apnea, then surgery to remove the tonsils is necessary.
Currently, the most advanced treatment for tonsillitis is tonsillectomy. The doctor will remove the tonsils to open up the airway. Cases requiring tonsillectomy include:
Tonsillitis that recurs more than 5 times/year. Tonsillitis causes complications such as bronchitis, glomerulonephritis, myocarditis, arthritis,... The enlarged tonsils cause airway obstruction, difficulty swallowing, difficulty speaking, snoring or even sleep apnea. . For children, the most suitable age for tonsillectomy is 4 years and older. Removing tonsils when the child is too young can affect the child's immunity. However, in the case of children with sleep apnea, they need to have their tonsils removed at any age to avoid the risk of sudden death due to lack of oxygen.
To get temporary relief from enlarged tonsils causing sleep apnea, until you have tonsillectomy surgery, you need to do the following:
When you find it difficult to breathe due to enlarged tonsils, You need to lie on a higher pillow to make it easier to breathe. You should sleep in a well-ventilated room, do not use air conditioners or electric fans. Because air conditioning can make tonsillitis worse and more dangerous. Clean teeth, gargle and gargle with physiological saline or a specialized solution to fight inflammation and prevent bacteria from entering. You should drink a lot of water, eat soft and easy to swallow foods so as not to affect the tonsils, not to block the airway. Do not eat hot, spicy, cold foods, ice cream, ice... because they damage the lining of the throat, the swelling of the tonsils causing difficulty breathing will be more severe and dangerous. Do not smoke, do not drink alcohol and do not use stimulants. Limit exposure to polluted air, wear a mask when going out. Keep the body warm, especially the pharynx when it's cold. If you have shortness of breath, feel short of breath, have respiratory failure, or chest tightness, you should immediately go to the hospital for a prompt examination.
Nếu tình trạng viêm amidan kéo dài hoặc có bất kỳ triệu chứng gì nghiêm trọng hãy đến gặp bác sĩ để được thăm khám kịp thời
5. How to prevent tonsillitis?
To prevent tonsillitis, the patient should clearly understand the following notes:
Clean teeth twice a day, and use physiological saline to rinse the mouth daily to prevent the invasion of bacteria. harmful bacteria. Wear a mask when going out, wash your hands with antibacterial soap after returning or coming into contact with stains. Always keep the body warm when the weather changes season, especially the ear, nose and throat area should be kept warm and carefully covered. Supplement essential nutrients for the body such as vitamins found in vegetables, tubers and fruits. Drink fruit juices or smoothies for extra minerals. Limit your intake of hard, spicy, hot foods, and cold drinks. Drinking enough water helps to reduce the feeling of dryness in the throat. Build a healthy exercise regimen, a healthy rest regime to help strengthen resistance to prevent the attack of pathogens. Currently, at Vinmec International General Hospital, the method of tonsillectomy and curettage of the VA using the Coblator system has been applied with many advantages such as:
The surgery is almost painless and has very little bleeding, time to perform. very fast only 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to remove all the infected tissue and preserve the healthy tissue well. You can eat and drink right after the surgery, the hospital stay is fast only 1 day after surgery.
Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.
