Snoring in a 3 year old child

Why does a child snore in his sleep even though there is no snot?

A common cause of snoring during sleep in children is nasal congestion caused by a severe runny nose, sinusitis, and inflammation of the frontal sinuses. For these reasons, as statistics show, snoring is more common in children aged 3 to 7 years.

Table of contents:

• Why does a child snore in his sleep even though there is no snot?
• Causes
• Diseases of the ENT organs
• Obesity
• Bite features
• Epilepsy
• Treatment
• Doctor Komarovsky about what to do if a child snores in his sleep
• About the problem
• Komarovsky about the causes of snoring
• Adenoids
• Snoring in infants
• Microclimate
• ENT diseases
• Obesity
• Malocclusion
• Consequences of snoring
• Snoring in children. Why does a child snore in his sleep?
• Why does a child snore in his sleep?
• Why is snoring dangerous in a child?
• Treatment of snoring in children
• A child snores in his sleep: reasons
• How to distinguish snoring from snoring
• Dangerous causes of children's snoring
• How to make it easier for your child to breathe while sleeping
• Prevention of night snoring in children
• Instead of a conclusion
• Snoring in a child during sleep: causes and treatment
• Why do babies snore
• Why is child snoring dangerous?
• How to stop your child from snoring
• Snoring in a child: what parents should know
• Causes of snoring
• Acute bacterial and viral infections
• Allergy
• Other ENT diseases
• Malocclusion
• Enlarged thymus gland
• Rolandic (nocturnal) epilepsy
• Why is snoring dangerous for a child?
• Diagnostics
• Drug therapy
• Surgery
• Tips and tricks

But if a child snores in his sleep, but there is no snot, then the reason should not be sought in nasal congestion. To establish the cause of disturbances in nighttime rest, the baby should be shown to an otolaryngologist, dentist, orthodontist, neurologist (which doctor to contact for snoring, who treats snoring).

Causes

Snoring occurs when some mechanical obstruction prevents the free circulation of air in the respiratory tract. Such an obstacle in children can be an enlarged uvula, tonsils, adenoids, or sagging soft palate.

Snoring can occur in a child during sleep due to dental malocclusion or epileptic seizures. The disorder can be complicated by sleep apnea—breathing stops for more than 10 seconds.

In children, the percentage of sleep apnea does not exceed 1-2% of all cases of snoring, but this phenomenon cannot be ignored. Deterioration of night rest negatively affects the activity of children, leads to physical and intellectual developmental disorders, and lags behind their peers.

Diseases of the ENT organs

After suffering from a sore throat, swelling of the throat persists for some time. A slight enlargement of the tonsils, as a residual phenomenon after an illness, causes a narrowing of the passage for air flow, causing snoring.

An enlarged pharyngeal tonsil is a common cause of snoring in children. The adenoids are checked first. A sign of adenoids is a child’s constantly slightly open mouth, nasal congestion in the absence of a runny nose.

Obesity

Excess weight may be a cause of snoring in children. Distributed in the tissues of the pharynx, fat narrows the lumen of the airways, which leads to vibration of the walls and uvula.

Excess weight serves as a heavy burden for the baby’s heart, blood vessels, and respiratory system, and causes endocrine disorders. In this case, in order to restore restful sleep, it is enough not to overfeed the children and interest them in active games and sports.

Bite features

A fairly common reason explaining why a child snores in his sleep, although he does not have snot, may be a dental malocclusion. If the lower jaw is slightly shifted back, then during sleep, with the body in a horizontal position, the uvula almost touches the root of the tongue, blocking the path for air.

As the lumen narrows, the air flow speed increases, causing the tongue to vibrate, which causes characteristic sounds.

The cause of snoring can be a “bird face” - a facial structure in which the nose protrudes forward, the cheekbones are smoothed, the teeth are crowded together, and the lower jaw is not sufficiently developed.

Epilepsy

The cause of children's snoring during sleep can be an epileptic seizure. In young children, the disease can go undetected for quite a long time.

Rolandic epilepsy, which occurs in children 2-14 years old, is difficult to diagnose and manifests itself mainly at night. Convulsive activity spreads during a seizure to one side of the face, including the muscles of the tongue and pharynx.

Snoring in this disease serves as an accompanying symptom and is somewhat different in sound. The sounds that the patient makes during a seizure are more reminiscent of the “gurgling” effects that occur when gargling.

The seizures are very short, lasting no more than 3 minutes, and more often - several tens of seconds. The seizure occurs at night, which prevents parents from seeing him. And, although this change is benign, usually disappearing with age, Rolandic epilepsy requires attention and medical supervision.

Treatment

Snoring in children is not always caused by illness and requires treatment. Sometimes changing the conditions is enough to ensure a good night's rest. You need to pay attention to the air in the room and bedding.

• The bed should not be too soft and the pillow should not be too high.
• Put your baby to sleep not on his back, but on his side.
• The room should be well ventilated before going to bed.
• It is necessary to use a humidifier and ensure the humidity in the room at 55-60%.

If the above measures do not help, you should definitely visit an otolaryngologist. This doctor, if he does not identify the causes of snoring in the child according to his profile, will refer him to another specialist.

In case of snoring due to malocclusion, the baby will be referred to an orthodontist. Signs that you may need help from a pediatric orthodontist include:

• slightly open mouth in sleep, during silence;
• wide spaces between teeth;
• overhang of the upper jaw.

The orthodontist will prescribe treatment with braces and plates, which will help correct the bite.

If your child's severe snoring is caused by adenoids, surgery may be necessary. After treatment of the adenoids, the obstacle to air circulation will disappear, and free breathing will be restored during night rest.

Sometimes there are relapses of adenoid hypertrophy after surgery, and the recurrence of snoring. This can happen if the adenoids were not completely removed during surgery.

Snoring is caused by a complex of reasons. Sometimes you have to visit several specialists to get rid of it, but you cannot leave sleep disturbances without medical supervision. Restless sleep may indicate serious health problems.

If snoring is uncomplicated, you can do exercises for snoring (Strelnikova gymnastics, exercises for the tongue)

Lump behind the ear in an adult

Runny nose in a nursing mother, treatment with drops and folk remedies

Signs and treatment of sinusitis in adults

Inexpensive drops for runny nose

Treatment of laryngitis in adults at home

How and with what to treat a sore throat in a 2-year-old child

By self-medicating, you can waste time and harm your health!

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Doctor Komarovsky about what to do if a child snores in his sleep

An adult snoring is, although an unpleasant phenomenon, but, by and large, quite common. Few of us are surprised if a fellow traveler on the train or a friend who came to visit for the night, after a certain amount of alcohol, snores profusely and persistently until the morning. But children's snoring is something completely incomprehensible. Therefore, parents who notice such a feature in their child often turn to the famous children's doctor and author of books on children's health, Evgeniy Komarovsky, who, in turn, tells what night snoring in a child can mean and whether it can be treated.

About the problem

Snoring occurs when there is a mechanical obstruction to the free circulation of air in the respiratory tract. During sleep, all the muscles of a person relax, not only the arms and legs, but also the small muscles - the palatine muscles. This partition, whose task is to prevent food from entering the respiratory organs, begins to vibrate in a relaxed state, and this sound is called snoring.

Komarovsky about the causes of snoring

Evgeny Komarovsky notes that most often children snore for two reasons:

Adenoids

Accumulation of dried mucus in the respiratory tract.

There are other reasons, but they are much less common. Thus, snoring can be a consequence of a malocclusion; quite often children suffering from epilepsy, obesity (not overweight, but obesity), and children with certain pathologies of the respiratory organs snore in their sleep.

Snoring in infants

Quite often, parents of infants complain that their child snores in their sleep. Komarovsky urges not to confuse snoring and snoring. Babies sniffle not because of illness, but because they have a certain physiological distinctive feature - the nasal passages are very narrow from birth. Such snoring is not a pathology and does not require treatment.

However, it is necessary to help the child. Komarovsky advises creating sufficiently humidified air; if necessary, irrigating the nasopharynx with saline solutions.

Microclimate

If an older child snores, and he did not do this before, but at 2 or 3 years old he began to snore, you should start looking for the cause of the phenomenon by assessing the conditions in which the child sleeps. If a child breathes dusty, dry air, they put him to sleep in a room where there are a lot of “dust collectors” - carpets, soft toys, books, if wet cleaning and ventilation are done not every day, but once a week, there is nothing surprising, according to Komarovsky, in no snoring. In the respiratory tract, due to this microclimate, mucus dries out, which is produced by the body to protect against viruses and other harmful organisms. Dried mucus becomes a mechanical barrier to normal breathing at night during sleep.

When asked what to do, Komarovsky answers in some detail: ventilate, wash the floors more often and remove dust, remove all carpets, buy an air humidifier so that the child’s bedroom always has air humidity of 50-70%, and the air temperature is no more than degrees. . It makes sense to instill a saline solution into the nose, thus moisturizing the mucous membranes. For the same purpose, you need to give your child more to drink.

ENT diseases

Snoring can be a consequence of a sore throat; after this serious illness, swelling of the larynx persists for some time. This condition does not need correction, snoring will go away. Such a sound night effect is possible after any respiratory disease in which the respiratory organs were affected.

If a child snores at night and breathes through his mouth, and during the daytime there is also difficulty in nasal breathing, adenoids are likely - an overgrowth of the lymphoid tissue of the pharyngeal tonsil. Treatment is prescribed by a doctor, depending on the stage and severity of the disease. In some cases, surgery is indicated.

If you have systematic snoring, you should definitely start your examination with a visit to an ENT doctor. In addition to adenoids, the doctor may detect other causes of snoring - a deviated nasal septum, polyps in the nasal passages, foreign small objects that the child could accidentally push into the nose or inhale, laryngitis or incipient bronchial asthma.

Obesity

When a child is obese, fat spreads not only to the subcutaneous space, but also to the tissues of the pharynx, which causes narrowing of the lumen and vibration during relaxation of the soft palate. This type of snoring can be treated by reducing the amount of food consumed, diet, exercise and active games. A nutritionist can help you lose excess weight.

Malocclusion

There are several types of malocclusion that can cause nighttime snoring. A pediatric dentist or orthopedist will help answer the question of why children snore in the absence of a runny nose. Usually, if the lower jaw is poorly developed and displaced back, during sleep, when the muscles relax, the root of the tongue comes into contact with the uvula. The passage of air becomes difficult. The orthopedist will decide what to do after examining the child’s jaw; usually such pathologies, identified at an early age, can be successfully corrected without surgical intervention.

Consequences of snoring

If children's snoring is ignored and the true cause of the disorder is not looked for, the consequences can be unpleasant.

Dried mucus in the oropharynx can cause chronic respiratory diseases in children, and neglected adenoids are very difficult to treat.

Snoring can lead to short-term disturbances in pulmonary breathing and respiratory arrest. This medical condition is called “sleep apnea” and can be deadly. According to statistics, such a complication develops in only 2-3% of children suffering from night snoring, but this possibility cannot be ignored.

Without exception, all children who snore sleep worse, and impaired sleep quality leads to nervous exhaustion, metabolic disorders and decreased concentration and learning ability.

Dr. Komarovsky will talk about the causes of children's snoring in the video below.

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Snoring in children. Why does a child snore in his sleep?

In the understanding of most people, snoring is more a problem for adults than for children. What associations do you have with the word snoring? Snoring baby, or snoring dad or grandpa? Probably the second one.

However, snoring in children is quite common. Moreover, almost every child snores in their sleep when they have a cold. There is nothing wrong with such snoring; along with the runny nose, the sound will disappear.

Why does a child snore in his sleep?

However, if a child snores constantly, this may already indicate a problem. The cause of snoring may be deformation of the bones of the facial skull and some other anomalies, but most often the appearance of snoring in a child is associated with a chronic runny nose and adenoids (enlarged nasopharyngeal tonsil).

Why is snoring dangerous in a child?

If snoring causes inconvenience to the baby, makes breathing difficult and leads to temporary cessation of breathing, then after such a “sleep” the child feels exhausted, because instead of resting, he fights every second for a breath of oxygen. Snoring, accompanied by frequent pauses in breathing, is dangerous because it leads to hypoxia, that is, oxygen starvation. As a result, the child constantly feels weak, is capricious, shows less interest in the world around him than non-snoring peers, and, as a result, develops more slowly.

Another problem lies in diseases that cause snoring. For example, adenoids can cause not only difficulty breathing, but also decreased hearing and even bedwetting.

Treatment of snoring in children

Snoring as such cannot be treated; it is necessary to find and eliminate the causes of this phenomenon. To do this, you need to contact an ENT doctor, and then act depending on the diagnosis. For example, the cause of a chronic runny nose can be either a deviated nasal septum or an allergy, and accordingly, the treatment will be radically different. If we are talking about adenoids, then everything also depends on the specific case, sometimes only surgical intervention is indicated, and sometimes it is quite possible to get by with conservative treatment methods under the guidance of an ENT specialist.

If during the examination no pathologies were found in the child, then look for a possible cause of snoring at home. Perhaps the air in the nursery is too dry, and dry crusts form in the baby’s nose. Then you need to pay more attention to wet cleaning of the room, and maybe get a humidifier.

If a child sleeps on an “adult” pillow, that is, a pillow that is too high for him, this can also cause snoring. In this case, you can buy a special children's pillow and see if the situation changes for the better.

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Hello. My son's adenoids were removed in January 2012. He is 3 and a half years old, after 1.5 months he began snoring again and choking at night. We went for an examination to an ENT specialist, he said that some kind of mucus was being secreted - what kind of mucus was it? What to do. Tell??

The child suddenly began snoring, it continues continuously all night, he began to get tired, has trouble remembering, his nose is clean without snot or dry crusts, I close the holes in the nose one by one and he breathes well, the room is ventilated while the child is at school from 8 to 18. We were recently diagnosed with a heart problem. Could this be the cause of snoring?

Hello. The child is 2 years old, after a cold, after a couple of weeks, he began snoring and breathing slows down and for a couple of seconds does not breathe at all, gets scared and wakes up. We went to an ENT specialist, first we were prescribed fenistil, webrocil, protorgol, a week later we were prescribed nazole and sodium sulfacyl, isofru, and now we were prescribed sofradex. I read the instructions and was afraid of dripping into my nose. Help, tell me what to do?

My child is 1.8 months old. and he has an LLC. Snoring is not related to the heart. I'd like to know about this. But not always, but sometimes he snores.

My son is 4 years old. He has been snoring for 2 weeks, like a grown man. No runny nose. We visited Lor, were treated with Bioparox, Vibrocil and Edas 801 we are still dripping. Tell me what to do next?

During an acute respiratory infection with a high temperature, a child developed snoring and difficulty breathing. 3 months have passed and the snoring has not disappeared. Help me please! Not adenoids.

They had a cold, had green snot, they treated their nose: Quix spray, a few drops of Polydex. We were treated within 7 days, but snoring appeared at night. We have this with every cold, the snoring goes away only after a week. What to do? Maybe tighten up the adenoid tissue with nazanex drops?

I have two children. Three and a half years difference. The eldest snored until he was four years old, then suddenly stopped. Now the youngest is snoring, like a tractor. He's allergic to us! All this is due to dry air. His nose gets dry and he snores.

We also have a problem with snoring, my son is 2.8, it all started this winter, this has never happened before, the first time he snored, we didn’t pay much attention to it, after a couple of days a runny nose appeared, the runny nose was cured and the snoring went away on its own. Again, now we’ve been snoring for five days, today I called the children’s emergency room, where doctors usually work with experience, and the doctor turned out to be one, he said that the nose was clean, but the bronchi were wheezing incessantly! He prescribed us Stodal, Theraflu Bro (ointment for rubbing), Fenistil drops, Orvirem, Engystol and Protorgol for preventive purposes, I also stuck the nozzle on for the night. Pah-pah seems a little easier, but you need to drink all this for five days! I hope everything goes well! A speedy recovery to everyone. )

My son had his adenoids and tonsils removed at 3.5, a month later the child began snoring, and his tonsils grew back. We rarely get sick, for 8 months now. as if they weren’t sick with anything, but the tonsils grew and were bigger than they were. The snoring is strong, I took it to the doctors, they told me to leave it alone, while others prescribed immune sprays and sprays, etc., I’m afraid that I might suffocate, although I only held my breath once, not like with adenoids. Help, what should we do? Now we are doing inhalation with dexamethasone, it has become better, but they told us they can only do it for 3 days, tomorrow we want to start the magnet.

Hi all! My baby is 1.6, the temperature was 39.7 for four days, it only dropped by 2.5 hours. I managed my temperature and started snoring, but not constantly. Either he breathes normally, or he snores. The nose is clean. What to do. Thanks in advance.

Hello, we are 1.3 months old, after suffering from a cold, the baby began to snore during sleep and breathe very hard. Neither a visit to the pediatrician nor an ENT specialist yielded any results; they are prescribing protargol drops and allergy drops; we have been receiving this treatment for two weeks now, but there is zero result. Please help us, the baby sleeps very poorly due to difficulty breathing, what should we do??

Hello. My child fell ill with a sore throat and had a high fever. Snoring appeared; I have never heard an 8-year-old child snore so much. Tell me, could snoring appear due to a sore throat?

My daughter is 4 years old. He has been snoring for 2 weeks now, like a grown man. No runny nose. We visited Laura and received treatment. And what to do next, tell me.

My son is 4 years old. He snores like a grown man. No runny nose. What could be the reason, and is it serious? So what should I do?

Hello. About 2 weeks ago my child (2.2 years old) got sick. The temperature remained high for 6 days. We were treated in an infectious diseases hospital. A diagnosis of tonsillitis was made. The ENT specialist examined us only upon admission and confirmed that we had tonsillitis. They dripped Isofra into the nose. Discharged 2 days ago. There is still a little snot and the child sometimes snores during sleep. Can this happen after a sore throat? And if so, how long will it take for it to go away. I rinse my nose with saline solution. The diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis was not confirmed, as I was told. But the extract indicated that antibodies to EBV were detected. I’m still afraid to go to the ENT doctor, lest I catch something new in the queue.

My 5 year old son snores in his sleep. How can you treat it, that is, rid your child of snoring?

My daughter is 1 year and 10 months old, her temperature was 37.8 for 2 days, and today we have been snoring for 4 nights, there is no runny nose, her nose is breathing, tell me what to do?

Good afternoon and thank you for your participation. My grandson is 4.5 years old. 1.5 years ago, adenoids and tonsils were removed. For some time there were no problems with breathing. Before the operation, he suffered from false croup; after that, the attacks became much less frequent and did not last as long. BUT for about 4 months now he has started snoring again, wheezing at night from 3-4 hours until the morning. Sleeps poorly, tosses around. He makes a noise when talking. What could it be? Thank you.

Hi all! My baby is 1.6, the temperature was 39.7 for four days, it only dropped by 2.5 hours. I managed the temperature and appeared

snoring, but not constant. Either he breathes normally, or he snores. The nose is clean. What to do. Thanks in advance.

Diana, we are 3 years old, and in the last year we have encountered this problem twice. The child began to snore for the first time after prolonged bronchitis. The pediatrician said it was swelling of the mucous membrane and prescribed Avamys injections for 2 weeks; the snoring went away, but not immediately. And the second time the child’s temperature suddenly rose to 38.5, the next day it returned to normal, there were no symptoms of a cold, but the child began to snore, could not breathe through his nose at all, even during the day he “grunted”, in general, much worse than the first time once. We contacted an ENT specialist, who said that it was a viral infection that caused swelling of the nasal mucosa and that the swelling would take a long time to subside - up to a month. She prescribed Nasonex spray for a month, and within 3 weeks everything went away. Yes, and both times the nose was clean, there was no runny nose.

A child snores in his sleep: reasons

We are all accustomed to the fact that snoring is typical of older people, or at least mature people. Therefore, when at night snoring comes from the children's room where your baby sleeps, you are perplexed. What could be the reason for the fact that a child snores in his sleep, how dangerous it is and whether it is possible to help the baby get rid of this phenomenon - these are the main questions of parents who are faced with child snoring. Some begin to treat the child with traditional medicine, others believe that snoring will go away over time, others panic and go for an examination to a pediatrician.

How to distinguish snoring from snoring

Before you sound the alarm and run to the doctor, you need to understand why your child snores, which means you need to be able to distinguish snoring from snoring. Watch your child while he sleeps, there is nothing complicated about it, and there will be no additional costs. But you will be able to understand what is causing his nighttime snoring; in any case, any parent can determine whether the phenomenon is caused by illness or any external factors.

So, here are a few signs that indicate that your child is not in serious danger:

1. Insufficient air humidification in the house. It is especially worth paying attention to this point during the heating period. During this period, the air in the apartment is very dry, the mucous membrane of the child’s nose also dries out, making it difficult for him to breathe. And it’s very difficult for adults to stay in a dry room. Also, dry indoor air contributes to the formation of crusts in the nose, which also affects the deterioration of breathing. In this case, it is necessary to humidify the air by any available methods. This can be done using a purchased air humidifier (read how to choose one for a child’s room here), or, if you don’t have one, use the old proven method: put a damp towel or a wet sheet folded in several layers on the radiator and change them as they dry.
2. Anatomical changes in the child's nasal passages. If the child was diagnosed with anatomical changes in the nasal passages at birth, then he will have to get used to night snoring quite early. When your baby tries to inhale more air through his too-narrow nasal passages, his nose begins to whine, similar to snoring or snoring. This snoring appears due to the anatomical features of the baby. It is worth paying attention, if snoring does not interfere with the baby when feeding, most likely the cause of snoring is the anatomy of the structure of the baby’s nasal passages.

Dangerous causes of children's snoring

It is clear that if no anatomical features were found in the child, and the room in which the baby sleeps has a fairly humid and comfortable climate, and the baby continues to snore at night, then the reasons for this phenomenon are associated with some kind of disease. You should not try to diagnose yourself; it is better to seek help from specialists. There are the following dangerous causes of child snoring:

1. Nasal congestion. Babies with nasal congestion experience difficulty breathing, which causes severe snoring during sleep. This reason can cause a number of respiratory tract infections, allergic reactions, rhinitis, sinusitis, etc. If you do not treat congestion, your baby’s runny nose can quickly develop into a chronic form and cause further development of sinusitis, frontal sinusitis, an allergic reaction, and other things.

What to do? It is possible to get rid of this disease by identifying the cause of nasal congestion. This requires an examination of the upper respiratory tract in an ENT office. As a rule, to restore breathing and relieve a child from snoring due to congestion, sanitization and restoration of the mucous membrane of the nasal sinuses helps. More accurate and qualified recommendations for the treatment of nasal congestion in a child will be given by an otolaryngologist (in common parlance - an ENT doctor).

How to make it easier for your child to breathe while sleeping

In any case, whatever the cause of snoring, the child needs to be able to breathe easier. The following methods will help make breathing easier.

• First of all, if you are still struggling with dry air in your room, invest in an air ionizer or humidifier.
• Special aromatic patches will help, which will reduce the occurrence of unfavorable snoring.
• Among medications, it is worth highlighting antihistamines, which relieve swelling of the mucous membrane.
• Antibacterial agents.
• Vasoconstrictor drugs.
• Rinse the child's nose with saline solution.
• Orthopedic pillow for children.
• Place the baby on his side or stomach.

However, if the cause of your child's snoring is associated with any disease, do not delay visiting the doctor. Only an experienced, qualified specialist will help you quickly diagnose the cause of snoring and prescribe appropriate treatment for your baby.

Prevention of night snoring in children

As doctors say, it is easier to prevent a problem than to treat it later. The following can be identified as preventive measures:

• Hardening and walking in fresh, clean air, strengthening the immune system (taking vitamins);
• Hand hygiene;
• Proper clothing to prevent overheating or freezing;
• Proper nutrition;
• Physical activity or massage;
• In infants: feeding without the addition of artificial formulas;
• Orthopedic mattress;
• Humid, cool air.

If you comply with all these requirements, then your child will remain healthy and will not be afraid of snoring.

Instead of a conclusion

Snoring not only makes breathing difficult, but affects the general condition of the body throughout the next day. After such a dream, a child is exhausted, develops more slowly, is weakened, is capricious, loses interest in the world around him, and finds it more difficult to concentrate. Therefore, identifying, treating and preventing snoring are very important steps for the full functioning of a child.

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Snoring in a child during sleep: causes and treatment

From time to time, not only older people, but also small children snore in the middle of the night. And, despite the fact that, according to statistics, there are only about 5% of such children, and the main causes of snoring during sleep in a child and an adult are different, it can also lead to health problems and cannot be ignored. Whether children's snoring is a marker of some disease or a temporary inconvenience can only be reliably determined by a doctor.

Why do babies snore

A child begins to snore when the soft mucous tissues located in the throat and nasal passages become swollen and narrowed. Air passes through the narrowed passages with difficulty, vibrating and making characteristic snoring sounds. In this case, nasal breathing becomes completely or partially difficult, and the baby is forced to breathe through the mouth.

The mechanism of snoring is almost always the same, but the reasons for the narrowing of the respiratory passages and enlargement of lymphatic tissues can be different:

• a foreign object (button, bead, piece of food) stuck in the baby’s nose, causing swelling of the mucous membrane and forcing him to breathe through his mouth;
• fat lining soft internal tissues, including the pharyngeal mucosa in cases of obesity of the third and higher degrees;
• colds or allergic rhinitis, leading to swelling of the palate, uvula and mucous membranes of the nose and throat;
• functional mucus, which often clogs the nasal passages in newborns;
• congenital and acquired deformations of the craniofacial structure, leading to narrowness of the lumens of the pharynx;
• adenoids - enlarged nasopharyngeal tonsils.

The last of the above factors is most common in children. Its peak occurs between the ages of 2 and 12 years, and doctors recognize it as the main cause of snoring in children during sleep. Tonsils protect the body by preventing pathogens from entering it. Their growth occurs as a result of frequent viral infections, when they fail to fulfill their purpose and the child, not having time to fully recover from one cold, catches the next one.

During the second stage of adenoid growth, the child snores constantly. Due to the fact that his nasal passages are almost always blocked, he breathes through his mouth. This leads to dry mucous membranes, which can no longer resist the penetration of viruses, as well as to stop breathing during sleep - apnea. The child gets sick more and more often, and runny nose, tonsillitis and tonsillitis become chronic.

Adenoids of the third and higher degrees are already a serious chronic disease that requires immediate treatment under medical supervision. Enlarged tonsils close the nasal passages, preventing you from breathing normally and getting enough sleep. In this case, not only the child’s nose, but also his ears suffer, and hearing loss may develop. Until recently, it was practiced to remove adenoids even in the early stages of development, and their growth rarely reached even the third stage. Today, doctors are not so categorical and recommend resorting to surgical intervention only in extreme cases, trying to shrink the adenoids using more gentle methods.

Why is child snoring dangerous?

Sound and healthy sleep is one of the three pillars on which the health of a little person is based. It has been scientifically proven that it is divided into deep and fast phases, alternately replacing each other. Snoring causes constant micro-awakenings. They do not allow the baby’s brain to plunge into the deep phase of sleep, which has a very bad effect on his daytime well-being. Therefore, a snoring child should be observed not only when he is sleeping, but also when he is awake.

During a cold, children almost always snore and breathe heavily in their sleep. After recovery, calm sleep is restored with even and quiet breathing. Periodic snoring in an infant does not always lead to unpleasant consequences, but when it becomes regular, you need to be wary. Oxygen starvation and lack of sleep characteristic of this pathology negatively affect the baby’s brain activity, and during waking moments the baby becomes capricious and lethargic.

In an older child, the negative consequences of snoring, on the contrary, can contribute to aggressive behavior, hyperactivity, excessive agitation, impaired concentration and, as a result, problems with peers and learning disabilities. When sleep disordered breathing becomes chronic, these problems get worse and slow down the child's physical and mental development.

Not being able to get enough sleep and rest for months can also lead to obesity. Extra pounds accumulate due to hormonal imbalance caused by lack of sleep and the lack of stress during the day necessary for the harmonious growth of the growing body. In addition, chronic fatigue and low daily activity negatively affect the functioning of the glands responsible for food processing and metabolic processes.

There is no need to wait for your child’s snoring to disappear on its own. Whatever the reasons it is caused, whether it is periodic or constant, in any case, snoring during sleep is a pathological condition of the body, and not the norm, and it must be taken seriously.

How to stop your child from snoring

Even if it is not accompanied by loud sounds, it is not difficult to understand that a child is snoring. To do this, you need to listen to the baby’s breathing and look at the position in which he sleeps. A person who snores usually has his head thrown back, his mouth is open, he sniffles, breathes intermittently, sometimes turns restlessly and jerks his legs.

Any snoring in a child during sleep, regardless of its cause, becomes a cause for concern and parents want it to stop as soon as possible. But under no circumstances should you wake up your child in the middle of the night and scold him for making noise. Babies, just like adults, do not control themselves in their sleep, and a sudden awakening can frighten them. The only thing worth trying to do is to carefully help him change his position when he sleeps on his back, turning him over onto his side, and then try to find out the causes of difficulty breathing:

1. 1 One of the reasons for children's snoring may be the accumulation of dry mucus in the nasopharynx due to the fact that the air in the room where the child sleeps is too dry and warm. Therefore, at night the air temperature in the nursery should not exceed 18 °C, and its humidity should be at least 50%. And in order to exclude allergic reactions leading to swelling of the mucous membranes, it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room before going to bed and ensure that it is free of dust and mold.
2. 2 If the child does not have a cold and snores suddenly, check whether the night “trills” are caused by a foreign object stuck in the nasal passage. Under no circumstances try to remove it yourself, but seek emergency medical help.
3. 3 Sometimes snoring can be triggered by an absolutely banal circumstance - an uncomfortable high pillow. It excessively lifts the child’s head and thereby contributes to blocking the already not too wide lumen of the child’s larynx. As soon as you replace such a pillow with a less voluminous or orthopedic one, snoring will immediately stop.
4. 4 If swelling of the mucous membrane and snoring are caused by a cold, then after adequate treatment they should go away along with it. During the treatment process, do not get carried away with vasoconstrictor drugs. Such drugs cause rapid addiction and dependence. Try to use them only at night, and during the day, rinse your baby’s nose with salt water or special sprays.
5. 5 In situations where the cold has passed, but snoring does not subside, it is necessary to consult a doctor to diagnose it and only after that, focusing on its results, begin treatment. In all cases (adenoids, allergies, craniofacial deformities, obesity), therapy will be different, which is why it is so important to identify the true cause of swelling of the mucous membrane.
6. 6 Sometimes, to eliminate the risk of chronic diseases, doctors advise getting rid of tonsils through surgery. But there is no need to rush into this. It is not the adenoids that are to blame for frequent colds, but a weak immune system. It is better to start their treatment with conservative methods with drugs that fight viruses and increase the body's resistance, relieve swelling with saline solutions, course physiotherapy sessions, and inhalations. Such measures help to curb the growth of the tonsils, and very often by adolescence the child “outgrows” the disease, and it goes away completely. If gentle therapy does not help, and enlarged tonsils cause sleep apnea, persistent otitis media, and negatively affect speech and hearing, they will most likely have to be removed.
7. 7 Anatomical features that lead to snoring: a deviated nasal septum, a cleft or sunken palate, a small lower jaw, narrow nasal passages, polyps in the nose and throat and the like are corrected mainly surgically.

An important role in getting rid of a child from snoring is played by how parents treat this problem. To restore and maintain children's health, they must show their child by personal example what a healthy lifestyle is and instill love for him. If parents and their children begin to take care of their immunity: strengthen themselves, walk a lot in the fresh air, exercise whenever possible and eat a balanced diet, then many health-related troubles will bypass the family, and children’s sleep will be sound and without “musical” accompaniment .

A buyer's guide will help you understand all the intricacies of choosing a good mattress.

Source: http://moymatras.com/narusheniya-sna/hrap-u-rebenka

Snoring in a child: what parents should know

Snoring during sleep is not considered normal, especially in childhood. If your baby has a cold and snores, there is no need to worry. The snoring will stop as soon as the child recovers. If snoring is constant, and such provoking factors as an uncomfortable pillow and mattress, dry air in the room are excluded, you need to pay close attention to the problem. Snoring indicates the development of a serious illness. Let's figure out why snoring in a child occurs and how to treat it.

Causes of snoring

The mechanism of snoring in adults and children is the same: the soft palate and uvula vibrate as air passes through the respiratory tract, and vibration of the soft tissue is accompanied by specific sounds. This phenomenon may be due to:

• structural abnormalities;
• narrowing of the airway lumen due to a particular disease, excess weight;
• violation of the nervous regulation of the respiratory act, genetic diseases.

Snoring also manifests itself as apnea syndrome - a disorder accompanied by short-term interruptions in breathing during sleep (stops last 10 seconds or longer, and can occur every 1.5 minutes).

Acute bacterial and viral infections

A child with a cold may snore with a runny nose and/or inflammation of the pharynx, tonsils, or larynx. The secretion produced by the nasal mucosa makes breathing difficult. If the mucous membrane of the pharynx and larynx becomes inflamed and swollen, the lumen of the airways narrows, breathing also becomes difficult, and the child begins to snore.

Allergy

A similar situation occurs if the child suffers from allergies. Only inflammation of the mucous membranes is provoked not by viruses or bacteria, but by various allergens - plant pollen, bird fluff or pet hair, synthetic bedding fillers, food. An allergic reaction is accompanied by swelling of the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx and difficulty breathing.

Other ENT diseases

A child who snores may have enlarged adenoids. The tissues of the pharyngeal tonsil grow and block the lumen of the airways, which makes breathing very difficult.

According to statistics, in 80% of cases the cause of snoring in a child is adenoids.

Also, breathing problems and children's snoring are caused by:

1. nasal polyps;
2. chronic tonsillitis, in which the tissue of the palatine tonsils increases and becomes loose;
3. structural abnormalities (deviated nasal septum, narrow nasal passages, long uvula, sagging soft palate, abnormal structure of the skull bones);
4. bronchial asthma;
5. oropharyngeal tumors.

Malocclusion

With insufficient development and displacement of the lower jaw back in the supine position, the uvula practically comes into contact with the root of the tongue, thereby preventing the movement of air. Due to vibrations of the uvula during breathing, specific sounds appear.

When a malocclusion develops:

If your baby has similar signs, you need to contact an orthodontist, who will recommend the best way to correct the bite - using braces or plates.

Enlarged thymus gland

The thymus gland is an organ of the endocrine system that affects the growth of the child and the processes of immune formation. The enlarged thymus gland compresses nerve endings and large blood vessels. The consequence of this is difficulty in inhaling when breathing.

Rolandic (nocturnal) epilepsy

The disease is most often detected in children aged 2 to 14 years, accompanied by nighttime cramps spreading to one side of the face, pharynx muscles, and tongue. Convulsive activity is accompanied by snoring, which is more like gurgling sounds (as when gargling). Seizures last from a few seconds to 3 minutes.

The difficulty of diagnosis lies in the fact that short convulsive seizures occur at night and last a short time, so parents do not always immediately notice the disorder. The disease is not accompanied by mental and neurological changes and goes away completely by the age of 15–18 years. However, a child with such a pathology should be under constant medical supervision.

Why is snoring dangerous for a child?

If your child snores occasionally, there is no need to worry. But if the baby constantly snores, experiences discomfort from this and does not get enough sleep, you need to consult a doctor and examine the child. A severe form of snoring is accompanied by short-term pauses in breathing during sleep, causing oxygen starvation of the tissues of the brain, heart muscle, and other organs, which leads to serious diseases.

Apnea can be suspected if the child:

• becomes irritable, aggressive, capricious;
• gets tired quickly;
• experiences headaches;
• cannot concentrate, does not remember and assimilate information well, studies worse;
• often wakes up and has nightmares;
• sweats a lot at night;
• lags behind in growth (growth hormone is produced precisely during sleep, and during apnea its production decreases), mental development.

Often, with apnea, children suffer from nocturnal enuresis (urinary incontinence).

If nasal breathing is difficult for some reason, the child begins to breathe through the mouth. As a result, the mucous membranes of the oral cavity and pharynx dry out and do not perform their protective functions. A favorable environment is created in the mouth and throat for the proliferation of infectious microorganisms; the child more often suffers from colds and bacterial inflammation of the ENT organs.

Diagnostics

To establish the exact causes of snoring, the child should be shown to an otolaryngologist. The specialist will make a diagnosis based on the results of such studies:

• visual examination of the nasal passages, pharynx, ears;
• radiography of the paranasal sinuses;
• bacteriological analysis of a smear taken from the nasopharyngeal mucosa;
• laboratory tests of blood and urine.

In addition, the doctor will be able to assess the degree of negative impact of snoring on the child’s body and the likelihood of developing dangerous consequences. For this purpose, polysomnography is performed - a study in which indicators of various body functions are recorded during sleep. The main parameter is the oxygen content in the blood. The lower it is, the more dangerous snoring is for the child’s health.

Based on the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes drug therapy or surgical treatment. If the otorhinolaryngologist does not detect any violations, he will refer the child for examination to specialists of a different profile - an orthodontist, a neurologist.

Drug therapy

It is not snoring that needs to be treated, but the cause that causes it. Drug therapy is carried out if the provoking factor is infectious and inflammatory diseases of the ENT organs or allergies.

If snoring is caused by acute infectious inflammation, the following are prescribed:

1. antiviral or antibacterial drugs (depending on the type of pathogen);
2. antihistamines – Cetirizine, Zodak (relieve swelling of the mucous membranes);
3. solutions for rinsing the nose based on sea salt - Humer, Marimer, Aqua Maris (clean the nasal cavity, moisturize the mucous membrane);
4. vasoconstrictor nasal drops - Tizin, Otrivin, Galazolin (reduce swelling of the mucous membrane of the nasal passages, suppress mucus production).

Children should use vasoconstrictor drops with caution: if they overdose, atrophy of the mucous membrane of the nasal passages develops, and addiction occurs.

During treatment, the use of vasoconstrictor drops and saline solutions helps to facilitate breathing, and accordingly the intensity of snoring decreases. Once the child recovers, he will stop snoring completely.

For allergies, the basis of treatment is:

1. use of local and systemic antihistamines;
2. possibly following a special diet;
3. avoiding contact with the allergen.

Surgery

With enlarged adenoids, medication is not always effective, and in this case surgery is performed. Indications for adenotomy (removal of adenoids) are:

1. severe disruption of nasal breathing, caused by a strong proliferation of lymphoid tissue (when the lumen of the respiratory tract is almost completely blocked, only a small gap remains through which the child breathes with difficulty);
2. lack of positive results from drug treatment.

With chronic tonsillitis, the palatine tonsils swell, enlarge, and become loose, which also provokes snoring. In such a situation, a tonsillectomy is performed - removal of the tonsils. When the tissue of the soft palate is enlarged or the uvula is long, uvulopalatoplasty is performed.

In case of deformation of the nasal septum, other structural abnormalities, or the presence of polyps, surgery is the only way to treat impaired breathing and snoring.

Operations to correct a deformed nasal septum are performed at the age of at least 18 years, when the formation of the bone skeleton is finally completed.

Tips and tricks

If children's snoring is not caused by a disease, following the following recommendations will help eliminate the unpleasant phenomenon.

1. It is necessary to ensure that the child sleeps in the most natural position. Orthopedic sleep products cope best with this task. The mattress should not be too soft, and the pillow should not be flat or high (the optimal thickness is 6 cm).
2. It is better for a child to fall asleep on his side, since lying on his back increases the likelihood of snoring.
3. It is important to maintain cleanliness in the room, optimal temperature and humidity. The children's room needs to be cleaned and ventilated regularly. In rooms with excessively dry air, it is recommended to use humidifiers.
4. If your child is overweight, it is important to review his nutritional diet and lifestyle. Sports, active games, regular walks in the air will help cope with the problem.

Snoring in a child may indicate the presence of serious problems. Only a doctor can determine the cause of an unpleasant symptom, so it is necessary to show the baby to an otorhinolaryngologist, dentist, orthodontist, or neurologist. With timely diagnosis and proper treatment, the dangerous consequences of snoring can be avoided.