Child Snoring | Child Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Child Snoring

When we think of snoring, many of us automatically relate the issue with adults, and with good reason.

This is true as many as 40% of American adults are known to snore regularly.

However, many people fail to recognize that snoring is also a problem with children. While not as many are affected, as many as 3% to 12% of preschool children have a primary child snoring issue.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Child snoring affected children are often well in every other sense of health, with no other symptoms. Also, as many as 2% of preschool children, have Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS), a more severe type or child snoring.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome has been increasingly pointed to for problems with children’s behavior and schoolwork ethic.

It’s significant to find out the cause of child snoring, if your child is affected with child snoring, so that you can correctly diagnose which child snoring treatments need to be made to help your child rest peacefully.

For Finding Out Whether Child Is Affected With Child Snoring Or OSAS

There are some aspects to consider finding out if your child just has a normal child snoring issue or Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Does your child seem well, not exhibiting any daytime sleepiness or irregular sleep patterns?

If so, then primary child snoring is generally the problem at hand. These issues are some of the caution signs for OSAS. In contrast to primary child snoring, OSAS children often are found to have disturbed sleep, with pauses, snorts, and gasps in their breathing.

Sign Of OSAS Children

OSAS children often also exhibit behavioral problems, short attention issues, and spans with school. Here are some more signs that they might have OSAS, if your child seems to fit these patterns

  • High blood pressure
  • Large tonsils and/or large adenoids
  • Poor weight gain, or being overweight
  • Frequent mouth breathing, nasally speech and obstruction of the nasal cavity

Diagnosis

There’s ways to find out, if you suspect that your child has Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Nocturnal polysomnography is one of the most common is an overnight sleep study.

However, if you are not located in a big city, it can be a problem finding a hospital that offers this form of diagnosis. To make an audio tape of your child’s breathing in a regular night’s sleep is another way to test your child.

These tapes can be delivered to an interpreter who can more correctly help to diagnose the problem that your child is facing.

OSAS Treatment

There are treatment options available to fix the OSAS, if your child is found to have OSAS. These treatments usually engage removing enlarged adenoids and tonsils in a process known as an adenotonsillectomy.

However, not all therapies are as drastic as surgery. For children who are overweight, which may be causing their apnea, losing weight can be the key to getting them back on the road to health.

Also, allergies have been known cause of OSAS, and treatment for the child’s allergy can bring them back up to health. For children that exhibit the same OSAS issues after an adenotonsillectomy, or children that are unable to have surgery performed, CPAP therapy with the use of a nasal mask is an option.

Whatever the cause, it is significant to find out accurately which type of child snoring is affecting your child, and it is significant to help your child get back into good health, if OSAS is the result of your diagnosis, so that they can lead a more normal life.

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