My daughter is 5 years old. She sleeps pretty well at night but she snores and sometimes she wakes up as if she's trying to catch her breath. Is this sleep apnea? What treatments do they have for this? I dont think she is restless because she stays up all day and does well in school. Normally she goes to bed at 8 and wakes up at 7. Have any of you had a child with this and what did you do? Thanks in advance!
Thank you ladies...I'm making her an appt with an ENT!
See her pediatrician. My friend's DD was 4-5 when they found out that her ADHD symptoms were really sleep apnea. Surgery for removal of tonsils and adenoids and she's no longer snoring and sleeps well.
My sister had the same problem/issue when she was three years old. Turns out her adenoids were too big and she had to have them out.
My daughter had ear infections and had ear tubes. When she was three years old, she began lightly snoring at night. When she had her third pair of ear tubes put in, they also went ahead and took out her adenoids. Her adenoids were too big for her nasal passage and needed to be taken out so that she could get a good night's sleep (important for growing).
I wouldn't think that a young child could have sleep apnea--although I'm sure there's always the unusual case. I would suspect she has issues with her adenoids. She needs to see a Pediatric ENT to be evaluated. They'll also check her tonsils to make sure they aren't too big and interfering with her breathing/sleeping.
Sounds like sleep apnea. Our daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed because of it. Her behavior changed for the better afterward. It was amazing. Sleep apnea isn't always in overweight people. I have it and it runs in our family. I'm thin and so is everyone else in the family who has it.
If you actually hear her catching her breath, I'd insist on a sleep study. I think I had it for many, many years and thought it was normal to wake up because you weren't breathing. Hm, guess not!!
In most cases with children they recommend surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids. Sometimes they have kids wear a sleep mask (CPAP), but our doctor told us he prefers the surgery route for kids when that is possible.
We went to the ENT about putting tubes in my son's ears, he took one look at him and said "that child needs to have his tonsils removed". He asked if my son snored, he did, does he fall asleep in the car (he was 5 1/2), he did. My son had bags under his eyes. The doctor said that my son's large tonsils and adnoids were causing sleep apnea type symptoms. We had the surgery and he hasn't snored since then.
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I am pretty sure that children can have sleep apnea. Im not sure how common it is but the snoring is a sign. My daughter has problems with snoring and she has been seeing an ENT. Her adniods are a little on the larger side but not enough to have them removed I guess. He gave her a nose spray and it has helped her a great deal she hardly snores at all. I recommend seeing her Dr and if needed being referred to an ENT!!
