The Healthy Geezer

Breathing easier over sleep apnea

By Fred Cicetti

Q. How can I tell if I’m suffering from sleep apnea?

About 18 million Americans have sleep apnea. It’s much more common in older adults and men. Apnea is Greek for “without breath.”

People with sleep apnea stop breathing for as long as 30 seconds at a time. These interruptions can happen hundreds of times a night. The breathing cessations may wake you and prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. These awakenings usually are so brief that you don’t recall them. medical disorders common in older adults

The most common symptoms of sleep can be directly responsible for the anxiety apnea include: we feel. These include heart disease,

• Excessive daytime sleepiness neurologic illness, thyroid and other

• Loud snoring hormone problems. In addition, anxiety can

• Observed episodes of breathing stoppages be a drug side effect. And seniors take a lot during sleep of medicine.

• Abrupt awakenings with shortness of Anxiety disorders in seniors have been breath underestimated. One of the main reasons

• Awakening with a dry mouth or sore is that older patients are more likely to throat emphasize their physical complaints and

• Morning headache downplay emotional problems.

• Problems associated with sleep

Anxiety disorders are serious medical deprivation such as forgetfulness and illnesses that affect approximately 40 mood changes. million American adults. They all involve

About 90 percent of sleep-apnea victims excessive, irrational fear. Anxiety disorders have a windpipe blockage. Obstructive are chronic and can worsen if untreated. Fermenting foods in the colon produce sleep apnea occurs when the muscles

Anxiety disorders are treated with hydrogen and methane as well as carbon in the back of your throat relax. medication and psychotherapy. Both dioxide and oxygen.

These muscles support the soft approaches can be effective for most The unpleasant odor of some flatus is palate, tonsils, tongue and uvula – disorders. Anxiety disorders are not the result of trace gases, such as hydrogen that doohickey that hangs in the back all treated the same, so it is important sulfide, indole and skatole, which are of your mouth. When the muscles to determine the specific problem produced when foods decompose in the relax, your airway is narrowed and first. colon.

breathing is cut off. A blockage can

Although medications won’t cure We release gas upwardly by belching

Cicetti

also be caused by a lot of fatty tissue an anxiety disorder, they can keep the and downwardly by flatulence. When we in the throat. symptoms under control and enable people swallow air and don’t release it by belching,

Q. I seem to be anxious more than usual. to have normal lives. the air will work its way down and out the

Is this something that increases with age? Q. I seem to pass gas a lot. What’s normal? rectum. About half the gas passed from the

Because the stresses of health problems, For the record, most people pass gas rectum comes from swallowed air.

losses and other major life changes build up about 10 times each day. Twenty times daily as we get older, we tend to become anxious. is still considered normal.

Fred Cicetti is a freelance writer who specializes in

Some surveys suggest that one in five older Most people produce between a pint and a

health. He has been writing professionally since

1963. Before he began freelancing, he was a reporter

adults suffer anxiety symptoms that require half-gallon of gas each day. Oxygen, carbon

and columnist for three daily newspapers in New

treatment. dioxide and nitrogen from swallowed air

Jersey. If you would like to ask a question, write to

In addition to psychological causes, make up a large part of gas, or “flatus.”

[email protected].