Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Children

Is your child snoring at night? Mouth breathing when sleeping? Sweating heavily? Moody, cranky or showing behavioural problems during the day? These are symptoms of sleep apnea in children that may need medical attention.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the single most common type of sleep apnea in children.

A child suffering from sleep apnea will have frequent airway blockages during sleep: he will stop breathing for several moments, then wake up briefly, gasping for breath. This can occur up to tens of times each night.

About 1-3% of children (between 2 and 18 years old) will have sleep apnea at some point, which is quite a large number. Between 2 and 6 years old is the peak age, but sleep apnea in babies also occurs.

Needless to say that sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that prevents good quality sleep. It also brings along serious health problems and may be dangerous. That's why diagnosing sleep apnea appropriate treatment is so important.

But sadly, sleep apnea all too often goes unnoticed. Why?
Because the symptoms are not always crystal clear.

Worried? Questions? Don't hesitate to Ask me A Question here!

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Signs of Sleep Apnea in Children 

There are important differences between the symptoms of sleep apnea in children and in adults^[1]. Adult sleep apnea already goes undiagnosed all too often, but the symptoms in children can be even more hidden, making spotting it even harder.

To start with, you may not notice that your little one wakes up tens of times each night. He may wake up briefly, catch his breath, and go on sleeping.

Even though he gets very poor sleep this way, he may not even seem extremely tired during the day (the main difference with sleep apnea symptoms in adults!). On the contrary, a sleep apnea child may be overly active during the day. Or be quite moody or show behavioural problems.

Read more about sleep apnea signs in children for a full check list.

Sleep Apnea Diagnosis in Children

As soon as you have any hint that your child may suffer from sleep apnea, talk to your doctor of paediatrician for a check-up.

The best diagnosis will be done by a specialised pediatric sleep center. A sleep study and/or polysomnography will be used for the obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis.

A polysomnography monitors sounds (snoring and gasping for breath) but also breathing, brain waves, muscle tension and oxygen levels. It's an overnight test which is either done at the sleep centre or at home with a home monitoring kit.

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Treatments for Sleep Apnea in Children

The main cause of sleep apnea in young children is relatively large tonsils and adenoids (those glands at the back of the throat and behind the nose).

The most effective classic medical treatment then is the removal of those through a so-called Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy (T&A).

Alternatively a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine can be used.

For more details see Sleep Apnea Solutions.

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[1] Wake-Up Call Newsletter American Sleep Apnea Association Fall 2004