Urgent Help (advice) Son has Apnea Age 5
Question:
Two and a half years ago I was diagnosed with Apnea. Now I see that my son (age 5) has the same thing. From what we can see it seems to be regular breathing interruption and snoring. Waking every few minutes. He has complained to morning headaches and waking drowsiness. Tonight we put my mask over his nose (after turning down the pressure) and it seemed to work great. He had regular breathing and seemed to sleep deeply. Question, is there a machine and mask designed for small children? I realize that I will need to have him tested, but is there suitable treatments for such a small child? I welcome any and all comments. Sleepless in Seattle
Response:
>Question, is there a machine and mask designed for small >children? I realize that I will need to have him tested, but is there >suitable treatments for such a small child? >I welcome any and all comments. >Sleepless in Seattle
Different cpap machines have different pressure capabilities, but as some adults require very low pressure settings, would imagine that there is a machine suitable for a child. I’m not certain about the mask, but seem to think that I have heard of infants and children on cpap, so there must be something out there for them. Where are you going to get him seen? Children’s hospital has a clinic for infant apnea (not certain if they deal with obstructive apnea in children though- they may just deal with the central apnea of infants- it wouldn’t hurt to call them though). I can’t remember the name of the woman physician that runs the clinic, but I have spoken to her, and she may be a good resource for you. I am seen at Seattle Providence Sleep Lab, under the direction of Dr. Pascualey- I actually am seen for regular visits by the nurse practitioner Barbara Parkman, and have been pleased with their services, as well as with the dme— masks, hoses and machine. Good luck with your son- I have heard that obstructive apnea can be quite a problem with some children- they especially seem to have problems with nasal obstruction from oversized adneoids, or throat obstruction from overlarge tonsils. Some children even develop cor pulmonale (right sided heart failure) from this– so just as for adults, this can lead to health consequences beyond being sleepy during the day. I believe that sometimes a child can have a cure with adnoid and or tonsil removal. Let us know what happens, and hope you find some help for him. Poor little guy- dealing with headaches and daytime drowsiness, just when the weather is improving, and he needs all of his energy for playing and exploring and having a good time being a kid!!!!
Response:
On Wed, 14 Apr 1999 08:55:38 GMT, ma…@seanet.com.nospam (Joe ) wrote: >Question, is there a machine and mask designed for small >children? I realize that I will need to have him tested, but is there >suitable treatments for such a small child?
Yes, there are pediatric versions of CPAP masks. One thing on kids: in a lot of cases, it’s large tonsils that cause the problems. — IMPORTANT: Remove the edible part of the E-mail address before replying.
Response:
Joe – How frightening this must be. I have prepared a list of links to web sites that deal with sleep disorders that I post from time to time and also e-mail to people. I will e-mail you the full list, but here are a few links, including some not on the list, that deal with children and sleep problems. I hope this helps. I wish you and your son success in finding a treatment that works. Please keep us posted on your progress. http://kidshealth.org/parent/healthy/sleep_disorder.html http://kidshealth.org/parent/healthy/index.html http://kidshealth.org/parent/healthy/sleep.html http://www.healthology.com/sleepdisorders/articles/kids.html http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/sleepapnea980908… http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/kidssleep1009/index.html http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1837/children.html http://www.drkoop.com/adam/peds/top/000811.htm Kent Taylor (Mongo) Joe wrote in message <371557a9.19210…@news.gte.net>…
|Two and a half years ago I was diagnosed with Apnea. Now I see that my |son (age 5) has the same thing. From what we can see it seems to be |regular breathing interruption and snoring. Waking every few minutes. |He has complained to morning headaches and waking drowsiness. Tonight |we put my mask over his nose (after turning down the pressure) and it |seemed to work great. He had regular breathing and seemed to sleep |deeply. | | Question, is there a machine and mask designed for small |children? I realize that I will need to have him tested, but is there |suitable treatments for such a small child? |I welcome any and all comments. |Sleepless in Seattle |
Response:
Joe, I’m the only one here with a *diagnosed* child with OSA, at least that I know of. Since I’m at home with a toddler all day long I don’t always check in here daily but I’d be happy to share with you my experiences with my 8 year old son, who was diagnosed at age 4-1/2. He is a "special needs" kid and among his collection of diagnoses is hypotonia, or low muscle tone. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed because he was a noisy breather (made a snore-like sound even when awake) from infancy, and when that didn’t resolve his noisiness and a tonsillectomy landed him in pediatric ICU for 25 days (half of them on a respirator) with pneumonia, it was obvious there was an underlying medical problem. When he had his first sleep study he went into Delta sleep almost instantly because he was so sleep deprived. He would consistently fall asleep at dinner because he was unable to get the quality of sleep he needed at night. Once he was fitted with a *pediatric* sized mask, *child* sized head- gear, and set up with a Sullivan VPAP (on bi-level settings of 6 & 3) he slept great and has been doing pretty well ever since. Your son should most likely see an ear/nose/throat doctor to have his tonsils looked at as someone made you aware of already. It was this doctor who removed my son’s, and he has continued to have an interest in his apnea treatment although the doctor who directly oversees it is a pediatric pulmonologist (lung specialist). The fact that you are already being treated for OSA should make the process easier for your youngster to understand, just realize that if he needs a sleep study done he will need a parent to stay with him overnight at the sleep lab. At least that’s what our labs have requested. That is how I have become educated about all this (and a little sleep deprived myself!). Good luck to you both– Liz – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Joe wrote in message <371557a9.19210…@news.gte.net>… >Two and a half years ago I was diagnosed with Apnea. Now I see that my >son (age 5) has the same thing. From what we can see it seems to be >regular breathing interruption and snoring. Waking every few minutes. >He has complained to morning headaches and waking drowsiness. Tonight >we put my mask over his nose (after turning down the pressure) and it >seemed to work great. He had regular breathing and seemed to sleep >deeply. > Question, is there a machine and mask designed for small >children? I realize that I will need to have him tested, but is there >suitable treatments for such a small child? >I welcome any and all comments. >Sleepless in Seattle
Response:
You may want to contact Dr. Pisani’s office, he is a very well known sleep specialist, the phone number is 425-899-6972 located in Woodinville WA. Joe <ma…@seanet.com.nospam> wrote in message
news:371557a9.19210956@news.gte.net… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Two and a half years ago I was diagnosed with Apnea. Now I see that my > son (age 5) has the same thing. From what we can see it seems to be > regular breathing interruption and snoring. Waking every few minutes. > He has complained to morning headaches and waking drowsiness. Tonight > we put my mask over his nose (after turning down the pressure) and it > seemed to work great. He had regular breathing and seemed to sleep > deeply. > Question, is there a machine and mask designed for small > children? I realize that I will need to have him tested, but is there > suitable treatments for such a small child? > I welcome any and all comments. > Sleepless in Seattle
