| Sleep apnea is often believed to effect only | | | | |
| adults. In fact it is also a very common | | | | - Loud snoring or noisy breathing during |
| disorder in children, affecting up to 2 | | | | sleep. Snoring is far less common in |
| million children in the United States alone. | | | | children than it is in adults, but a |
| | | | significant number of children do snore and |
| Sleep apnea, and in particular obstructive | | | | this, on its own, does not necessarily |
| sleep apnea, is often thought to effect only | | | | indicate the presence of sleep apnea. |
| overweight men from the age of about fifty | | | | |
| onwards. In fact, while sleep apnea is | | | | - Periods of not breathing during sleep. |
| perhaps most often seen in this group, it | | | | This is not always easy to spot as the chest |
| also affects a large number of women and is | | | | often continues to move up and down as if the |
| increasingly being recognized as a very | | | | child is breathing, although no air is being |
| common disorder in children. | | | | taken in through the nose or mouth. |
| | | | |
| Perhaps the first reference to sleep apnea in | | | | - Breathing through the mouth, rather than |
| children was made by Charles Dickens in The | | | | through the nose. |
| Pickwick Papers, published in 1837, in which | | | | |
| Dickens wrote about a fat boy with a short | | | | - General problems in sleeping or restless |
| thick neck called Joe who was always falling | | | | sleep. |
| asleep. | | | | |
| | | | - Unusual or excessive tiredness during the |
| The first medical reference to sleep apnea in | | | | day. |
| children then appeared a few years later in | | | | |
| an 1889 edition of the British Medical | | | | - Behavioral problems and an apparent |
| Journal. However, it was not until 1976 that | | | | difficulty in understanding. This may |
| it began to receive serious consideration, | | | | include difficulties in paying attention, |
| following the publication of a report by the | | | | aggressive behavior and perhaps |
| Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic. | | | | hyperactivity. |
| | | | |
| Today, sleep apnea is being widely recognized | | | | - A general failure to develop at a |
| as a common disorder amongst children of all | | | | satisfactory pace. For example, poor weight |
| ages, and particularly amongst children | | | | gain. |
| between the ages of about three and six. | | | | |
| Estimates vary, but in the United States | | | | - Finally, a very common symptom in children |
| alone, the number of children suffering from | | | | is enlarged tonsils and adenoids. |
| sleep apnea is put at between one and a half | | | | |
| and two million. | | | | Now the presence of some, or indeed many, of |
| | | | these signs does not necessarily mean that |
| So what are the signs and symptoms that might | | | | your child is suffering from sleep apnea, but |
| suggest your child is suffering from sleep | | | | it would be reasonable to assume that this |
| apnea. Well, these will of course vary | | | | might be the case, and you should certainly |
| widely, as is the case with many conditions, | | | | consider consulting your family doctor. |
| but some of the tell tale signs include: | | | | |