Toddler Snoring

Updated on May 11, 2009
P.R. asks from Colleyville, TX
18 answers

My 19 month old doesn't sleep well and snores very loudly. I took her to her ped & he said she has large tonsils & adenoids that are blocking her airway thus the snoring and poor sleep. He put her on Nasonex, a steroid nasal spray, & said if this doesn't work in 4 wks, then he will refer to ENT & possibly surgery to remove tonsils & adenoids. Has anyone experienced this? I am scared at the possibility of surgery.

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L.T.

answers from Dallas on

You are on the right track girl. They try and wait till the baby is 3 and 30 pounds. If they have the sleep apnea from what I was told with mine, they will admit them to the hospital overnight. Its a good thing. Since yours is so young they are trying to shrink them with the steroids first, to try to avoid it. They may or may not be able to. But the tonsils/sleep apnea have been linked to hyperactivity. My first 2 sons have had their adnoids out at 18 months, and my older son had his tonsils out at 2 1/2. I am going through the same thing you are with my 2nd son now 2 1/2 yr old. They are trying to wait as long as they can for tonsilectomy. Dr Tseng is the best. Such a great bedside manner. Makes you feel very comfortable. He has an office in Frisco and in Plano- ###-###-####. Between my 2 boys I have used him 5 times, for tubes, adnoids and tonsils. Good luck!!

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S.S.

answers from Dallas on

We waited until my daughter was 7 before having her tonsils and adenoids removed. She had ear infections and strep throat constantly up until then. She had tubes before that, but the surgery was the BEST thing we ever did for her. She is now 13 and hasn't had strep or ear infections once since the surgery. She was "out" for about an hour, and by the second day after the surgery she was almost herself again. Of course she had to have a limited diet for the first few days, but as far as pain and recovery it was a breeze. It is such a common surgery these days, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Our doctor was Dr. Kirkham in Medical City. He is absolutely the best. Many professional singers use him, so you know he knows what he is doing. Good Luck!

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M.N.

answers from Dallas on

P.,

We had the same issue with my little one. She snored so loud I could hear her across the house, it was all the time not just when she was ill. She had her first round of tubes at 2 and the ENT told me at that time her tonsils were large. We waited until November of last year to have her tonsils removed (just before she turned 4) and I wish we would have done it sooner. Having her tonsils removed helped with so many things. First of all she stopped snoring that night. With the snoring stopped she slept better at night and that helped with night time potty training. Another thing the nurse told me after having her tonsils removed is that she could have a big growth spurt, becasue the tonsils causing snoring, then the lack of a deep sleep can affect growth. The nurse was right, my daughter has had 3 growth spurts since late November. It's amazing how many things we don't think about that this impacts. Removing my daughter's tonsils was the right thing for us to do.
If you need a great ENT we love ours, he is wonderful with my daughter. We go to ENT for Children in Coppell and see Dr. Murry.

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K.J.

answers from Dallas on

If your options are surgery and steroids, I chose surgery! I would be more afraid of starting a child so young on any medications that aren't absolutely needed. Goodness, it is crazy how quickly they just to pumping people full of drugs. The medical industry isn't hurting any are they?

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E.F.

answers from Dallas on

We had the same issue and the Nasonex really worked. Don't worry about it until you have to. Make sure you spray it toward the outside of the nostril, and not the inside. We haven't experienced any side effects either. Intranasal steroids have little systemic impact and are not shown to stunt a child's growth. They don't enter the bloodstream on a large scale, so Nasonex is even safe for pregnant women to use. Best of luck!

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J.D.

answers from Tyler on

We had our daughters adnoids and tonsils taken out when she was two, and the most frightening thing was her coming out of anesthesia. Everything before, after and in-between was fine, except not being able to go back with her to the operation of course. But oncce she woke up, she immediately started drinking and you would have never know that she had just had a surgery. Even the doctor and nurses were so surprised that she began eating and drinking so quickly! But it has helped her ever since and she is hardly sick at all now. I was so thankful that we went through with the surgery! It will be okay, but when she comes out of the anesthesia, that will be the hard part! But you can do it and you will be glad that you did! Good Luck!

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K.M.

answers from Dallas on

P.-
My son had the same problem. Each time he would get sick, his tonsils and adenoids would become enlarged and when he would get better, they would not go back to the same size--they just kept getting larger and larger. This led to very bad sleep apnea--he would literally stop breathing several times at night. He was 5 when he had the surgery--I know he was a bit older than your daughter, but it was the best thing for him. We BOTH slept so much better after the surgery---I wasn't up all night checking on him making sure he was breathing, and he wouldn't wake up and come to bed with me and my husband! The surgery took only 20 minutes and the recovery was a week- tops! His doctor told us to keep him out of school for 2 weeks, but my son felt back to normal in less than a week. I realize that your daughter is much younger but like I said, it was by far the best thing we could do for my son.

Hope this helps-
God Bless and Happy Mother's Day!
K. M.

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K.M.

answers from Dallas on

Hi P.:

My son had the same problem. The snoring was a sign of sleep apnea, which was very scary!

The removal of tonsils and adenoids is a very common procedure and is very quick. You won't even have time to worry while he is in the operating room.

Your son should recover really quickly.

Good luck to you all!

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E.M.

answers from Dallas on

HI P.,

My nephew had enlargened adnoids and his old-fashioned doctor did not want to get them removed at first... it ended up stunting his growth. The adnoids and snoring were preventing him from getting into the REM sleep the body needs to grow into. After 2 years of no growth, a trip to a pediatric endocrinologist and sleep study, the adnoids came out and he's been slowly catching up in growth.

Just some advice not to wait too long! I know surgery is scary (my daughter had eye surgery at 10 months and 22 months for a lazy eye so I know), but it really is in their best interest (and yours).

Good Luck!

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M.L.

answers from Dallas on

P.,
My sister had hers out when she was little. She was a little better afterwards, but it took us another year to figure out that she had food allergies. Once we took all dairy out of her diet she could breath better, concentrate, and sleep. When my first daughter was born she had the same problem. I took her off ALL dairy...3 days later...all better without surgery. When my second daughter was born I just never put her on dairy. We all eat and drink soy, almond, and rice based products. These days it's easy. FYI: most ADD and ADHD could be solved with change of diet.

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B.R.

answers from Dallas on

Our little girl had the exact same thing. She would have a hard time breathing at night if she got sick with a cold she would sometimes choke at night. Surgery was so frighting at such a young age, but what a difference it made. She sleeps so well with no snoring or trouble breathing. She had been diagnosed with asthma prior to any of this that magically disappeared after the surgery. If it is affecting her sleep, I would have the surgery. Sleep is so important for growth and brain function not to mention a good mood. Our child is 5 now and does not remember any of it. She had both the tonsils and adenoids out. We hope your child gets well soon!

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C.K.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter was 2 when we had her tonsils and adenoids removed because of snoring. What a difference it made in my little girl, she was no longer tired and cranky in the morning, and a much happier child. We insisted that she stay overnight in the hospital, your Doctor can say that it is medically necessary so insist on this. She is now a happy and healthy 14 year old!!

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A.J.

answers from Dallas on

HI, I know the possibility of a surgery can be scary but if he has sleep appnea dut to those adnoids then they must come out. Sleep appnea can cause heart arithmeas and can be fatal. There is no option of not doing it if he has sleep apnea. SA can also cause hyperactivity and other issues. The surgery is quick, very common and a must for any one with sleep appnea (sp?)

hth
A. J

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E.A.

answers from Dallas on

My son had his adenoinds out and after he recovered, he hasn't snored since. The surgery is very quick and the recovery is also quick. It is amazing how kids bounce back and heal so quickly. Good luck!!!

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R.G.

answers from Dallas on

My 4yr old just had her tonsils & adenoids out last week. I don't know where you live but I highly recommend Dr. Stewart Thomas in Arlington. He was wonderful. When we got home the day of the surgery she actually wanted to eat and seemed to feel fine she did sleep alot of the day but that was to be expected. She is doing great and eating a little bit more everyday. I had mine out last year and couldn't eat for two weeks so I was glad to see how well she did. Addy had the same problem your daughter has snoring and not sleeping well and she has slept so much better since having it done and no snoring just some heavy breathing. Good luck and it's not as bad as I thought it would be just be prepared to get up in the middle of the night to give pain meds and give drinks to keep her throat from drying out.

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A.W.

answers from Dallas on

We had the same situation with my son. We had his tonsils and adenoids out. It was a little tough getting him to drink... but we finally got pain meds adjusted and it went well after that. He used to wake up every 2 hours if not more and now he actually sleeps through the night. It would scare me to here how he would breath. The surgery was scary but the thought of him not gettingt the sleep he needed so he could grow properly was very scary to me. They do the surgerys so much that you will be surprised at how fast it goes. Very easy surgery. I understand being nervous about putting such a little guys under but our was 2 at the time and he did great.

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H.C.

answers from Dallas on

Go on and take the advice, visit the ENT and have surgery!! My son had his out at two, best thing we ever did for him. I would advise at that age to have her stay at least one night in the hospital. Its a very simple surgery. I know some great ENTS in Dallas if you would like a referrel, PM me.

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

If the ENT says you need to take them out, go ahead & take their advice. It's worth it to get it done earlier than later. You'll save your daughter (and you) so much trouble in the long run.

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