The Agony of a Little Girl Diagnosed with Sleep Apnea

The most frequent cause is the Adenoidea Hypertrophy, and in most of these cases the solution is having surgery for the upper respiratory tract. When the airway is narrow, the child struggles to breathe, but air cannot pass easily through the nose or mouth. Other causes are due to the throat and tongue muscles relaxing during sleep and partially blocking the opening of the airway.

It can also happen when the muscles of the palate and the base of the tongue and uvula relax and sink, the airway is blocked, making breathing laborious and noisy or even stopping altogether. In a small percentage, there is a neurological cause that should be treated with a positive pressure respiratory therapy CPAP during sleep.

An adequate diagnosis based on a nocturnal polysomnography can give doctors the clue about the origin of the problem to be able to act on the cause or to avoid the harmful effect of the apnea.