Does my child have sleep apnea?
My child is a four year old who snores mostly throughout the night and will sleep through an atomic blast. She has said more recently about feeling tired after getting home from daycare. This has been going on for the last 3 or 4 months. She normally gets 10 hrs of sleep a night, and we keep her mostly on a strict sleep schedule. She seems like in a daze most of the time, attention span is waning, and even though it has always been a struggle, she doesnt have the safety concerns that most kids have. For example, she will try and run in a parking lot (mainly cause she is excited), but she has been told about being careful mutiple times. Even though my wife and I think that she would eventually be in gifted and talented, this recent behavior has caused some concern.
What doctor (specialist) should be seen about this? Has anyone experienced this before? Improvement seen after treatment? Any changes in the home to be tried before seeing a doctor?
Tagged with: 4 months • atomic blast • attention span • daycare • parking lot • sleep • struggle • time attention
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Solutions
Yes, take her to the dr. a ear and throat dr.
go for a checkup
yes your kid does.
Check her tonsils. You will see if they are swollen. With sleep apnea, they usually stop breathing for a short period, then take in air while they are sleeping. But a child shouldnt be snoring. This may be just the beginning of it. See her doc.
if she is in preschool then she is going to get tired and be tired at the end of the day. a preschooler does a lot during the day and if they do not provide naps for the children then she is exhausted from playing inside and out. Ask her teacher about her daily activities. If she is taking naps, she may not be sleeping as well as you think. Also, look at her tonsils. if they are enlarged then she could very well be having difficulty breathing while she is asleep.
Snoring is a symptom of a problem -talk to her pediatrican and he,ll set you up for a sleep test to be done on her. It could be something simple and fixable but if it is apnea it needs attention now before time goes by and she becomes sick from exhaustion-with apnea you actually stop breathing. You arent getting enough oxygen.
You can try a humidifier in the mean time and keep your temperatures lower in the house like between 65-68. If its to dry you can cause yourself some nasal issues that will cause you to snor.
There are alot of different sleep problems and really only a good test would tell you for sure.
Go to her general doctor first – there could be a variety of things happening, including an ear infection which can cause exhaustion. Just have a general physical done (they usually do a 4 year checkup anyway). She may need to go back to a daytime nap if she doesn’t have one.
my dad has sleep apnea and those are most of his symptoms too. sleep apnea is mostly genetic, and are usually people that are over weight, or have big necks, or that smoke. my dad (and im guessing ur child too) fall into the small percentage of people who arent remotly near the description of most sleep apnea sufferers.my dad also falls asleep within 1-2 minutes of sitting down, and thinks hes awake. i.e if you take the remote from his hand he gets frustrated "what are u doing!! i was watching TV" lol. but have her go to the doctor for a sleep test. they gave my dad an oxygen machine for when he sleeps which helps him immensly. but dont hesitate to take her to the dr she can die from it if not treated!!!!!