Does your child snore?
Does he/she suffers from constant nose blockage and mouth breathing?
Does your child shows signs of disturbed sleep like long pauses in breathing, restless sleep, choking, gasping or snorting?
Does he/she sleeps in unusual positions like propped up high on pillows.
Does our child shows signs of behavioural problems, learning dif ficut ties or poor attention?
Does he/ she suffers from morning headaches, tiredness, poor appettite and problems with swallowing?
The cause for all these problems may be obstructive sleep apnea in children.
Osa occurs when a child stops breathing during periods of sleep. The cessation of breathing occurs because of blockage in the airway. The cause of blockage is tonsils and adenoid (like tonsils tissue behind the nose) enlargement in majority. Inflamed glands adds further to enlargement.. During episodes of blockage the child may look as if he or she is trying to breath with rapid chest movements but no air is exchanged in the lungs resulting in sleep apnea.
This very often goes undiagnosed as many symptoms are overlooked by the parents or taken up too lightly. The further effect of this may be shocking as the problem may lead to adenoid faces to failure to thrive in children.
It is estimated that appr. 10 percent of children snore regularly and about 1 to 4 % of children suffers from sleep apnea and majority of the children are in the age group of 2 to 8 yrs.
During night a child with sleep apnea
Snore loudly on a regular basis, have pauses , gaps or snorts and actually stops breathing. The snorts or gasps may waken them and disrupt their sleep. They are usually restless and sleep in unusual manner and may sweat at night.
During day the child may show behavioural and social problems. Difficult to wake up and with headache often. Usually are sleepy in daytime and irritable and agitated and usually are mouth breathers