As parents, we tuck our children into bed and give them a kiss goodnight, assuming they will sleep well. We expect to see them awake in the morning.
However, some children do not have the luxury of a good nights sleep and struggle to cope during the day. We may may be told that they are simply not “quick learners” or notice they are easily irritable. Sometimes they may be misdiagnosed with ADHD. In unfortuante circumstances, they may die from SIDS.
Snoring is too often ignored as being a “minor nuisance”. However, snoring may be a sign of something more sinister – sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is the cessation of breathing for a period of time during a persons sleep cycle. While asleep, our bodies are meant to be recouperating from the days activities and resting for the day ahead. During apnoeic episodes, our hearts need to work harder to keep us alive.
As a result, sleep apnoea can causes problems in children such as:
- chronic tiredness
- sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- difficulty to learn
- lower IQ
- failure to thrive
- bed wetting
- mouth breathing (which later leads to negative facial development changes and dental crowding)
- heart disease
- weakened immune system
- grinding of teeth
The following clip is from Channel 7’s Sunday Night program recently aired on 21st July 2013.
<iframe class="_2xvJT" title="remote content" src="https://ae1e4943-2160-4e9a-87ae-c14801dbde3b.usrfiles.com/html/db9376e69cfa487ea0fa0b912ae51a4f_v1.html"></iframe>HAVING TROUBLE VIEWING THE CLIP? CLICK HERE.
Snoring and sleep apnoea is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition and must be assessed and managed by a team of experienced health professionals. If your child displays one of the above symptoms or you are concerned as a parent, Contact Healthy Smile Centre today.