Is Your Baby Breathing Properly During Sleep? Be Aware With Sleep Apnea In Infants!

Sleep apnea is very dangerous and even fatal condition for adults.

But, if it takes place in infants, it creates a whole set of other problems.

Sleep apnea in infants not only restricts the flow of oxygen from the brain and potentially causes damage to the brain, but also leads to death.

Sleep apnea in adults can be detected and treated easily.

When it comes to sleep apnea in children, it is split into two categories, apnea of prematurity and apnea of infancy.

It is often difficult to detect the symptoms of sleep apnea in children and also makes the treatment much more difficult for you as well as for your doctor.

Is there any clue to identify the problem?

Actually, it is quite normal for all newborns to have pauses in breathing. But if your baby has apnea of prematurity, the heart rate drops below 80 per minute.

As a result, your kid’s skin color turns to pale bluish color. So, when this kind of abnormal breathing occurs in your infant, either he may start to breathe by himself, or needs someone’s help to restart his breathing.

Apnea can happen once in a day or even multiple times in a day. The more immature the baby is, the more frequent will be the apnea spells in your newborn. When your baby matures, it is possible for him to outgrow from apnea.

What kind of treatment is available to infant sleep apnea?

Caffeine therapy is one of the most common treatments recommended for apnea of prematurity in newborns. It is believed that caffeine seems to stimulate the respiratory system of premature babies and also it can mainly help your newborn to breathe better.

Caffeine in the form of drug can be directly given into the veins or it can also be mixed with the milk during feedings. Side effects of medications that are used in the treatment of sleep apnea are usually mild.

Some of those possible side effects can mainly include irritability, throwing up and also fast heart rate.

Never use your own treatment for sleep apnea in your baby. It is always recommended to take proper prescription from your baby’s personal doctor.

Regular health check ups can help you to avoid various health problems in your baby and it also helps to detect other health problems in early stages.