Lack of OSA Public Awareness

[Hannibal 2]

I was just wondering why the big CPAP machine manufacturers do not club together and make a public awareness video for TV, certainly not happening in the UK as far as I know.
So many out there that know little or nothing about OSA, I would not have known I had it unless my partner's daughter (who is a doctor) recognised the symptoms and recommended​ I should get it checked out.
Although it would be public awareness rather than advertising, the companies would ultimately gain sales through more people being diagnosed. Seems like a no brainer to me.

[Susie Kay]

The manufacturers??? Where is the media on this? There are news shows on all day that have medical segments.

[rick blaine]

Hi Hannibal 2,

In the US, there have been public information campaigns. This one, for example, quite recently in The New York Times:

http://paidpost.nytimes.com/philips/mak ... pe=article

In the UK, there are rules about what kind of promotional activity health product suppliers and manufacturers can get up to. From memory, something to do with not causing undue fear and alarm.

[Hannibal 2]

Hi Hannibal 2,

In the US, there have been public information campaigns. This one, for example, quite recently in The New York Times:

http://paidpost.nytimes.com/philips/mak ... pe=article

In the UK, there are rules about what kind of promotional activity health product suppliers and manufacturers can get up to. From memory, something to do with not causing undue fear and alarm.

Maybe the rules prevent manufacturers from doing this, but the stroke awareness adds were funded by Public Health England, perhaps they should be running similar adds helping people to spot the signs of OSA, something that heightens the risk of stroke in the first place.

[ChicagoGranny]

stroke awareness

If a population did a good job of treating sleep apnea, the incidence of stroke in that population would decline significantly.

Did the stroke awareness campaign include warnings about untreated sleep apnea? If not, they weren't doing a thorough job.

[Hannibal 2]

stroke awareness

If a population did a good job of treating sleep apnea, the incidence of stroke in that population would decline significantly.

Did the stroke awareness campaign include warnings about untreated sleep apnea? If not, they weren't doing a thorough job.

No, I'm afraid it didn't, hence my shout for better public awareness. The US are clearly better informed than the UK, I wonder how other countries compare.

[Hannibal 2]

FYI

One of the UK Stroke awareness TV commercials:

https://youtu.be/CpR5_LQCyzk

[esparzatj]

The only commercials I have seen related to OSA are the companies pushing "So Clean 2" and the "No-Mask"...neither of which, I would even consider!

[D.H.]

The public awareness has improved dramatically since I was diagnosed in 1999. However, it's still not where it ought to be.

Nowadays, I do hear commercials for travel CPAPs, CPAP alternatives, and the ubiquitous "So Clean 2."

[rohdej]

Are you doing your part? Talking to your family members at holidays? I find that people that need to be tested are ashamed that they are going to be marked "Fat", because only "Fat" people get diagnosed. I remind them yes I'm fat, but they are the one sawing logs in the corner at family gatherings, not me. And the fellow "Hose Heads" in the family compare notes. Masks, Machines, insurance, spousal acceptance. Sadly it's the spousal denial that they need testing that causes the most concern.

[Gryphon]

The following is merely my opinion, If you have any info that shows my opinion is off the mark, then I'm open to expanding my mind and learning new things.

It is kind of amusing and frustrating to think about. I find normal TV to be so annoying with all the advertising crap. I mean drugs to do things like grow longer eye lashes with possible side effects which include blindness. I cherry picked a bad example based on my level of annoyance at having to see the commercial about it.

"Ask your doctor about, bla bla bla..."

But no advertisements for XPAP machines. "Ask your doctor if CPAP is right for you!!!"

I'm sure the reason we don't see more money spent by the big PAP Companies is there may not be all that much money in it. I mean they're selling hardware. Not some quirky form of IP. Drugs cost a lot to develop but once they're invented the costs for raw materials are very low. It makes more sense to get as many eyeballs looking at the product and haranguing their doctors asking for it. More sales mean more money. But I don't think there is quite as much a markup on CPAP machines - compared to drugs. That and most users are not buying a new machine each year. We'll go years on the same machine only changing out the masks and hoses when we have to. [Some of us have financial hardships or no medical coverage and can't afford to by new stuff all the time, My hats off to you for making due with what you have. Then there are those of us who are masochists about it and even when we can afford it or have insurance that covers it, chose to use the same equipment "for ever" like it's some sort of twisted right of passage, I think your all silly, but that's just my opinion

I think some of the regulations that deal with drugs and health care are utterly jacked up but who knows when we'll see better education or change that actually helps people instead of making company xyz more money.

On a side note.

How many people think that there should be a serious recommendation for every single person who has even the most basic form of health care to have a oximitry reading at least once every 5 or 10 years to catch some of the more serious forms of apnea by seeing desats?
( I know not all apnea presents with desats but it would catch some wouldn't it? )
I mean there so many other way more evasive tests that everyone gets when they turn such and such age etc. Mammograms, colonoscopy... why is wearing a fancy wrist watch to bed for 3 nights every 5 or 10 years a bad idea?

I wouldn't be surprised if OSA isn't already at epidemic levels but there's so much disinformation and denial still out there that we may never know. If we were to find out that a lot of the chronic conditions that are already at epidemic levels are caused or made more dangerous by untreated OSA and all those people were instead put on cpap instead of billions of dollars of medications and other care - I wonder how much money we could save? It's just a thought. I'm sure the ensuing posts and conversations on this forum would be most entertaining ether way.

I would love to see better public awareness when it comes to OSA or Apnea in general. I still hear people saying "It's just snoring, Snoring can't kill you" or from a friend of a friend who I just found out uses cpap as well. "as long as I use my machine a few nights I feel better, sleep apnea can't kill you"

Wish you all the best out there.

Gryphon

[ChicagoGranny]

How many people think that there should be a serious recommendation for every single person who has even the most basic form of health care to have a oximitry reading at least once every 5 or 10 years to catch some of the more serious forms of apnea by seeing desats?
( I know not all apnea presents with desats but it would catch some wouldn't it? )

I think you mean an overnight oximetry study. But, I disagree with this proposal. Instead, every time a routine physical is performed, the doc should use a questionnaire designed to evaluate the likelihood of sleep apnea. It would be just a few simple questions - snoring, excess sleepiness during the day, nocturia, trouble sleeping, waking up tired, etc. The doctor would also take note of the patient's weight and jaw structure. One doctor has said he can make 95% accurate diagnoses without a sleep study.

I find normal TV to be so annoying with all the advertising crap.

Gee, I DVR everything and fast forward through the commercials.

[Gryphon]

yes I meant an overnight oximetry study. Though I also like the screening idea during a physical.

My thought about the oximetry study though is it helps get past some of the preconceived notions. If your a woman and not over weight you would be treated for sleep apnea instead of sent to a shrink and given anti anxiety meds. If your a child who might not be able to understand the questions. If your in denial and are trying to sugar coat a situation. I always wonder about questionnaires because they're more subjective, open to interpretation. Ideally I'd like to see both. Though the one on one questionnaire could be done more often.

If your Oxygen levels drop significantly during the night it's hard to argue that nothing is wrong with your sleeping. At least it would get the ball rolling to properly evaluate every person who has desats during sleep. The costs involved couldn't be that bad given most of us could go out and buy a recording oximeter to keep for less then 100 dollars. Most people couldn't go to a doc'n the box to have a cold evaluated for that kind of price.



As for normal TV - Most of the time I'm watching netflix when it comes to shows I watch with my wife. A DVR would be nice, we just haven't set one up.

[ChicagoGranny]

If your Oxygen levels drop significantly during the night it's hard to argue that nothing is wrong with your sleeping.

You are overlooking something that was discussed on here this week - oximetry studies give many false negatives for sleep-disordered breathing. People have trouble understanding that. It will be like, "Well, the little finger-tippy thing said I don't need to wear a mask."

[Pugsy]

You are overlooking something that was discussed on here this week - oximetry studies give many false negatives for sleep-disordered breathing. People have trouble understanding that. It will be like, "Well, the little finger-tippy thing said I don't need to wear a mask."

+1

The false negative possibility is the one thing that keeps me from jumping on the overnight pulse ox test for screening band wagon.
I keep thinking about a friend of mine who has severe apnea (60 plus per hour) with no real significant drops in O2...I saw her report..it never dropped below 94% and the baseline was 97%.

Someone in denial will almost certainly use the fact that the finger tippy thing said I don't have sleep apnea as an excuse to not pursue further investigation.
Yeah...when it's positive it's pretty clear cut but people still travel of the DeNile River when it's positive. Give them a potential out with a negative pulse ox test and they will jump on it like a bug on crap.

Heck...I was on the DeNile River for a couple of years despite my husband telling me that I stopped breathing during the night...I already knew I snored like a freight train because I would wake myself up all the time doing it.
I am familiar with the DeNile River and I worked in the medical field all my life...I should have not even gone there but I did.
Give me a negative pulse ox and that just prolongs the DeNile river trip.

Now if a pulse ox is used with the full disclosure that there can be false negatives...and the person understands and agrees...I got no problem with that.