Obstructive sleep apnea in children

Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children

One of every four cases of ADHD or the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been attributed to obstructive sleep apnea in children. If your child is showing problems in sleeping, he might have sleep apnea. Some of the basic and most common symptoms of the disorder are:

• Mouth breathing which results to dry mouth in the morning. Check if your child sleeps open-mouthed.
• Restlessness in bed. This is a lot of tossing and turning.
• Sleep walking, heavy sweating and bed-wetting.
• Breathe pauses followed by gasping for air.
• Snoring.
• Nightmares.
• Moodiness and bad tempers in the morning.
• Sluggish with very short attention span.
• Daytime sleepiness.
• Slow physical growth and poor academic performance.

Some of the symptoms can also be for other underlying reasons aside from apnea, but if your child has any problem breathing during sleep, coupled with some of these signs, it would be advisable that you consult a doctor that specializes in obstructive sleep apnea in children. The disorder afflicts children aged 2-8 years old and some kids actually outgrow the disease. But those whose apnea disorder persists and are left undetected could disrupt a normal childhood as most behavioural issues lead back to sleeping disorders. Eventual weight problems and child obesity have also been associated to chronic fragmented and restless sleep.

The most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea in children is blockages in the upper airways. This could man narrowed throats or the back part of the nose. In some cases, the obstruction comes from the physiological structure of the face or some of the facial bones, especially jaws. OSA in children could also be an indication of another underlying disease. Possibilities include Adenoid hypertrophy, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Sickle cell disease, hypothyroidism, obesity, myelomeningocele, Choanal stenosis, Pierre Robin sequence, osteopetrosis, tonsillitis, a number of neuromuscular diseases and a whole lot more.

Obstructive sleep apnea in children due to blockages is normally treated with a sleep apnea surgery, especially if it is projected to resolve the kid’s problem breathing during sleep. Tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy are two of the most common sleep apnea surgeries for children. These involve the removal of both tonsils and the adenoids. These are relatively minor out-patient procedures with the actual operation are done over an hour’s time. There will a significant pain and infection risk involved. Thus, proper care and precautions should be observed. Younger children usually are the fastest to recover.

Aside from surgery, there are other ways to treat the sleep disorder. You could try using the CPAP therapy to aid and sustain the regular breathing of the patient. This process calls for the child to wear a mask over his face when sleeping. The mask is connected by tubes to a CPAP machine that generates the regular airflow. Most patients would hate the discomfort of mask wearing but there are several mask designs for better fit. Also, initial remedies can also help alleviate the breathing of the patient. Minor cases of obstructive apnea in children can be overcome by simply adapting proper sleep postures, healthy food choices and exercises.