Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Children - What's The Reason Behind?

Sleep apnea is graded as mild, moderate, or severe by how many times breathing stops during an hour. Mild apnea is 5 to 15 times per hour, moderate is 15 to 30 times an hour, and severe is more than 30 times per hour.

Children suffering from sleep apnea usually have problems breathing through their nose and instead begin to breathe through their mouth. As the child s facial structure develops, this can lead to an elongated face. As a result of this, the jaw may fall back. This is a condition known as retrognathia. This condition further aggravates obstructive sleep apnea by making the airways shrink. In addition to this, it can also lead to dental issues and gum disease. Heavy breathing and snoring are characteristic symptoms of Sleep apnea and should not be ignored.

Obstructive sleep apnea can be described as disrupted sleep caused by a partial or complete collapse of the child s airways. As a result, the child does not have a restful sleep. Instead, he or she will wake up feeling tired. This results in crankiness, lowered attention span, moodiness etc. As a result, a child s ability to learn is greatly reduced. Children with obstructive sleep apnea also may have lower results on some types of IQ tests. Removing a child s tonsils can help treat obstructive sleep apnea

In the long term, sleep apnea can affect a child s cardiovascular health. This can be in the form of high blood pressure or pulmonary hypertension. In some cases, it can also cause abnormal heart functioning. In addition, sleep apnea can affect the development of the rib cage. These symptoms are not experienced by all children in the same level of intensity. Some children may showcase all symptoms while others may exhibit only a few. Sleep Apnea can also worsen epilepsy and asthma.