On The Beat 4/16/20 - Huxford Clinic

Dr. Cameron Huxford from The Huxford Clinic discusses the treatment process for Sleep Apnea.

Troy: welcome back to on the beat.

Everyone, we're over here talking with dr. cameron from the huxford clinic, and the last time he was in we talked about sleep apnea and the issues that go along with it and those health concerns.

Before we get into the treatment process, just remind everyone at home what sleep apnea is.

Dr. huxford: sleep apnea is a condition in which you quit breathing at night and the typical symptoms are loud snoring, witnessed apneas, and excessive sleepiness.

Troy: ok.

The people that would be y'know getting sleep apnea.

Are they obese?

Is it hereditary?

It's like just break that down for me.

Dr. huxford: it's very common.

I don't believe it's genetic but it is very common and we see children to elderly people.

Troy: children?

Dr. huxford: yes.

Troy: you were telling me off- camera that you just recently had a little kid come in.

Dr. huxford: we had a two year old.

His mother thought he was breathing funny when he was sleeping at night and he was snoring.

We sent him for a sleep study.

He quit breathing 32 times an hour, and for a child more than once an hour is abnormal.

Troy: ok, last time you were here, we were talking about some of the solutions to fix this.

So you brought in three apparatuses that don't look very inviting for overnight guests.

Haha!

Dr. huxford: so this right here is a sea-pac.

This is a full standard treatment.

It's essentially an air compressor.

It generates air under pressure that goes through the hose and then attaches to a mask, and the air goes through the mask and it acts as a splint to move your tongue out of the way, extra tissue in your throat, tonsils, whatever, to create an open passage so that you breathe normally.

Troy: ok, i get it.

So, we just want everyone to be clear.

You don't go to the office and then pick this up.

If you think you have it, it's after the initial tests.

Dr. huxford: you have to have a sleep study to get this, yeah.

Troy: ok, now i see there's another one at the very end and it looks bigger than the one beside it.

Dr. huxford: yes, these are just two examples of many.

There's all different shapes and sizes.

They're customed for men and women and fit over the mouth and the nose or in the nose so to help people be as comfortable as possible.

Troy: all right.

I have to ask you.

There are people out there including me that are claustrophobic.

It looks like it would be a problem.

Dr. huxford: well, these are full- faced masks here.

There are others that just fit over your nose and have a very low profile.

We have a lot of people to come in with a concern for this but most of the time we can work through that.

Troy: what's c.p.a.p.?

Dr. huxford: it stands for continuous, positive airway pressure.

Troy: ok.

What is it?

Dr. huxford: it's just as i mentioned earlier the delivering of air under pressure through the mask to move any tissue out of the way.

Troy: so when we see that, everyone, written up we now know exactly what that means.

I do want to ask you, it's a touchy subject i'm sure for many people, does insurance pay for this or is it out of pocket?

Dr. huxford: with the visit and the symptoms described plus the sleep study results, insurance companies will pay for this therapy.

Troy: really?

Cause it's life- changing and could save your life.

Dr. huxford: people's life changes dramatically once you can restore normal sleep.

Troy: really?

Well, yes, because we know you do need a good night's sleep to lead a healthy, fulfilled life, but you just don't realize like you said that baby that stopped breathing 35 times in an hour!

Dr. huxford: treatment for children can be different.

A tonsilectomy can often be curative so this child had his tonsils removed and within less than a week his sleep was back to normal.

Troy: this is amazing!

Great information, buddy.

Thank you for coming in.

We appreciate it.

If you wanna find out more about dr. cameron and the huxford clinic, listen guys if you're not getting a good night's sleep, you might not know that you have sleep apnea.

Go in and see the doctor and y'know see if it might be for you.

Back after this short break.

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