My son snores: the reason for children's snoring
Your son snores? The truth is that, although we think that snoring is an adult thing, the children do too, and even with a few months of life. We answer some of the possible doubts that can arise when we listen to our little snoring.
First it is necessary to know that snoring is nothing more than making a hoarse noise when breathing while sleeping, and It is usually a symptom of some type of sleep breathing disorder, as explained by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (Aeped).
Why do children snore?
Normally children snore in a mild and occasional way, especially coinciding with colds and allergies (rhinitis or asthma), but also by being exposed to tobacco smoke.
However, the most frequent is that snoring occurs due to air difficulties to pass through the respiratory tract because of the existence of so-called vegetations or too large tonsils. It is also possible that it is because the shape of the oral cavity and jaw is not appropriate, and there are even occasions when several of these situations occur at the same time.
The consequences of snoring in children
Snoring can affect sleep and that this one is not repairing or of quality; In addition, children who snore have, in general, more night terrors, nightmares, sleepwalking and other sleep disturbances.
According to pediatricians, children who snore tend to have more difficulty getting up in the morning and, in general, have trouble attending in class because they are sleepy or too restless throughout the day, which in turn also affects the mood , school performance and behavior.
"If your child is over 4 years old and needs to nap daily or urinate in bed (this is known as 'enuresis'), it may be due to inadequate sleep from snoring. Children may also complain of headache in the morning and present lack of appetite, "they add from the Aeped.
The severity of snoring
It is important that you pay attention to your child while he is sleeping to observe the existence or not of symptoms of what is known as Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome (SAHS), the most serious form of sleep breathing disorders.
These symptoms are: the child seems like a place to breathe, in some time he even stops breathing for a few seconds, sweating a lot, adopting strange positions when sleeping. If you observe any of these signs, it is best to go to the pediatrician as soon as possible.
The diagnosis of Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome
If you think your child suffers from SAHS, once you take it to the pediatrician it will do a physical examination, ask a series of questions and even it is common to ask you to You record it on video while you sleep.
There are also times when other tests are needed that are not painful for the little ones and that take place in sleep clinics or even at home. These tests collect a lot of data while the little one just sleeps.
The treatment of snoring and SAHS
If the snoring is caused by rhinitis or allergy, for example, with A treatment for these diseases will be enough for the child to stop snoring. However, if the child eventually suffers a SAHS, the most common is to operate.
The basic treatment against this sleep disorder is the surgical removal of the child's vegetations and tonsils. Is Operation has a success rate of between seven and eight of every 10 children with SAHS, although we must be careful because the symptoms may reappear months or years later.
Angela R. Bonachera
