subject: Dealing With Sleep Apnea In Children [print this page] Does your child have difficulty paying attention to school and other tasks during the day? Are people frequently telling you he/she must be having ADHD or some other attention disorder? Sometimes, the problem is not a behavioral or cognitive issue at all. It is possible that children with short attention spans and aggressive outbursts can actually be suffering from sleep apnea.
It is a disorder in which breathing is obstructed at night, preventing the body from getting air for several seconds to a minute at a time. This often causes the body to wake itself up for a second to jumpstart the breathing process again.
Deep sleep is thus frequently interrupted and the natural rhythms of the body are offset, resulting in less than well-rested children during the daytime. It may be hard to recognize the symptoms as they are often masked by the behavioral results.
If you think that your child might be having sleep apnea, you can start looking for its signs. These could include snoring (although this can occur normally in children as well,) breathing through the mouth at night, losing weight or inability to gain sufficient weight, as well as restlessness at night.
If any of these are coupled with enlarged tonsils and adenoids, extreme fatigue during the day, or behavioral or attention problems, you should probably consult your child's physician.
The doctor will conduct some tests (called polysomnography) to determine whether your child's breathing is being blocked during the night. If your child is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, the doctor may recommend one of several treatments.
First, if your child is overweight, the first line of treatment is to help him/her lose some weight as this may be one big contributing factor. If your child is of normal weight or is underweight, the doctor will look for other issues like allergies or enlarged tonsils.
The tonsils and adenoids are often taken out to remove any obstructions or allergies, and are treated with medications to allow children to breathe easier. In some cases, a machine called a C-PAP may be required to be worn at night in order to manually keep the airways open. This can be initially uncomfortable and can take some adjustment but can also be extremely effective.
Sleep apnea is a serious condition and can lead to plenty of health issues like headaches, high blood pressure, and in the most extreme cases, death. It is important to have this problem diagnosed and treated as soon as symptoms become apparent, so that further health risks do not develop.
by: Abigail Aaronson
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