Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Children

Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious disorder. Therefore, it is quite disturbing when children suffer from it. In this article, you can find out how to detect this problem, as well as learn about more ways to treat it as quickly as possible.

What is obstructive sleep apnea?

This type of apnea, which occurs when children are asleep, causes  partial or complete blockage of the airways. This means that while sleeping, they stop breathing at some point. When this happens, the baby often wakes up, which interferes with their sleep and causes fatigue and tiredness during the day.

Below  you can discover the reasons why children can suffer from this respiratory disorder. It is important to pay close attention to this problem that occurs during sleep.

Causes of obstructive sleep apnea in children

• Adenoid vegetations. In this case, the false tonsils (tissue at the back, top of the mouth) are too large. Thus, there is less space for the air to pass through.
• Obesity. Excessive fat can cause soft tissue to build up around the airways, causing a narrowing, which in turn results in apnea.
• Neuromuscular diseases. These are often characterized by loss of muscle strength, which can cause obstructive sleep apnea in children. They are progressive.
• Craniofacial diseases:  These deformities can affect the airways, causing disturbances and greater predisposition to suffer from sleep apnea.

Signs and symptoms

Now that you know some of the reasons why children can suffer from sleep apnea,  it is important to detect the signs and symptoms of the condition as early as possible.

To do this, let your pediatrician know if you notice any of the following symptoms that you may be overlooking.

One of these signs may be snoring. However, children may also experience night sweats for no apparent reason, sleepwalking, or nightmares. These symptoms usually cause hyperactivity, headaches, and poor attention  during the day.

When one encounters this problem, the child may have chronic fatigue and other sleep problems such as, as we mentioned, going to sleep or night anxiety.

If your child tells you that they have woken up without breathing and are afraid of falling asleep precisely because of this, it is important to follow the symptoms we have mentioned.

Telling your child’s doctor about this will allow you to start treatment as soon as possible to prevent other complications, such as cardiovascular disease.

Treatment of sleep apnea

Depending on what is causing obstructive sleep apnea, your doctor will decide what is the right treatment.

If obstructive sleep apnea is caused by obesity, for example, the child will be given a specific diet to lose weight. The doctor will also consider other treatments if this does not solve the problem or the child is not able to lose weight.

• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. This is a machine that prevents the airways from collapsing during the night. The child must sleep with the mask that will be connected to a tube that provides positive pressure to the airways.
• Mouthguard:  This is an object that keeps the throat open by moving the jaw forward. In addition, it prevents snoring.
• Surgery:  In more severe cases, although not so common, one may have to resort to surgery. The operation focuses on the jaw, neck, or tissue removal in the case of false tonsils.

All of these options relieve the symptoms we talked about above so that the baby can sleep well.

Remember that this disorder can lead to cardiovascular disease, and even sudden death. Therefore  , it is absolutely necessary that one treats it properly to prevent complications.