NOTHING TO SNOOZE ABOUT – SLEEP APNOEA

With 10 percent of Australians suffering from insomnia and one in three adults struggling to catch enough zzz’s, sleep apnoea is no joking matter.

With sleep apnoea, a person may stop breathing for more than 10 seconds and with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, the upper airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, causing you to have a fragmented sleep with inadequate breathing.  No wonder, so many Australians are not waking up refreshed or feeling rejuvenated. 

Whether it’s putting up with your partner’s snoring (that’s 19 per cent of Australians out there) or the 35 per cent of Australians waking up frequently during the night, sleep apnoea showcases some frightening statistics, especially when 80 per cent of sleep apnoea sufferers have not even been diagnosed.

Sleep apnoea is not a normal part of life.  Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnoea will decrease a person’s life span by 10 years and may lead to serious health disorders such as hypertension, depression, heart disease and stroke.  Who knew, sleep, or lack of it, could be so dangerous.

The good news is effective treatments are out there.

There are the lengthy and often expensive systems to diagnose sleep apnoea which usually involves an overnight sleep study in a lab or hospital, and the waiting periods required for specialists.

Now, Community Care Chemist in Geelong West is offering an affordable sleep apnoea testing service which can be done in the privacy and comfort of your own home. 

CCC Geelong West has joined forces with Australian Pharmacy Sleep Services to offer Geelong residents a more convenient way to test for sleep apnoea.  By simply taking the overnight sleep study in your own home, results can then be sent to a sleep scientist and doctor for the diagnosis.  The pharmacist at Community Care Chemist will present the results within 10 days.  

If you do suffer from sleep apnoea, the CCC pharmacist can recommend a number of options including a mouth guard or a CPAP machine trial and tailor a treatment to the patient’s exact needs.

From 1^st May, CCC West Geelong is offering 50 per cent off the price of the sleep tests (usually $120). So there is little excuse not to attack sleep apnoea head on.

So for those 80 per cent of Australians who have sleep aponea and don’t even know it or the 19 per cent who experience sleepiness that interferes with daily activities, take the first step forward in getting the help you need.  You are only one Community Care Chemist step away in having a quality night’s sleep for good.

GEELONG’S PREMIUM HEALTHCARE PHARMACY

Geelong’s oldest pharmacy group, Community Care Chemist, has lifted the bar in providing premium multidisciplinary healthcare to the people of Greater Geelong and Apollo Bay.

With the onslaught of discount pharmacy chains and online pharmacy retailers in not only Greater Geelong, but around Australia, Community Care Chemist has redefined the way their pharmacists service their customers, making the customer’s health needs the top priority over profit margin.

As the only not-for-profit pharmacy in Greater Geelong, all funds generated from the four Community Care Chemists, are reinvested back to the pharmacies, with a slice of the funds donated to Greater Geelong and Apollo Bay’s community groups.

Community Care Chemist’s intuitive and proactive customer focus is its top priority with most of the pharmacists on the floor talking and advising customers about their healthcare needs.

The pharmacies are a hub of activity with each Geelong pharmacy specialising in a blockbuster healthcare issue.  North Geelong focuses on diabetes, Geelong West on sleep apnoea and the newly refurbished Belmont pharmacy specialises in pain management.

With Geelong’s rapid ageing population, Community Care Chemist has fine-tuned the chemists’ dynamics to service these growing needs including obesity, dementia, mental health and heart health.

Anin-house naturopath is located in the Belmont and North Geelong CCC pharmacies as the demand for alternative and complementary therapies and medicines continues to escalate.

According to Community Care Chemist, CEO, Julie Ryan, the much-loved Geelong icon continues to refine its commitment to Greater Geelong and Apollo Bay citizens in receiving premium health care advice and strategies.

“For more than 116 years, Community Care Chemist has been part of Geelong’s community fabric.  We are a trusted and respected group and are committed in consolidating that faith and confidence in quality healthcare in decades to come,” she said.

“With a new healthier rewards program to our 24,000-strong membership base, the program is not only free but offers a suite of other benefits including up to 20 per cent off selected products.

“At Community Care Chemist, we take our namesake seriously.  We genuinely care for our community and that is why we have such a loyal customer base in Greater Geelong and Apollo Bay.

Lifetime Geelong resident, Pauline Stewart, age 83, has been a loyal customer of Community Care Chemist for the last 60 years and a member for many years.

“Community Care Chemist is the only choice for me when it comes to whole healthcare.  You are greeted with pharmacists who are not hidden behind the dispensary but front and centre on the floor.  They have a genuine interest in your enquiries and provide you with the guidance and advice you need.  From a stubborn wart to taking natural medicine to complement your antibiotics – and everything else in between.  Community Care Chemists staffs are there to help.