does your child snore when he sleeps at night? if he does, you should consult your pediatrician. he might be suffering form Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS), a sleep disorder that occurs when breathing is temporarily interrupted during sleep.
OSAS is a common problem in children and is increasingly being recognized as a cause of daytime attentional and behavioral problems. unlike adults with sleep apnea who are often overweight and frequently wake up at night, children with OSAS are more difficult to recognize and diagnose.
Dr. Gretchen Navarro Locsin, a pediatric otorhinolaryngologist (ENT-head and neck surgeon) at ST. Luke's Medical Center, said parents should be concerned when they hear their children snore loudly at night.
"snoring while sleeping through the night could be caused by a numbe of factors. the child could have allergic rhinitis or enlarged tonsils and adenoids," Locsin said. "Obesity could also be another factor, but whateve the cause, it is important to bring the child to the pediatrician for assessment."
she added that there is now greater awareness for the condition. in fact, she has carried out over 100 surgeries just to correct the problem of OSAS in children.
Studies show that time to 12 percent of children snore and one to 10 percent of them have OSAS. although snoring is a common sympton in children with obstructive sleep apnea, it is important to remember that between 10 and 20 percent of normal children snore (primary snoreiing) on a regular or intermittent basis.
in addition to continuous loud snoring, other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in children include failure to thrive (weight loss of poor weight gain); mouth breathing, enlarged tonsils, and adenoids, problem sleeping and / or restless sleep; excessive daytime sleepiness; and daytime cognitive and behavior and hyperacitivity, which can lead to problems at school. Loscin said the diagnosis of OSAS in children is usually based in the characteristics chinical symptoms of loud snoring, mouth breathing, observed apnea (stoppage of breathing), and restless/disturbed sleep. these children usually have large tonsils and / or adenoids
children suspected of having OSAS should be evaluated by a specialist and, if necessary, should undergo a polysomnographic study (sleep study).
this test is performed overnight in a sleep laboratory under direct supervision.
this brain, heart, lungs, oxygen, snoring, body position, muscle and flow date are collected while the patience sleep. these data are then analyze and interpreted by a sleep specialists. OSAS is just one of the topics that we be tackled during the first Asian Pediatriatic Otorhinolaryngology Meeting scheduled on June 7-8 at the EDsa Shangrila hotel.
organized by the department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and New Surgery of St. Luke's Medical Center a two-day meeting has the theme "the classics of pediatric ORL Practice: Asian Perspective."
Eight speakers from ASia and EUrope have been invited to speak on rhinologotology, oropharynx and airway.
No comments:
Post a Comment