Sleep Apnea in Children – All about the disorder

Sleep apnea in children can be referred to as a serious disorder related to sleep. Because of this disorder, a child’s breathing is consistently disturbed throughout the sleep. The disorder can be categorized in to three types as mentioned below:

     a)      Obstructive Sleep apnea: This disorder is caused due

b)      Central sleep apnea: No blockage is experienced. However, the brain of the child is not able to instruct the muscles to breathe.

c)      Mixed sleep apnea: This disorder is known to be a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

Central sleep apnea is very rare in children. Obstructive sleep apnea is common in both children and adults. One of the main causes of Sleep apnea in children is down syndrome. Other congenital situations similar to this also make children vulnerable to this disorder.  

Medical experts feel that any baby can develop this sleep disorder. However, babies who are born prematurely are at greater natural risk.

There are several causes of sleep apnea some of these include the following:

a)      Improper central nervous system development.

b)      Respiratory diseases

c)      Bleeding in brain

d)      Birth defect

e)      Imbalance in physique of the body.

f)        Infection

g)      Heart problems

h)      Higher exposure to drugs and poison.

i)        Problems related to blood vessels.

Sleep apnea in children can result in serious breathing problems. The baby tends to gasp or gag before taking a breath. Most of the time, the baby tends to turn blue. This is quite normal in infants less than six months old. There are times when the baby breathes faster than usual for a specific period, then slows down the pace and finally stops for about fifteen seconds prior to returning aback to normal breathing. 

Sleep apnea can be dangerous for babies. Restriction in breathing results in fall in oxygen levels largely. This also increases the level of carton dioxide, resulting in the drop of the baby’s heart rate. The condition is medically termed as bradycardia.

Sleep apnea in children can be categorized by the following system:

a)      snoring

b)      Elarged tonsils or adenoids 

c)      Deviated nasals seplem

d)      Down syndrome

e)      Smaller jaws

f)        Daytime sleepiness

g)      Printability

h)      Hyperactivity 

i)        Morning headaches

j)        Obesity weight

k)      Weight gain

l)        Frequent nocturnal urination

m)    Hypertension

n)      Poor performance in school

o)      Craniofacial abnormalities.

p)      Diabetes.

q)      Large tongues

r)       Tissues blocking the upper airway

s)       Allergies

t)        Chronic sinusitis

u)      Trouble concentrating 

v)      Fatigue

Sleep apnea in children needs to be diagnosed and treated on time to avoid serious problems in future.

Here are some of the treatment methods followed to cure obstructive sleep apnea:

a)      Surgery:

This is tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy surgery used in children to remove obstructions in the airway.

b)      Bi-level therapy:

This therapy delivers a higher pressure when the baby bleaters in and a lower one when the baby breathers out.

c)      Weight loss: 

This is one of the strongly recommended ways to treat Sleep apnea in children Sleep apnea in children. .

d)      Continuous positive airway pressure:

Here, a mask is placed over the nose while the baby sleeps.

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