For some people with obstructive sleep apnea who can’t tolerate CPAP machines, Provent may be a godsend.
Just how does Provent work?
Provent is an FDA approved treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.
This nasal device has a valve design that attaches over the user’s nostrils.
It’s secured in place via a hypoallergenic adhesive.
As you breathe, the valve opens and closes. This redirects air through little holes, creating resistance when you exhale. This helps keep the airway open.
Each Provent device is single use and disposable, and must be prescribed by a doctor.
If a sleep study shows that the device lowers your apnea-hypopnea index to (on average) less than five per hour, then the device works.
However, people who faithfully use CPAP may also find that Provent is a convenient alternative treatment while they are camping or traveling somewhere where use of a CPAP would be cumbersome or not possible.
Symptoms of Untreated Sleep Apnea
- Excessive daytime drowsiness or sleepiness.
- The grogginess is not mitigated by napping; person fails to feel refreshed after a nap.
- Easily falling asleep while doing passive activities such as reading, working on a crossword puzzle, using a computer or watching TV.
- Dozing off in a vehicle while stopped at red lights.
- Waking with headaches in the morning that go away, without painkillers, within 30 minutes of being up and about.
- Difficulty concentrating or focusing on tasks; irritability.
- Someone telling you that while you sleep or nap, you stop breathing.
- Snoring or gasping in one’s sleep.
- Frequent trips to the bathroom overnight to urinate — not just the urge, but a good amount of urine coming out with each trip — despite abstaining from fluid intake in the hours before bedtime.
