Causes, Dangers and Treatment of Sleep Apnea in Toddlers

Sleep apnea is known as severe disruption, where the breathing is blocked continuously while you sleep at night.

Three kinds of sleep apnea are known till now. The first one is obstructive sleep apnea in which breathing is interrupted due to blockage. 

The second one is central sleep apnea, where breathing is not stopped due to any blockage but the brain is not capable of sending signals to the muscles to carry on the breathing process. 

The third one is mixed sleep apnea and it is a blend of the above two. The most widespread is obstructive sleep apnea.

Causes of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Toddlers

Anything can cause obstructive sleep apnea, which could actually create a blockage in the air passages and obstruct the air to enter the lungs of your child. 

Mostly, the throat glands, which are found immediately on the back of the nose, are to blame for the large size of adenoids and tonsils in children. While the throat muscles of your child relax during sleep, these enlarged adenoids or tonsils can obstruct air temporarily from entering into the lungs.

Adenoids and tonsils may only be somewhat outsized of course in children. Indeed, in between ages 3-6, sleep apnea is highly widespread, when adenoids and tonsils are the most outsized in comparison with the airway size of the children. Allergies and infections can also cause adenoids and tonsils to grow oversized.

Particular characteristics of the face, for instance, cleft palate or receding chin and obesity are some other reasons for obstruction of air in the air passages.

Sleep apnea is higher in children who have innate or conditions or Down syndrome, which adversely influences the upper air passage. More than 50% of children are likely to build up OSA.

Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in Toddlers

The OSA symptoms list in toddlers is lengthy. The apparent symptoms are snoring and trouble in a breathing process when you are sleeping at night, frequently recognized by a recess (recess is considered as 10 sec to above with no breathing in a medical lab) in breathing.

If your child snores, it doesn’t mean that he has sleep apnea. Only 1-3% of children who snore have sleep apnea, whereas 7-12% of children snore due to other reasons. Professor of pediatrics Mr. Gary E. Freed of Atlanta says that even people who snore do not have sleep apnea and vice versa.

It is a matter of concern, in case your child perspires heavily while sleeping, sleep restlessly, chokes or coughs often, breathe by way of mouth frequently throughout the daytime or at night.

Along with the above-mentioned symptoms, continuous awakenings at night can be the sleep apnea symptoms. Your child may rise frequently to get enough air to respire because of sleep apnea.

Observe your child’s behavior during the daytime if you consider that he may be suffering from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea sufferers are sleepless most of the time that makes them peevish, weird, and frustrated. Because of tiredness, your child may try to sleep at improper periods.

Your child may have adenoid or tonsils related healthiness issues. The growth of your child will possibly be slow, in case he is not getting enough sleep and as a result not benefitting from the hormonal growth that is discharged during nighttime. 

Another reason for slow growth may be making an extra effort in breathing during the night as he will be using extra calories. Mr. Gary says that it is similar to running a marathon race at night daily.

Dangers of Sleep Apnea in Toddlers

Mild symptoms of sleep apnea grow up silently in the majority of children. In any case, sleep apnea can put adverse effects on the behavior, learning, and growth of the children. If the sleep apnea is severe, it can ground to hypertension, lung, and heart-related issues.

Your Toddler may be suffering from Sleep Apnea

Discuss it with your doctor. The doctor will inquire about the sleep habits and check up the upper air passage of your child.

In case your doctor believes that the allergies or weight might be the cause of trouble, she will recommend handling these issues initially. She will possibly refer you to an apnea specialist; sleep specialist, a lung or ear, nose, and throat specialist.

Polysomnogram is a test that is normally carried out in the assessment of sleep apnea. It checks to gasp and snoring sounds, levels of oxygen in the blood, breathing, movement of eyes, and brain waves.

This test can be carried out in a lab under the continuous supervision of a sleep professional. It can also be carried out at home with a portable device.

However, the lab study is considered more accurate than a home study. In any case, both the studies are pain-free.

Treatment of Sleep Apnea in Toddlers

In majority of cases, adenoids and/or tonsils are removed in children, while others may require a CPAP device that blows air into the airways with the help of a facemask. However, CPAP does not normally remove the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea.

References:

https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/could-my-child-have-sleep-apnea

http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/apnea.html

http://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/sleep-apnea-in-children-symptoms-health-risks-diagnosis-treatment

https://www.sleepapnea.org/treat/childrens-sleep-apnea/

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