Sleep Apnea Signs In Your Baby Or Child
Author: Heidi Holvoet, PhD
Well-known
child sleep apnea
signs include snoring and difficulty
breathing at night. But did you know that bedwetting, heavy sweating,
attention problems and anxiety are also tell-tale symptoms?
Obstructive apnea (OSA) is quite common in babies
and in
children. Unfortunately it often
goes
unnoticed and untreated. The reason is that the symptoms
of are not always very clear.
Do check the lists below and contact your doctor if you have the
slightest suspicion, it is important.
Worried?
Questions? Don't hesitate to Ask
me
Sleep Apnea Signs in Children
Please verify ALL the symptoms below. If your child sleeps
rather well and doesn't wake you at night, you may only notice the
daytime signs - which are so often also normal in healthy children![1]
Night time signs
- Snoring
- Mouth breathing
- Breathing difficulties at night, in particular to stop breathing for 10 seconds or more, then gasping for breath (half-waking up)
- Sleeping restlessly
- Sleeping in awkward positions
- Bedwetting (enuresis)
- Sweating
Day time signs
- Being moody regularly or most of the time
- Being very or overly active
- Mouth breathing (but no apparent breathing difficulties during the day)
- Behavioral problems like anxiety, easily frustrated, attention and concentration problems, being aggressive, being emotionally unstable.
Sleep
apnea in children is serious so do not hesitate to
discuss any of these symptoms with your physician.
Sleep Apnea Signs in Babies
Spotting it in babies may be even harder than in toddlers and
older children. The main symptoms in babies are when
sleeping:
- Stop breathing for 20 seconds or more
- Gasping for breath, coughing or gagging when catching her breath again
- Snoring
- Turn blue
But, to stop
breathing briefly is also normal for young babies who are not affected.
Babies under 6 months old who do not have it, often
regularly stop
breathing for short periods of up to 15 (!) seconds. To
breathe quickly for a while and then pause breathing for 5-15 seconds
is simply a normal breathing pattern at that age. Premature babies do
this more regularly than termly ones. This is usually nothing to worry about.
Still, if you notice breathing pauses in your baby, always consult a medical doctor.
It's when the breathing pause is for 20 seconds or more, that your baby
is very probably experiencing obstructive sleep apnea. Very typical are
the gasping for breath after a breathing pause. Your baby may even turn
blue. Each of these
three signs alone tells you to consult your baby's
doctor
as soon as possible.
Sleep Apnea
Worried? Questions? Ask me
Back to the Sleep disorder overview
Resources
[1] Children's Sleep Apnea on Sleepapnea.org.

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