Does anyone have experience with or heard of sleep apnea in a toddler? I have a 22 month old who snores like a chainsaw even when he's not sick or stuffy and seems to have really restless sleep. I have watched him sleep and occasionally it seems like he will stop breathing and then start back up snoring again. He's very irritable during the day when he has a particularly rough night and I don't know how to help him. He's not over weight and other than being a 32 week preemie, he's very healthy.
I made an appointment for and Ear/Nose/Throat specialist to have them evaluate his tonsils and adenoids, but that's not until the end of next month. We are trying a toddler sized memory foam pillow right now but haven't noticed a huge difference.
Does anyone have any insight for me?
We had our appointment with the ENT specialist today and it looks like our little guy is going to have to have his tonsils and possibly adenoids removed. I described all of the symptoms I had been observing and she agreed that it sounded like sleep apnea. When she looked in his mouth at his tonsils, she literally took a double take; his tonsils are so huge they almost touch each other in the middle of his throat.
She said that removing them will help with his sleep issues and all the associated problems. I’m glad I made the appointment because she said that sleep apnea left untreated can lead to extra stress on the heart and lungs and can eventually lead to heart failure. We’ll do the surgery as soon as they have an opening and hopefully we’ll all be sleeping through the night before we know it! Thank you to everyone who replied and shared their stories and experiences.
My daughter was the same but also got sick/ear infections. We ended up with an Ear/Nose/Throat doctor who took her tonsils and adenoids out. She also ended up with tubs. Anyway, it sounds like you should take him in for a look at those things.
M. I have a 30 months year old son that was born at 31 weeks and I have been concerned about the way he sleeps. He is a little different, he takes 4-5 hour naps during the day and when you try to wake him up he will not get up and is very fussy and irritated. It seems at night that he sleeps but is restless. His pediatrician is concerned and is having him take part in a sleep test through the new Children's Hospital in Broomfield. Next month I will be taking him to the Children's Hospital in Aurora just to see their sleep lab and to see how comfortable he will be with them attempting the test. Sleeep Apnea is a very dangerous thing and if you have concerns that he might have this you should immediately call your son's doctor and ask them if he needs this test which actually is an overnight test where they monitor his sleep. You stay with him. Hope this helps at least a little. Take care.
M.,
Are you using natural cleaning products in your home? Sometimes the chemicals from cleaners can cause breathing issues. Or if he has dust alergies, the bed is full of dust mites, so vaccuming the bed and pillow might help. I'm partnered with a Wellness company that has over 300 products that are natural and 30-40% discount from grocery store brands.
My 5 year old suffered from dust allergies when she was about a year old. We had to give her nebulizer (steroid breathing) treatments everyday. It broke my heart to have to do that to my lil baby. I did some research on line and found out how bad all the chemicals are in the home (sometimes it's the equivalent to being a smoker) and I found an alternative. When I switched my home over...we were able to stop the breathing treatments and no more allergies. Message me if you're interested in learning more!
J.
WAHM of 2 girls. Helping other Moms start thier own business from home!
Hi!!
I have a 4 year old son. When I took him in for his well baby check the doctor said he had large tonsils. She said its not abnormal that some kids just have them. I have to make a appointment to get them out. She said that it makes them snore really bad and can cause sleep apnea. She siad that if you hear him stop breathing then its time to get them out for sure. So think you are doing right thing and that as soon as they are removed he will be fine. I hope this helped some :)
Kim
The best thing you can do if they don't suggest taking out the tonsils and adenoids is to ask for a sleep study to be done. It is kinda traumatic at first for the kiddo's because they have no clue what is happening to them, but you bring them in past bedtime, so by the time the nurse gets him hooked up to everything they don't fight sleep for very long. My sons has had two sleep studies one at 9 months and another at 15 months. He did fine the first time, but the second he fought them horribly. But he slept pretty good when got to sleep. The first one proved he needed the tonsils out, and the second proved that it worked to help his sleep apnea.
It is a week worth of pain (in my opinion), but worth the better sleep for both you and your son!
My daughter had this, was very suseptible to colds and viruses due to oversized adnoids and tonsils that held infection. She was a noisy sleeper from the get go, though not snoring but definitely I could hear her on the baby monitor. My ENT told me you should never be able to really hear a child breathe at night while sleeping. So after a lot of different visits due to illness to the Pediatrician between 18 mos and 2 and a half, we decided with the ENT to get her adnoids and tonsils removed. It was a life saver. She slept so much better, has been a lot healthier (seven now) and seems alot more rested every morning.
The ENT cannot see adnoids, unless an MRI is given, but can tell if the tonsils are enlarged. When they took my daughers adnoids out they were HUGE especially for her petite size, just how they grew. So when my son had to get tubes put in his ears we had his removed and the same thing, they were huge! Both sleep a million times better, though my son still has some seasonal allergy type things going on.
Do saline at night, they even have nasal strips for kids to help open up the airways. Make sure the air has humidity, by a humidifier if need be during the winter. It is always scary if surgery is necessary, but when they are little they bounce back so very fast! My son was eating a omelet within hours of his surgery, my daughter took longer due to her tonsils removed and took a few days. Seeing the improvement was worth it.
My little boy is eighteen months old and snores like a little old man its so loud. I have asked his pediatrician about it and she told me to take him to an ENT to get his tonsils and adnoids checked and most likely have to have them both removed.My little boy though has had a runny nose most of his life and breaths loudly when awake too.Good luck
Hi M. unfortunately the only thing that worked for us was to have the tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in. All the other stuff didn't seem to make a difference. I would see if you could move the appointment up if that would make you feel better but other then that you just have to wait it out a bit more. Good luck. My sons surgery was at 10 months and he did wonderful
sleep apnea can be cured by playing a flute. teach your toddler to blow bubbles, blow out candles, anything to exercise those lungs.
Sounds like the adnoids to me. Not much you can do until the appointment. I'm sure once they take them out he will be a totally different child, sleeping good and waking up refreshed.
All 3 of my kids snore like chainsaws and have restless sleep. Everytime I go to the Dr. they say it is normal and not to worry about it. My 5 year old just had his wellness check-up and I told the Dr he snores really bad, and the Dr. wasn't worried about it. Just know that snoring (unfortunately) is normal in toddlers :)
This really brings back memories. I have a son born at 25 weeks gestation. When he was 2 he only weighed 18 pounds. He also had sleep apnea. I decided to talk to his pediatrician about getting his adnoids and tonsils out. The problem was solved imediately after surgery. He also gained 6 pounds that year. This is a tuff decision but very important. Good Luck
Please DO NOT TAKE SLEEP APNEA LIGHLY, it is a very serious condition which left unchecked can lead to VERY SERIOUS brain and heart problems in Kids. If the doctor does not suspect tonsils or tells you that it is normal, then insist on a sleep study, you will be glad you did later. GOOD LUCK AND GOD SPEED!!
My son is 10. When he was an infant he had sleep apnea and had to be on a monitor. We thought he had out grown it, since he was able to come off the monitor at 6 months old. He was not a premie, he was full term, but only weighed 4lbs 10oz. He has always snored like a chainsaw. Now fast forward to age 9. He had a seizure and they could not find the cause of it. The second day of school he had 4 more seizures. Still no answers. I thank God I work for a Physician. He examined him and looked at all his medical history and had an over night of oximetry done. He was not getting enough oxygen when he was sleeping at night and was put on oxygen at night. The cause....his tonsils were abnormally large. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed and has been seizure free for 16 months and came off the oxygen within 3 weeks after his surgery. Because his tonsils were large he went thru 9 years of not getting enough oxygen and his little body just couldn't take it anymore. His Physician seems to believe that he never actually out grew his sleep apnea and it took a while for it to catch up to him. I just wish it would have been caught sooner, then he would not have suffered 5 seizures. I would suggest maybe having him sleep slightly proped up on pillows or blankets. That should help him a little. I hope that this helps. If you don't mind I would like to know how everything turns out. I will keep your little boy in my prayers.
My niece had a tonsil and adenoid problem and once they were removed, her loud snoring and sleep apnea went away. She had to have the surgery twice as the adenoids grew back within 2 years. Good Luck and I would call the doctor back and see if you can get on the cancellation list so you can get some rest.
I don't know about sleep apnea in kids, but my husband has it, and your son's symptoms sound like my husband's. My husband snores very loudly, and has short periods where he doesn't breathe, followed by the loudest, snorty snore I have ever heard. I have been trying to get my husband in for sleep studies but he is one of those "tough guys" who doesn't think he needs to see a doctor. I am sure they do sleep studies on people of all ages, even kids, so I would call the closest sleep clinic. I don't know what area you are in, but there is one through St. Vincent's in Billings.
