Breathing is one of the vital functions of every human being, but sometimes at an early age it can cause problems. One of the most common is the nocturnal snoring. Scientific studies have shown that 12% of preschoolers snore. One in five children snore during sleep, however, 3% of young people suffer from a more complex disorder: sleep apnea which, if associated with the recurrent lack of oxygen in the blood, can predispose to other pathologies.
Baby Snoring: Causes
This disorder is often caused by a stuffy nose of au cold and seasonal ailments, which, although trivial, should not be underestimated. In addition, due to breathing difficulties, the baby may tend to breathe through the mouth rather than the nose, an anomaly that can lead to poor development of the palate. In severe cases, obstructive sleep apnea (AOS) can cause pulmonary, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases .
Most often, obstructive apnea is caused by tonsil problems which can swell due to several factors: bacterial or viral infections, dry mucous membranes, pollution, stroke, etc., and adenoids , small lymph nodes in the lymphatic tissue located behind the nose in the nasopharyngeal cavity which, if enlarged, blocks the passage of air, causing the child to breathe, day and night, with his mouth open and snoring during the sleep.
In such cases, in older children, treatment is surgery and recovery occurs in most cases. In principle, snoring is therefore caused by an obstacle that prevents air from passing normally through the nose and throat. Often behind children who are irritable, nervous or have behavioral problems, there is a sleeping problem of which snoring is a symptom.
The pediatrician's advice to parents is to keep an eye out for signal indicators of possible problems, because the constant snoring in the night and nightmares , L ' hyperactivity during the day, the lack of attention at school, l' enuresis, can be indicators of respiratory problems which should not be overlooked and underestimated. Therefore, it is useful to schedule a visit with the ENT specialist and if necessary also with the bronchopneumologist, to find the causes of the disorder and define the most appropriate therapy.
If the adult who sleeps poorly at night is drowsy during the day, the baby testifies to the lack of night rest with hyper-agitation, anxiety, irritability, distraction, aggression during the day . At preschool and school age, sleep disorders have a negative impact on school performance, relational attitude and behavior of babies.
hypoxia , the first recurrent and intermittent lack of oxygen in the blood, caused by sleep disorders, on the heart and on the vascular system, can predispose the very young and the youngest to the atherosclerosis .
What to do if baby snores?
To help the snoring baby, enlargement of adenoids and tonsils must be avoid : o by promoting and maintaining the right humidity in the environments where it lives; o always keep the baby's nose clean; or have him do breathing exercises to promote nasal breathing; or keep it outdoors as much as possible and even when it's cold; o periodic visit to an otolaryngologist; o cycles of thermotherapy, areosol and humage, with sulphurous water; o holidays in a marine and mountain environment, if possible; o reduce the administration of cow's milk and cow's milk cheeses, which promote the production of mucus.
How to Prevent Snoring in Babies
To treat enlarged adenoids and tonsils and prevent snoring in babies, we can use homeopathic medicines and especially:
- Shaking his fists5CH: 4 pellets per day
- Carbonite Barita7CH: 4 pellets per day
- Ribes nigrum1DH: 20 drops per day
- Rosehip1DH: 20 drops per day
For adenoid enlargement
- hydrastis: is the remedy for children with yellow mucus and general lymphatic hypertrophy.
- potassium bichromium: remedy for mucus that is difficult to eliminate.
- Calcarea phosphorica: de many homeopaths claim that it is the best remedy for adenoids. It corresponds to the dyscrasia which allows the growth of the adenoids and the enlargement of the tonsils.
Calcarea iodata can be used in febrile cases, Baryta carbonica for babies who have recurrent attacks of acute tonsillitis.
- Canadian Chestnut: for those who manifest the characteristic of extreme sensitivity to cold air. Sensation of heat and dryness in the throat, so intense that the patient must drink for relief. Inhalation of cold air causes pain in the throat, cistus has a special affinity with the nasopharynx.
- Tuberculinum: read adenoids receive great benefit and are sometimes permanently cured by a weekly dose of Tubercolinum 200K.
- Shaking his fists: remedy for obstruction of both nostrils due to adenoids. Rhinogenic deafness. It is essentially a remedy against phlegm and acts especially on the glands connected with the nasal cavities; its use generally avoids surgery.
Adenoid hypertrophy is a very common problem in babies although it usually begins around the age of 3 years. When the adenoids increase in volume, different types of pathologies can occur due to the size of the hypertrophic tissue.
Symptoms of enlarged adenoids
- The most characteristic symptom of enlarged adenoids is nasal breathing difficulty, especially at night, child. If the child snores at night, has a very disturbed sleep, complains of nightmares and often wets the bed, he may suffer from this pathology.
- A recurrent ear infection occurs : laterally to the nasopharyngeal cable, there are in fact the tubular orifices which, by putting the nasopharyngeal cable in direct communication with the middle ear, allow the maintenance of correct air pressure and the drainage of secretions, from the inside of the middle ear. In case of tubal obstruction, as occurs in adenoid hypertrophy, the air in the middle ear decreases collapsing the tympanic membrane and favoring the accumulation of pathological secretions that can cause repeated otitis.
- A ovalization of the palate is diagnosed and possible subsequent deviation of the nasal septum , narrowing of the upper dental arch and forward movement of the anterior and upper teeth, which requires the care of a pediatric orthodontist.
- A final phenomenon related to the presence of adenoids in babies is the so-called nasal voice. Removal of the adenoids, restoring the normal space as a resonance cavity in the nasopharyngeal cavity, changes the timbre of the baby's voice.
Indications for the removal of adenoids are:
- Recurrent adenoiditis or sinusitis,rhinorrhea (discharge of mucus from the nose);
- Forced oral breathing,episodes of sleep apnea, snoring, sleep disturbances, nocturnal enuresis (enuresis nocturnal), daytime sleepiness;
- tubal occlusion with recurrent catarrhal otitis, conductive hearing loss (decrease in hearing)
- Disorders of growth and behavior, dental/facial growth abnormalities (ovalization of the palate - deviation of the nasal septum);
- Difficulty feeding and language abnormalities (nasal voice). Given the nature of the disorders, therapy must therefore act on several fronts and embrace several branches of medicine: otolaryngology and orthodontics, surgery and bronchopneumology, and of course radiology, speech therapy and pediatrics.
Therefore, maximum attention is recommended for symptoms such as bedwetting, nightmares, restless sleep, and inattention to school, all of which may suggest the presence of one of the sleep-disordered breathing.
