positive airway pressure (pap) treatment uses a machine to pump air under pressure into the airway of the lungs. the forced air delivered by cpap (continuous positive airway pressure) prevents episodes of airway collapse that block the breathing in people with obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems. if you only have mild sleep apnea and do not feel very sleepy during the day, you may not need it. you may start to use pap while you are in a sleep center for the night. your provider may teach you how to adjust the settings at home. or, you may need to go to the sleep center to have it adjusted. if you are having problems, you may be tempted not to use the machine for the whole night. but you will get used to it more quickly if you use the machine for the entire night. some new machines can automatically adjust to the right pressure.
principles and practice of sleep medicine. philadelphia, pa: elsevier; 2017:chap 115. kimoff rj, kaminska m, pamidi s. obstructive sleep apnea. murray and nadel’s textbook of respiratory medicine. philadelphia, pa: elsevier; 2022:chap 120. shangold l, jacobowitz o. cpap, apap, and bipap. sleep apnea and snoring. philadelphia, pa: elsevier; 2020:chap 8. updated by: allen j. blaivas, do, division of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, va new jersey health care system, clinical assistant professor, rutgers new jersey medical school, east orange, nj. internal review and update on 08/20/2021 by david zieve, md, mha, medical director, brenda conaway, editorial director, and the a.d.a.m. the information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. a licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. links to other sites are provided for information only — they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites.
positive airway pressure (pap) therapy is a generic term applied to all sleep apnea treatments that use a stream of compressed air to support the airway during sleep. pap therapy is a prescribed treatment because the air pressure required to stabilize the airway, known as the therapeutic pressure, is different for everyone. an individual’s therapeutic level is determined during a continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) titration sleep study. there are three main types of pap treatment available, continuous positive airway pressure (cpap), bilevel, and auto-titrating devices. cpap is typically the first pap therapy used to treat sleep disordered breathing.
if your symptoms aren’t eliminated after consistent use of the device, contact your doctor to assess whether your pressure needs to be adjusted or if you would benefit from a different pap option such as an auto-titrating device or a bilevel machine. most bilevel machines work by switching between the two air pressures in response to your breathing. the auto titrating machines have an algorithm that increases the air pressure when your breathing is compromised and lowers the air pressure after a period of normal respiration. pap treatment is very safe and effective for treating sleep apnea however, it can take time to get used to the feeling of the mask and breathing against the positive air pressure. most of these side effects are temporary and can be reduced by changing the mask style or using a heated humidifier to add moisture to the air. the university of tennessee medical center provides medical treatment without regard to race, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, culture, language, socioeconomic status, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or disability.
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pap therapy, or positive airway pressure therapy, is a general term that health professionals apply to all sleep apnea treatments that cpap, the abbreviation for continuous positive airway pressure therapy, is a treatment method for patients who have sleep apnea. positive airway pressure, or pap, is the most effective and most widely used method for treating obstructive sleep apnea, particularly in its severe form—25, automatic positive airway pressure, bi level positive airway pressure.
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