Ah-Chooo! and Zzzzzzz!

Help for Allergies, Sleep Disorders

Southeast Missouri is known for harboring a large number of allergens that can cause people to have allergies. But what may be lesser known is the role that allergies can sometimes play in causing sleep disorders.

Dr. Navid Siddiqui, internal medicine specialist at Kneibert Clinic, has been treating patients for allergy problems and sleep disorders at the clinic since January.

"They're both respiratory problems," Siddiqui said. "A lot of patients who have sleep problems have allergy problems, and nasal blockages are secondary to that, so sometimes they need to be evaluated together."

Who Needs Allergy Tests?

Dr. Siddiqui said symptoms in people who have rhinitis and need allergy testing include runny nose, frequent sneezing, nasal congestion, frequent sinus infections and drainage down the back of the throat, coughing and headaches.

"There are a lot of allergy problems here because of all the pollens, molds, grasses and weeds in this area," Siddiqui said. Needle free and pain free allergy testing is offered.

Needle Free and Pain Free

"The test takes about 25 minutes," Siddiqui said. We use plastic pointed devices. We put eight allergens in one device. We can administer 50 allergens in about five minutes. It takes about 20 minutes to read them. This is pretty fast.

"We test for all regional and common allergens," Siddiqui said. "We have 50 grasses, weeds, dust mites and pollens in this area we test for. If the tests are negative we have 55 food allergens we test for. The most common food people are allergic to are milk, eggs, wheat and nuts."

Siddiqui said most of his allergy patients are in their teens or early twenties. "If they do have allergies, there are two ways to treat it. One is to avoid the allergen and use medication including nasal spray and antihistamines. If allergens are unavoidable such as grasses and pollens, they may be prescribed weekly allergy shots which last several months. The idea is to give the patient immunity to their allergies."

Sleep Disorders

Siddiqui said symptoms of one common sleep disorder, sleep apnea, include frequent snoring, waking up during the night gasping for air, excessive daytime sleeping or napping, sleeping on the job or falling asleep while driving.

"If a patient has a large neck size or is obese, they may have obstructive sleep apnea," Siddiqui said.

"Sleep studies are also used for patients who have trouble falling to sleep, or have excessive leg movement while asleep. People with sleep problems don't get deep sleep. They just get superficial sleep."

Sleep disorders can also be caused by anxiety and depression.

Undergoing a Sleep Study

Patients who undergo a sleep study spend a night in the sleep room at Three Rivers Healthcare South. Several electrodes are placed on key area of their body and while sleeping they are monitored for brain activity, limb movement, respiratory rate, heart activity.

"We check how many snoring events they have, oxygen levels are monitored and we check how many times they wake up," Siddiqui said.

If a patient shows signs of having sleep apnea in the first half of the study, they wear a CPAP machine in the second half.

"This machine applies pressure and keeps the upper respiratory tract open," Siddiqui said. "This provides continuous are flow and they breath and sleep easier. We monitor the CPAP machine to see the changes in their sleep action."

Treating Sleep Disorders

Treatment for sleep apnea generally consists of having them use a CPAP machine while sleeping. "If they have a lot of snoring and not much sleep apnea, we consider doing platoplasty surgery," Siddiqui said. "That is where some throat tissue is taken out. Surgery can help the snoring and sleep apnea." Platoplasty surgery is performed by ear, nose and throat surgeons.

"For restless leg syndrome, we prescribe medication," Siddiqui said. "For insomnia, anxiety or depression, most of the time we treat patients with medication, or we may refer them to a psychiatrist for an evaluation."

Another sleep disorder is narcolepsy. "With this condition the patient has daytime sleepiness and sudden paralysis of the body that lasts a few seconds. They may also have hallucinations," he said. "These patients also need to have the sleep study. They are treated with medication, or they may need to be referred to a urologist."

Anyone wanting more information on sleep studies or allergy testing, or who want to schedule an appointment can call Dr. Siddiqui's office at 573-778-7187 or Kneibert Clinic at 573-686-2411.