Your nighttime routine can be challenging if you have a toddler or a young child. This is pretty typical – needing a drink, snack, or playing just a few more minutes before being tucked into their bed. Although getting your little one to fall asleep can have you feeling exhausted by the end of the night, what if your child is having more trouble than usual with their sleep?
There may be more going on with their health than just childlike restlessness. They may suffer from a sleep disorder in Kansas City, which can present with various symptoms.
Pediatric Sleep Apnea Is More Commonplace Than You Think
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder characterized by a lapse in breathing – of 10 seconds or longer – while asleep. Kansas City, MO, pediatric sleep apnea is defined as the same, except occurring in children.
While sleep apnea is mostly thought of as a health condition only older adults develop, anyone of any age or size can develop sleep apnea. Pediatric sleep apnea in Kansas City may be more prevalent than you would think.
The Most Common Type of Sleep Apnea In Children
Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea in Kansas City, MO, is the most common type of sleep apnea that children experience. According to Yale Medicine, “obstructive sleep apnea affects 3 to 6 percent of children and is associated with repetitive narrowing of the airways, which is the breathing tube from the mouth and the nose down to the lungs.”
This airway blockage causes your child to wake throughout the night, as their brain is alerted to wake them up when breathing stops. This obviously makes for a poor night’s sleep – possibly for the child and parent. Even though the most obvious symptom may be trouble sleeping, other surprising pediatric sleep apnea symptoms in Kansas City can occur any time of day.
Surprising Kansas City Sleep Apnea Symptoms In Children
Kansas City pediatric obstructive sleep apnea symptoms vary, and they don’t only occur throughout the night. Some of the most common pediatric sleep apnea symptoms in Kansas City, MO, may have you rethinking the cause of your child’s nighttime troubles. These symptoms go beyond the typical snoring or waking throughout the night:
Night Terrors
When you think of pediatric sleep apnea symptoms, having vivid dreams may not be the first thing that comes to mind. The consistent lack of oxygen your child receives to their brain throughout the night is stressful on the body, and this can take form in their dreams.
If your child is experiencing more severe nightmares than usual, it may be time to visit your Kansas City pediatric sleep apnea dentist.
Bed Wetting
Since your child isn’t getting adequate sleep throughout the night, they may be so tired during the night that they aren’t even aware that they need to use the bathroom. Another reason is that during deep N3 stage sleep, the body produces a hormone that shuts down urine production. But if the sleep disturbances partially wake the child into light sleep, the bladder keeps filling up.
This can lead to bed wetting in children who otherwise did not experience this problem before developing pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.
Behavioral Issues
Your child’s lack of sleep can manifest in various behavioral issues during the day – that can take hold at home or school.
Suppose your child is experiencing increased hyperactivity or the inability to concentrate. In that case, an ADHD diagnosis and medications to manage symptoms for life are standard results; but these are also pediatric sleep apnea symptoms. A tired child behaves differently than a tired adult. Rather than sleepy, they are often hyperactive. Lack of REM sleep leads to brain fog in adults but can exhibit ‘attention deficits’ in a child. If you suspect your child is experiencing behavioral issues due to this sleep disorder, visiting your pediatric sleep apnea dentist in Kansas City, MO, is your best bet to get your child back on track.
If the root causes of these symptoms are poor jaw development, compromised airway, and sleep-breathing disorder, then correcting the root causes is an option that many parents choose.
Give Your Child The Good Sleep They Deserve
Watching your child struggle at home or at school due to inadequate or poor-quality sleep can be heartbreaking for any parent. Your child doesn’t have to suffer from lack of quality sleep – and the debilitating symptoms it may bring – as effective pediatric sleep apnea treatment in Kansas City is available.
Make an appointment for your child with the best pediatric sleep apnea dentist in Kansas City, Dr. Prabu Raman of Raman Center for TMJ & Sleep. Dr. Raman can help screen your child and evaluate them for pediatric sleep apnea treatment, which will have them – and you – sleeping soundly.
Please call (816) 436-4422 to schedule an appointment or use our online form. Your Kansas City, MO, pediatric sleep apnea dentist – Dr. Raman – can give your child the gift of a great night’s sleep!
