Sleep apnea is being recognized far more frequently nowadays as a common childhood disorder and is now being shown to be a cause for daytime sleepiness and behavioral problems. As we know, there are two types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Although it’s possible for children to have either obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea, it’s far more common for them to have obstructive sleep apnea. Below we take a look at some of the common causes of obstructive sleep apnea in children and what that means for your child.
OSA in Children
Obesity
Two of the main causes of obstructive sleep apnea in children are obesity and swollen adenoids or tonsils. Childhood obesity is becoming far more common nowadays and the implications of the child carrying that extra weight can have all sorts of effects on their body and health.
Being overweight causes there to be extra fatty tissue in the back of the throat. This fatty tissue effectively closes the airway during sleep and means that the child is unable to breathe properly. If your child is overweight and has any of the following symptoms, they may be suffering from sleep apnea.
- Child is not thriving
- Difficulty in completing cognitive tasks
- Restlessness during the daytime, sleepiness on waking
- Sore throat on waking
- Headaches
- Behavioral problems – not completing given tasks, difficulty at school, aggressive behavior, hyperactive behavior
- Restless sleep or difficulty in getting to sleep
The good thing about this cause of sleep apnea is that the apnea is easily solved. Once a diagnosis has been made, your child may be given an MAD (mandibular advancement device) or a TRD (tongue retaining device) to treat the apnea. These devices help your airways to be more open and they can be used to treat the apnea until the child has lost enough weight for the device to not be needed any more.
Swollen Adenoids and Tonsils
If a child has swollen or very large adenoids and tonsils, they may have significant problems during sleep. This is because during sleep the throat muscles relax, meaning that the airways are narrower than during the day. A combination of the narrow airway and the large soft tissue in the back of the throat can cause the throat to close, resulting in an apnea episode. These episodes can happen hundreds of times a night, resulting in the child gasping for breath, often waking them up. If your child has particularly large adenoids and tonsils, watch out for some of the following symptoms:
- Mouth breathing
- Nasal voice
- Habit of holding the mouth open
- Drooling
- Cognitive and behavioral problems
- Sleepiness during the day
- Restless sleep at night
Obstructive sleep apnea caused by swollen adenoids and tonsils can usually be cured by a simple operation. Many children will have their tonsils out during childhood and it is not a complex operation. Whether your child has their adenoids or tonsils out will depend on what is causing the blockage in the throat, although some doctors will take both out during the operation as it removes the risk of there being further problems in the future. After this operation, the apnea symptoms should disappear.
Central Sleep Apnea
It is also possible for children to have central sleep apnea, so-called because the cause of the sleep apnea lies in the central nervous system. This sleep apnea is caused by the brain failing to signal to the throat muscles to breathe, due to problems with the respiratory control center. Central sleep apnea can be treated with the use of a BiPAP machine or medication.
For more information, go to http://www.mayoclinic.org/pediatric-sleep-apnea/.