Is it possible for a 3 year old to have sleep apnea? I was watching my son sleep today when I noticed him having apnea like episodes. He has always been a snorer, but I never thought anything of it. Tonight he was snoring, and then would go through periods where he was having a very difficult time pulling in oxygen, including caving in of his throat and sides, and then he would jerk and make a loud snore/choke sounds. My husband has (undiagnosed) sleep apnea, but is it possible to have it at 3 years old? If so is it generally a symptom of something else like allergies or swollen tonsils and adenoids? Or could he have something like a nasal polyp or a deviated septum? He is heavy for his age, but he is not chubby, he is almost 40 lbs, but he is also 41 inches tall. Thanks for any advice yall have.
My son had similar problems. Had his adenoids & tonsils removed at age 4 and no more problems! (He's 16 now.) I also reccomend the docs at Seton Pediatric ENT - Drs. Nowlin, Connolly and Zapata are all great. Phone is ###-###-####. They're near Seton on 38th.
sleep apnea is when you stop breathing in your sleep. my husband recently had heart surgery due to the years of sleep apnea going untreated. it effects your body your hubby really needs to undergo the test and if he has it needs to sleep with his cpap machine. also ask your doctor it is possible for your three yr old to have it.
Absolutely possible! More common that we all know. You will want to make an appointment with an ENT. We have seen numerous pediatric ENT's but our favorites are Dr. Nowlin and Dr. Connelly at Austin ENT. Often it is a result of larger than normal tonsils or adnoids. Some kids are just born with larger ones, others are larger due to allergies, etc.
My daughter had it due to large adenoids and swollen tonsils. She had surgery and although she still snores she can breath just fine now. Schedule a visit with an ENT.
Yes, my son had it. We went to Dr. Nowlin (another referral!) because he was continually getting strep throat. He asked us about our sons sleep patterns once he realized that his tonsils and adnoids were so large. My son had been a snorer as an infant which was kind of my safety blanket because then I knew he was breathing. I could hear him from 2 rooms away. (I always had a fear of SIDS)! As he got older, I noticed that sometimes it sounded as if he was not breathing and the snoring would stop. He also was a bedwetter. At 7, we had his tonsils and adnoids removed. The snoring has stopped and he stopped wetting the bed. It was explained to me that he wasn't getting enough oxygen with the sleep apnea and his body was shutting down which caused him to wet the bed! I wish we had checked it out and had the surgery sooner. Definitely have it checked out for him and you husband. Good luck to you and your family.
K.,
Hi. A 3 yr old can absolutely have sleep apnea. Talk to your pediatrician. The most likely next steps will be a sleep study and a consult with an ENT surgeon. Often the cause for this early age sleep apnea is enlarged adenoids and hence an ENT consult. The sleep study will give an idea about the severity of sleep apnea. The good news is you have recognized that there is a problem. And the problem should be fixable.
Goodluck. And take care
Very possible. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1004104-overview
Have him checked!
Absolutely possible. Take him to the pedi or straight to an ENT right away.
Yes, this can happen! Take him to the ENT. He may have allergies swelling his airway, may need his tonsils out. Drs. do not mess around with sleep apnea.
The good thing is that once this situation is taken care of and you boy can get a good nights sleep, you will have a different child!
First of all, kudos to you for recognizing it! My 4 yr old had that too, but we just thought it was cute that he snored so we didn't take him in right away. We did end up at the pedi ENT when he couldn't hear because of so much fluid on the ears (also caused by huge adenoids blocking the eustachian tube). The doctor asked me to show him a video of my son sleeping so I took a five minute video on my Flip camera. You could see/ hear the sleep problems and constant changing positions to get air. The doctor also pointed out how his chest was pulling in...trying to drag in air instead of expanding out with oxygen. Said his heart was having to work so hard. He said this was actually a serious issue...that ENTs are taking more seriously now because it can cause heart arrythmias, enlarged hearts, stunted growth (from sleeping in a low O2 environment), and slows mental development with reduced REM phase sleep time.
Needless to say, we had his tonsils and adenoids out a few weeks later and all is great now! He's eating a ton now, so I'm hoping he'll go through a catch up growth spurt. Btw, I now have met three other moms who had the same issues with their sons...surgery fixed them all.
Good luck. Surgery isn't fun and recovery can feel long when you are cooped up. Make it like Christmas with gifts for sedentary play. I even brought some small things to the hospital and told him he would get them as soon as he woke up. He didn't forget and it seemed to shift his focus. Good luck! Lots of prayers!
my husband has sleep apnea and this is nothing to play with. talk to his pediatrician and see if you can sleep study done. im not sure about with children, but maybe monitor his sleeping for a day or two. my husband also had polyps and a deviated septum, they had to fix those also before he could have a sleep study. you will most likey get reffered to a ENT and they will take it from there. If he is having trouble getting the air in, it could be something else, but if you notice, that there is a gap, silence where there is NO breathing.. then most likely its apnea. good luck.
