Sleep apnea is a chronic disease, which is more common among adults. But even the children have not been spared. Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder where the patient faces problems in breathing when asleep. The breathing stops many times in the night and can be even as long as 1 minute.
The breathing problem occurs because of narrowing of the upper airway muscles as they relax when a person is sleeping. This causes the patient to arouse from sleep many times in the night. Because of lack of sleep, the patient tends to become tired easily, fidgety, irritated and even depressed. The kids suffering from sleep apnea become hyper active. They cannot concentrate properly during the studies; in the classroom and even if a story is being read to them. Sleep apnea eventually leads to many other long term problems like weight gain, heart attack, high blood pressure, irregular heart beats and even stroke. This disease is more common among the obese children but there can be exceptions too.
If diagnosed at an early stage, the children can be right away put to the CPAP therapy. In this therapy, there is a CPAP machine, which distributes the compressed air through a tube to a CPAP mask. The air pressure in the sleep apnea machines is set as approved by the doctor. This pressurized air helps in keeping the upper airway open so that the patient can breathe properly during sleep.
It is very important that sleep apnea is identified at an early stage with the children as it may lead to other serious problems too.
