Snoring Worries In Children: Diagnosing And Treating The Problem
When we picture the typical snorer it usually is an overweight man sleeping on his back with window shaking racket coming out of his open mouth. How often do we think of this noise coming from the bedroom of a small child? Yet, it happens and when it does it is cause for concern because very often it is pointing to OSA, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which is a serious problem in up to three percent of normal healthy preschoolers. Oddly most often the prime reason for snoring in children under six years old is problems related to tonsils and adenoids. Yet, it is not the size of the child or the tonsils that matters but the muscle tone. As well, children with cerebral palsy, craniofacial anomalies, muscular dystrophy or Down syndrome are at higher risk for this problem.
Children with Obstructive Sleep Apnea will have trouble breathing while sleeping and will be snorers. They are likely very restless when they sleep. Their demeanor, when sleeping often upsets their caregivers so much that during the night they will move the child or wake them to be certain they are all right and then forget to tell the doctor about these oddities. When the child is awake they breathe just fine without any hindrance though are commonly mouth-breathers. When family history is taken there will usually be someone in the immediate family who snores.
The first step in treatment is a sleep study. Then often the physician will request a polysomnography. This test is used to diagnose the various sleep disorders. It reads a combination of eye movements, muscle strength, heartbeat and respiratory ability, including ease of breathing, as well as brain waves. When reading the results it must be remembered that children have a different sleeping pattern than adults; even adults with sleep disorders.
Once the testing is done the likely outcome will be surgery to remove both the tonsils and the adenoids. This will unblock the airway; end the snoring and sleep apnea. If the child snores but does not have signs of Obstructive Sleep Apnea do not have the surgery done, some kids just snore. But if the child has both then the surgery should be all they need to eliminate both problems. It is recommended that the child have no other treatment at the time. It will take six to eight weeks before healing has been accomplished and results of the surgery are showing themselves. Then after this time period the parents will see a big difference in the child’s snoring and breathing. The nights will be quieter now and the child will sleep much better.
Never rush into surgery; even a minor operation is a trauma to the body. But this surgery will calm the snoring and increase the amount of air your child is breathing in. Both of which are obviously important to the overall wellbeing of your child. This kind of snoring needs to be acted on as soon as is possible.
