One very common sleep disorder affecting children today is the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. This sleep disorder is known to cause daytime attention and behavioral problems in children. Unlike in adults, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children is hard to identify. This makes sleep apnea symptom recognition important.
What usually happens in an obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is that the muscles along the walls of the throat loosen up as the child sleeps. Because of this, the walls cave in and hinder the flow of air. After about 30 seconds, the child stirs to a lighter stage of sleep or brief restlessness. The muscles then become constricted, which decreases the obstacle, and the child is able to breathe again. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children typically starts between 3 and 6 years old, where the most common factor at that age is distended tonsils and adenoids.
Not all people who snore have sleep apnea syndrome. In fact, 10-20 percent of normal children experience primary snoring, whether regular or irregular. However, snoring is a sleep apnea symptom that is considered one of the main signs. But apart from snoring, there are other symptoms for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children. These include the following:
- Tonsils and adenoids are enlarged - Nightly snoring, often with intermittent pauses, gasps or snorts - Disturbed sleep - Breathing through the mouth - Problems falling asleep - Restless sleep - Irritability - Weight loss or poor weight gain - Chronic fatigue - Extreme daytime lethargy - Daytime cognitive and behavior issues like the inability to pay attention, having aggressive actions and hyperactivity, which result to problems at school
The diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children is usually based on typical symptoms and indication of adenotonsillar hypertrophy, or big tonsils and adenoids, and breathing through the mouth. A doctor may diagnose obstructive sleep apnea through a sleep history and a sleep study, or nocturnal polysomnography.
Treatments
In young children, obesity is not a sleep apnea symptom since the condition is only observed in adults. However, if the child is on the overweight side, that just might contribute to whatever sleep apnea symptom he or she is having. Thus, it becomes crucial that the child maintains a normal weight, most especially if he or she has obstructive sleep apnea.
Allergies should be treated in children with obstructive sleep apnea as well. One medication that can help improve nasal obstruction and a sleep apnea symptom is a nasal steroid. Surgery is the chief treatment for children suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. This entails removing the child's enlarged tonsils and adenoids through tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.
If obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is not improved even when the tonsils and the adenoids were already removed, the treatment used may include the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. This device can help transport air through the nose at a measured pressure that helps maintain open upper airway passages during sleep.
