Do you have friends or family suffering from Pickwickian syndrome? Many doctors refer to this condition as obesity hypoventilation disorder.
Those who suffer from this condition usually have a hard time staying awake during daytime.
They have a disrupted sleep cycle that results to fatal car accidents.
If you have no clue on what this disorder is all about, here is more information about it.
What is Pickwickian syndrome? The name of this condition was derived from Charles Dickens' novel 'The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'.
It was named after a character named Joe, a fat and red-faced boy who exhibited all signs of the disorder.
This condition is a combination of disruptive apnea in moderately to severely obese people.
According to reports, about 2.
5 million people in the U.
S.
suffer from sleep apneas that are episodes of slow breathing during sleep.
The signs often associated with obstructive sleep apnea include obesity, having a short thick neck, and reduction in muscle tone of the soft palate, uvula and the pharynx.
Enlarged tonsils or adenoids, a deviated nasal septum, nasal polyps or congenital abnormalities may narrow the upper airway.
Sleep disruption may also occur at high altitudes because of low oxygen concentration.
The Pickwickian syndrome consists of moderate to extreme obesity, alveolar hypoventilation or having a hollow sac or cavity, prolonged drowsiness, twitching, cyanosis or skin discoloration, periodic breathing, secondary polycythemia or excessive red blood cells caused by low oxygen, and right sided heart failure.
The origin of this condition and its development are unknown.
There are recent studies that show the syndrome can exist in non-obese patients also.
Complications associated with having a poor sleep cycle and untreated sleep apnea include the following: -High Blood -Arrhythmias -Abnormal blood levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide -Peripheral edema -Sleepwalking -Blackouts -Automatic robot-like behavior -Intellectual deterioration -Hallucinations -Anxiety -Irritability -Aggressiveness - Jealousy -Suspiciousness - Irrational behavior -Loss of interest in sex -Morning headaches -Bedwetting How do you treat this condition? Therapy for this condition consists mainly of weight loss surgery.
This reduces episodes of sleep apnea and improves the blood gases and daytime drowsiness.
Weight loss for obese individuals is difficult to achieve.
It takes perseverance, commitment and determination.
Many people have difficulty find time to participate in weight loss regimens.
This is a gradual process.
Doctors have realized this and they have come up with treatment methods for breathing assistance.
These methods will involve the use of special state-of-the-art machines that can be invasive or non-invasive.
It's up to the patient to choose which option to use.
He or she must consult a trusted doctor before deciding on anything.
It's also important to know the symptoms of OHD can also be found in non-obese individuals.
Anyone showing telling signs of OHD, obese or not, should be checked by a physician.
People with this condition would need treatment to restore their sleep cycle.