Is Your Child Snoring?: Adulthood is a stage where snoring is often declared as a problem. Nevertheless, the most recent studies have shown that parents should also be concerned about kids’ well-being in connection with this issue.
Recognizing the factors that are behind snoring in children and getting informed about the possible health risks is necessary. Parents should be familiar with all the latest medical drugs and other methods of snoring treatment available.
Prevalence of Snoring in Children
According to the data, snoring is widespread among children. It is said that studies around the world calculate that 27% of children undergo the nuisance of snoring from time to time. Kids from 10 to 12% suffer from primary snoring apart from other bothersome symptoms. Even more, serious is that there is a high percentage of kids ranging from 1.2% to 5.7% that are diagnosed with the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). The chief cause of this medical condition is the stop and start of the breathing process during sleep.
Causes of Snoring in Children
Various things may cause snoring in children, which include the following:
- Tonsils and Adenoids Growth: Heaps of research work has emphasized that these body parts are the most frequently seen reasons. The overgrown structures can obstruct the breathing passage while asleep.
- Nasal Obstruction: Conditions such as an irregular nasal septum or persisting allergies could be the cause of mouth breathing leading to snoring. Being overweight: Overweight is connected with airways’ blocking while one is sleeping. Obesity is the main issue.
Health Risks Associated with Snoring
Even though it is true that a regular snoring occurrence may not have any harmful consequences, the snorer can be at risk of other health issues.
- Behavioral Problems: Children who snore frequently are likely to be witness behavioral issues like inattention, hyperactivity, and aggression.
- Cognitive Impairments: Changes in the structure of the brain’s frontal lobe due to snoring are the causes of impairments of cognitive functions.
- Growth and Development: OSA left untreated has the potential to reduce growth because of disturbed sleep that results in low growth hormone secretion.
- Brain Structure Changes: Information from the National Institutes of Health showed that from brain scans children who snore every night have brain structures that are different from children who do not snore. These changes might be the reason for the behavioral stuffiness of these children.
- Behavioral Outcomes: A report that the Journal of the American Medical Association published looked at the information of 12,000 teenagers. It discovered that the more a teenager snores the worse it behaves but the less it suffers from cognition problems.
- Adenotonsillectomy: Removing enlarged tonsils and adenoids it is the treatment that will be the first thing for children suffering from OSA. This method has shown considerable improvement in sleep habits and reduction in behavioral disturbance.
- Nasal Sprays: Thecorrelation to improvements in snoring and breathlessness in children by a simple saline nasal spray treatment was a model of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. This non-invasive treatment could be an alternative to surgery for some children.
- Weight Management: If overweight children lose weight, snoring will lessen, and their health in general will improve.
- Allergy Treatment: The use of suitable medications to manage the allergies can result in the nasal congestion and snoring being properly controlled.
- Loud, habitual snoring.
- Pauses in breathing during sleep.
- Difficulty waking up in the morning.
- Daytime sleepiness or behavioral issues.
To avoid possible complications and to improve the child’s manner of living, an early assessment and the application of proper measures is essential.
One should note that snoring in children poses a danger much beyond a night time annoyance, thus it could be an alarm of an underlying health problem that might have a negative impact on a child’s development and well-being.
Parents and those who take care of children should be well-informed about the possible causes, risks and available treatments for snoring in children. Timely intervention will result in the better health of the children and hence a bright future for them.
Note: This article has been written for informational purposes and does not replace the advice of a professional.