my daughter has obstructive apnea what is it?
by Sarah Aniston
Filed under Sleep Apnea Books
i am having a really bad week for those who have seen my questions know what i mean i just found out today my daughter has obstructive apnea she had a sleep study done she doesnt stop breathing when she sleeps but when she does go to sleep she is really uncomfortable due to enlarged tonsills getting in the way of her airway anyone know what this is and what i can do for her?
Get her tonsils taken out. people have it done every day. that will solve her problem.
OSA obstr sleep apnea means your daughter most likely snores, but for certain has periods in which she doesn’t breathe (briefly) – this leads to low oxygen levels and therefore sleepiness during the daytime. In adults, it’s often caused by obesity/big necks. In kids, most likely large tonsils or adenoids. See an ENT peds physician who can do laryngoscopy and ck out her adenoids that way. They can decide if tonsillectomy (taking out tonsils and/or adenoids) will help her problem.
By definition she does stop breathing for short periods while she is sleeping – (definition of apnea). Obstructive sleep apnea means that some part of the soft palate is causing a physical obstruction prevent the air from getting to the lungs. Typically at the sleep study an oximeter will be used to monitor the oxygen saturation of the blood. Usually it is not necessary to do anything unless either the saturation rate or the period of time/frequency of the apneic events is sufficient. The next typical step is to titrate a positive pressure ventilation device to help keep the airway open. In your daughter’s case, it may make sense to have a tonsilectomy if that is the source of the obstruction.
Apnea usually causes excessive day time drowsiness and left untreated can lead to high blood pressure and even to a severe heart arrhythmia that is potentially life threatening. (Very unlikely in a child, btw)
Finally, obesity can play a role in this disorder. If so, weight loss, of course is very helpful and might alievate the problem.
remove the tonsils and put her on a cpap machine my gram had one and i getting one cause i have sleep apnea too. go to http://www.cpaptalk.com and search sleep apnea on the web yahoo search.
get her tonsil out, in the meantime have her go to sleep with 3 or 4 pillows don’t let her eat before going to sleep,good luck