Sleep Apnea Symptoms in Children

If your child is suffering frequent bouts of irregular breathing accompanied by obstruction in a normal sleep cycle, then your child may be suffering from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea symptoms in children are caused by potential sleeping disorders, which could be an obstructive sleep apnea or a central sleep apnea, or a complex sleep apnea. Of these, the obstructive sleep apnea symptoms, in children, is more prevalent

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea in Children

Before we understand about the sleep apnea symptoms in toddlers and children, it is important to understand what obstructive sleep apnea is. This sleep disorder is a syndrome which is characterized most often by continual spells of nasal tract obstruction, during sleep. This is a clear indication to a reduced blood oxygen saturation. An obstructive form of sleep apnea in children can happen if the muscles in the back of throat, that support the soft palate (a triangular tissue), retract. Due to this, the airway narrows and closes and it may happen when breathing. In such cases, the breathing might stop all of a sudden for some time and the person may not be aware of it at all. This condition can lower the oxygen levels in blood and once the brain senses the anomaly, it will arouse the sleeping person to draw in more air. This kind of a sleep pattern can repeat as many as 5-30 times in a span of 1 hour. Other cases where, symptoms of sleep apnea in children are observed, may also attribute to cardiovascular ailments.

Some early symptoms include:

• Drowsiness and sleepy feeling during daytime, in spite of a night's sleep
• Troubled breathing during sleep, to which most patients are oblivious

Other major symptoms that follow are:

• Raspy snoring
• Sleeplessness (Insomnia)
• Bed wetting
• Nightmares
• Sleeping with mouth open (causing dry mouth)
• Choking in sleep
• Pulling in of chest (often observed in toddlers)
• Severe morning headaches
• High blood pressure
• Extreme fluctuations in weight (weight gain or weight loss)
• Depression
• Frequent respiratory ailments
• Hyperactive nature
• Irritability
• A change in personality
• Learning and developmental problems (difficulty in concentration)
• Confusion

The risk factors associated with an undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea symptoms in children can be serious as mentioned below:

• Excessive weight gain
• Degrading productivity at school
• Problems in interpersonal relationships
• Extreme frustration and crankiness

Treatment

If your child is experiencing most of the unusual symptoms, as listed above, immediate medical attention must be sought. A sleep test, also known as polysomnography, is used to confirm the symptoms of sleep apnea in children. An overnight polysomnography test monitors brain waves, respiration cycles, eye movement, muscle reflexes, level of oxygen in blood and monitors the snoring or gasping durations during the sleep. Another kind of the same test is a home monitoring test, where a sleep technologist connects electrodes to the child and provides instructions to the family on how to record the sleep with a computerized polysomnography (covered under insurance).

Sleep apnea treatment in children should be the primary concern, once the disorder is detected and diagnosed. Devices like C-PAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or Bi-Level Positive Airway pressure, are used to blow the air into the child's nose to keep the airway unobstructed. All of this, will be helped with, by a home health care company, under the guidance of a sleep doctor. In some cases, removal of tonsils and adenoids (tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy) aid in clearing the airway. This helps children who frequently suffer from inflammation in tonsils, which eventually leads to blocking the airway thereby, leading to sleep apnea. In some cases, facial deformities like smaller opening at back of throat or a large tongue could become tangible reasons for blocking the air duct.

If the child is seriously afflicted with sleep apnea, which has given rise to grave complications, then the last resort is tracheotomy (which is opted for, when that is the only solution). Tracheotomy is a surgical procedure, in which a small incision is made in the neck and a tube with a valve is inserted into the hole. During the day, the patient is allowed to speak, as the valve is closed. During night, it is opened to clear any obstruction in the airway. This is definitely a painful treatment and is carried out, if the child is extremely sick. Sleep apnea symptoms in adults also can cause serious complications like high blood pressure, heart and lung ailments.

Children most susceptible to sleep apnea are ones who have Down Syndrome, neuromuscular abnormalities and craniofacial abnormalities (like Pierre Robin Sequence, Teacher Collins Syndrome and Crouzan Syndrome). Sleep apnea symptoms in children should not be ignored as the consequences can be dire, leaving the child with a stunted growth and further accompanied by other complicated behavioral problems.