By Jeff Seidel Detroit Free Press
First Posted: March 18, 2011 - 9:00 am
DETROIT — Peter Manschot woke up in a hotel room and found his wife, Emily, sleeping in the bathroom. "I felt really bad," says Manschot, 63, of Novi, Mich. "She was curled up with blankets and whatever pillows she could scrounge, trying to make a bed out of the bath tub." It was the only place she could sleep because he was snoring so loudly.Manschot's snoring was a symptom of a much bigger problem. He is among the estimated 18 million Americans with obstructive sleep apnea, a chronic condition in which the airway is blocked during sleep. It prevented Manschot from breathing and caused him to snore.
The prevalence of sleep apnea is expected to grow with the rise in obesity and the aging population, because age and weight are two factors that increase the chances of developing the chronic condition in which the back of the throat relaxes and the airway becomes blocked.
For some, surgery can alleviate the problem. For others, the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine opens up the airways and allows for more normal breathing during sleep.
Manschot was prescribed a CPAP machine — the most common treatment for sleep apnea. The machine pumps air through a hose and into a mask that fits over a person's mouth and nose, or just over the nose. The machine gently blows air into the throat, artificially holding the airway open.
"Now, I'm sleeping through the night and have been for years," Manschot says. "I think it's
immensely benefited me."
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