![]() |
Help for Truckers with Sleep Apnea at eSnore and Sleep LLC |
Truck drivers have a very
important job. While it is often taken for granted, transporting
materials from place to place on time is a critical function. Without
truck drivers, the food and goods that you buy would not make it to
your stores of choice. The mail that you receive in your mailbox
would not make it to the post office to be delivered.
Truck driving
can be dangerous due to changing road conditions as well as other
drivers who do not follow the rules of the road. Life on the road can
be even more dangerous for those drivers that suffer from sleep
apnea.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleeping
disorder that causes repeatedly start and stop breathing while they
are asleep. People suffering from sleep apnea experience tiredness
even after a good night’s sleep because they are not breathing
properly during that time.
They may also snore loudly. Two main types
of sleep apnea have been identified: Obstructive
and Central.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the more common form of the disorder and
is caused when throat muscles relax during sleep. Central sleep apnea
occurs when a person’s brain does not send the right signals to the
muscles in the body that control their breathing. There are many symptoms
that characterize sleep apnea.
The most common of these include:
- Problems paying attention
- Snoring loudly
- Excessive drowsiness during the day
- Breathing cessation that is observed by another person
- Waking up suddenly with shortness of breath
- Sore throat or dry mouth after sleeping
- Headache after sleeping
- Insomnia (difficulty staying asleep)
Sleep Apnea and
Truckers
The Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA) has stepped into the truck driving
arena and has considered instituting a mandate that will require
truck drivers to be screened for obstructive sleep apnea if their
Body Mass Index (BMI) is 35 or greater.
This is due to the Medical
Review Board determining that a person with a BMI that indicates
obesity is more likely to suffer from OSA. Per the FMCSA, the
presence of OSA is crucial to truck drivers because it may be
detrimental to driving safely since the condition may negatively
interfere with driver alertness and even cause sudden incapacitation.
Effects such as this can
have a chain reaction of results. Drivers who are not properly rested
may dose off or fall completely asleep while driving. Those that may
suffer from OSA may do this at a higher rate, which will cause them
to lose control of their trucks and cause major accidents that can
severely injure or kill the driver as well as any other people who
are driving in the vicinity of the truck. When drivers are carrying
such heavy loads as many trucks do, it is critical that employers
monitor and ensure that their truckers are capable of doing their
jobs because disorders such as sleep apnea can change lives for the
worse if it is not diagnosed early enough.
It takes multiple parties
to ensure that sleep apnea does not bring down the trucking
industries. Medical experts should continue to educate trucking
companies on the dangers of sleep apnea and how it can affect their
drivers. Once companies are informed, it is their responsibility to
actively have their drivers tested for OSA.
If some drivers are
positively diagnosed with sleep apnea, steps should be taken to
minimize the occurrence of sleep apnea among these drivers, and those
that show severe symptoms should be taken off of the road. No one
wants to put a person out of work, but it is necessary to do so if it
has the potential to save lives.
I enjoyed reading this article. PLease continue publishing helpful topics like this. Regards, from beddingstock
ReplyDelete