Rising cases of sleep apnea raise alarm

Harsimran Singh (30), a resident of Begowal, was recently involved in a serious accident while riding his motorcycle with his mother as a pillion passenger. He reportedly fell asleep while driving, causing the bike to crash into a pole. His mother sustained a fracture in her thigh bone.

But, this was not the first time Harsimran had dozed off during an activity. Just last month, while flying from Amritsar to Delhi, he remained asleep even after the plane had landed and all passengers had deboarded. The crew had to wake him up. He often misses his stop while travelling by a train, metro or a bus, and has even injured himself by walking into walls or doors due to falling asleep while walking. Harsimran has been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea.

Similar is the case of Maninder Singh, a teacher from Hoshiarpur, though his condition is comparatively milder. The moment he finishes his class and sits down in the staff room, he falls asleep. His wife, who also works in the same school, says that she often spots him sleeping in school and even at home.

Sulekha, a resident of Jammu, also describes herself as being constantly “sleep-hungry.” “I can fall asleep at any time of the day,” she says. “I avoid holding things in my hands because I tend to drop them when I doze off. I have already damaged a couple of phones. Once, I suffered heat rashes on my legs when a cup of hot tea slipped from my hands. I try to finish kitchen work quickly because I begin to feel drowsy within a short time of work.”

At night, her husband complains of her loud snoring. She wakes up two to three times during the night, often gasping for air. “I get up, go to the washroom, drink some water, return to bed and fall asleep again within minutes,” she explains.

There is a growing queue of patients suffering from sleep disorders — particularly obstructive sleep apnea at hospitals. “All of them share common symptoms like excessive daytime sleepiness, loud snoring at night, rapid weight gain, a heavy neck and frequent chest or nasal congestion,” says Dr HJ Singh, a chest and sleep disorder specialist at Ranjit Hospital. He adds that conditions like thyroid imbalances, asthma, fluctuating blood pressure and heart problems can worsen sleep apnea. If left untreated, it can even lead to death in sleep due to breathlessness. “Our first advice to such patients is to stop driving or engaging in any risky tasks like operating cutters or hammers,” he warns.

“Most patients don’t require medication if diagnosed in time. The most effective treatment is the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy at night. The CPAP machine uses a hose connected to a mask or nosepiece to deliver constant and steady air pressure, helping the patient breathe while sleeping. With regular use of the CPAP machine, patients begin to get restful sleep at night, feel active during the day and often start losing weight within a week,” says Dr Singh.

Diagnosis is done by means of a sleep test done on the patients using a monitor. The patient is observed overnight to track their sleep patterns and treatment is advised based on the results. The doctors also suggest that snoring should never be ignored, as there were high chances of its manifestation into sleep apnea.

Punjab