Snoring and sleep apnea are observed in our childhood patients at least as much as in adults. The course of snoring and sleep apnea in children can be more serious than in adults. The important reason for this is that childhood is the most important learning period in our lives. Another reason is that patients who snored and had sleep apnea as children are candidates for sleep apnea in adulthood.
How can parents understand that their children have sleep apnea?
The simplest answer to this question is Seeing your children snoring while sleeping. Is it enough for the child to snore just once to make this diagnosis? Of course, it is not enough; to make this diagnosis, the child must snore or have apnea attacks at least 3 nights a week, even when not sick.
What are the other symptoms of snoring and sleep apnea in children?
It can manifest itself with many symptoms such as sleeping with the mouth open, waking up by jumping from sleep, disruption of sleep patterns, daytime napping, waking up sweating and struggling during sleep, decreased school success and difficulty in concentration.
Snoring and sleep apnea. What is its importance for your child?
Children with snoring and sleep apnea cannot get quality sleep at night, so their school success decreases and they have difficulty concentrating, they doze off during the day, become restless, their behavior changes, they have difficulty understanding, leading to attention deficit and hyperactivity. It may cause sleep apnea and wetting the bed at night.
In which children are sleep apnea and snoring more common, what are the risk factors?
Large adenoids and tonsils, large nasal concha, which we call turbinates, allergic rhinitis. , intranasal polyps or masses, backward jaw structure, congenital anomalies, large tongue structure (commonly seen in hypothyroidism and Down Syndrome), airway stenosis (stenosis), congenital glycogen or lipid storage diseases and obesity are the main risk factors.
How are snoring and sleep apnea diagnosed in children?
First of all, the observations of the families are important to us. Then, a detailed ear, nose and throat examination is performed, the presence of adenoids is checked with the endoscope, other diseases that may be in the nose, tonsil size, tongue structure, jaw structure are checked. r. If necessary, films can be taken to reveal the skeletal structure of the head and neck.
Family video recording showing the child's snoring or apnea during sleep is also important for ENT physicians.
Despite all this, the definitive diagnosis of sleep apnea is made with a sleep test called polysomnography. But in today's conditions, connecting a child to dozens of electrodes and making him sleep in a strange place for a night is obviously a difficult situation for both the family and the child. Although there are various companies that come and perform the sleep test at the child's own home, unfortunately the sleep test in pediatric sleep apnea has not entered our daily practice.
Can't sleep apnea be diagnosed in children without having a sleep test, which we call polysomnography?
Of course, the gold standard diagnosis can be made through a sleep test. Snoring and sleep apnea in children are very intertwined concepts. On average, stopping breathing for 10 seconds or decreasing the intensity of breathing even once an hour is sufficient for the diagnosis of sleep apnea in children.
What is the treatment of sleep apnea in children?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (American Academy of Pediatrics). According to the statistical data of the Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, snoring and sleep apnea in children who have tonsillitis and adenoid surgery improve at rates of up to ninety percent, and these two organizations especially support those with large adenoids and tonsils. He recommends that the first-line treatment for children is tonsil and adenoid surgery.
A question we frequently encounter: Can't we just remove the adenoid and not the tonsils?
There are two reasons for this question. The first of these is the myth that tonsils are the guardians of the upper airway and if they are removed, the infection will pass through the throat and go directly to the lungs. This is not a scientifically proven situation.
Secondly, tonsil surgery is more painful than adenoid surgery. In tonsil surgeries, we no longer prefer the classical cold knife method, we use more technological devices, so the surgery time is shortened, less bleeding occurs during the surgery, and the post-operative pain is a little more acceptable.
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