Driving with Obstructive Sleep Apnea is just like Driving Under the Influence
If you are one of the millions of Americans who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), would you still get behind the wheel? You may think that the condition is harmless, and you may take it for granted. Sadly, this is the way of thinking for most people. Sadly, they pay the price.
The Ugly Truth
Out of all 3 types of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea accounts for 84% of cases. Approximately 12 million Americans have this sleeping disorder. 90% of these American’s don’t even know they have it.
Studies show that people who suffer from this condition have the reflexes similar to legally intoxicated people. Out of all the drivers in the United States, it is estimated that 4.7 million of them have the sleeping disorder. Again, most of them don’t know they have it.
In a recent study, 1,391 truck drivers were tested for the condition. 28% or 390 of them were diagnosed with the condition. You can imagine all the mayhem they can cause, if just one of them were to fall asleep while driving.
In 2004 alone, 980 lives were lost, and $11.1 billion was spent on automobile accident costs, due to OSA. Imagine all the money that would have been put to better use. Imagine all the lives that would have been saved, if only more effort was put into proper treatment.
Sleep Apnea Treatment
There are various forms of widely used treatment for the condition.
These treatments are the following:
- CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
- Dental Mouthpiece
- Surgery
These more popular treatments are well capable of curing the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. However, they also come with side effects that can cause additional health risks and in some cases fatal.
Examples of these are:
- Severe Rash
- Pain
- Discomfort
- Allergies
- Nasal infection
- Respiratory infection
Luckily, alternatives have been found, which do not have harmful side effects. In addition, these alternatives are just as effective, but not expensive.
These alternatives include:
- Singing
- Blowing on a didgeridoo
- Apnea pillow
If only more education about sleep apnea were in circulation, more lives would have been saved. If the condition was to be detected and treated as early as possible, we would no longer have to worry about the growing number of casualties.
Marc MacDonald is an independent sleep apnea researcher who specializes in obstructive sleep apnea, as well as alternative treatments that *don’t* involve CPAP. For a free guide to 7 Alternative Apnea Treatments (with detailed descriptions of each, along with case studies), visit his website at http://ApneaTreatmentGuide.com/ApneaAlternativeTreatment/.
