Sleep apnea is a medical condition where you stop breathing many times throughout the night and, in consequence, momentarily wake up to begin breathing again. Symptoms of sleep apnea in children are also the same as adults, though you might describe some of the symptoms more in child-like terms:
For children some of their symptoms are very similar to those seen in adults:
That being said, sleep apnea in children may be difficult to identify outside of a formal diagnosis at a sleep center for several reasons:
Obstructive sleep apnea in children has the same causes as adults, an obstruction in the back of the throat that causes the child to stop breathing.
Likely, this is due to the throat muscles in the back of the throat relaxing. When this happens, the back of the throat/tongue/tonsils are pressed against the roof of the mouth when they breath in.
This either fully or mostly obstructs your child's ability to breath. After a while (usually 10-20 seconds) they will rouse and start breathing again. They won't remember rousing in the morning, but they will certainly lose a lot of sleep because of it.
This choke/wake cycle can happen anywhere from 5 (mild) to 30 (severe) times per hour.
In addition to the aforementioned symptoms, additional symptoms you may notice include:
This happens because children with sleep apnea become sleep deprived, and don't even get close to the amount of sleep they need for healthy functioning.
Sleep apnea in children is diagnosed usually in a similar manner to adults. After noticing some of the symptoms mentioned above, you can consult with their physician who can refer them to a sleep clinic. After your child completes a sleep study, they can receive their diagnosis and begin treatment.
Treating sleep apnea in children is done through either surgery or a CPAP/BiPAP. In children, surgery can often be the preferred route because it is likely to be more effective than getting your child to wear a CPAP device. CPAP might be a good place to start, and if that fails you can discuss surgery options (again, low-invasive surgery) - your doctor will likely have good advice to give on this topic after examining your child.
If you live in Alaska and are concerned that your child may have sleep apnea, consult with our team to discuss how a sleep consultation and sleep study may provide answers and the start to healing.