Sleep Apnea | PharmaPassport Health Tips Blog

January 11, 2010

How To Determine If Your Child Has Sleep Apnea

Filed under: Uncategorized, children, effects of snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, sleep, sleep apnea, urine test — Nicole @ 4:55 pm

Snoring is an annoying part of life, especially if you can hear it from the next room over with the door completely shut. Like adults, many children are apt to snore on occasion; however, if a child demonstrates consistent snoring, they may be showing symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that is a cause for concern. However, a recent study has shown a direct link between sleep apnea and urine samples, which may help to restore some of your peace of mind.

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition, which causes a person to repetitively stop and start breathing as their throat muscles relax to block his or her airway. This can happen multiple times during a night, all while the person is sleeping, which invokes an extreme cause for concern, because if your throat muscles don’t un-relax themselves, you’ll have a lot more to worry about than whether or not you’ll have time to stop for coffee the next morning.

My Child Snores Sometimes, Does That Mean That He or She Has Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
In the small percentage of children who regularly snore, it is estimated that approximately twenty five percent suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, and although this estimate demonstrates that very few children are likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea, it never hurts to be safe.

How Can I Tell If My Child Has Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
If your child snores regularly, they will likely also show signs of obstructive sleep apnea during the day and night that can help you to determine whether or not their snoring could impact their health.

At night, children with obstructive sleep apnea may exhibit the following symptoms:

Loud snoring on a regular basis
Interruptions of breathing, including snorts, gasps, pauses, which may awaken child.
Stoppages of breathing
Appearance of restlessness while sleeping
Odd sleeping positions
Heavy sweating during sleep

During the day, children with obstructive sleep apnea may also display the following symptoms:

Difficulties in waking up
Headaches throughout the day, but especially in the morning
Display difficult behavior, including aggressiveness, crankiness and agitation
Excessive sleepiness, child may fall asleep or daydream
Nasal speech
Frequent breathing through the mouth

Children who are obese, have high blood pressure or have large tonsils are additionally prone to obstructive sleep apnea.

A recent study has also shown that obstructive sleep apnea can be detected through urine samples taken after a child’s sleep. Though no immediate changes are being made to the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, it is possible that future tests for obstructive sleep apnea may be done in a form similar to that of a pregnancy test.

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October 6, 2009

Snoring: More Dangerous Than You Think

Filed under: Uncategorized, effects of snoring, fatigue, heart condition, sleep apnea, sleep deprivation, sleepiness, snoring — John @ 4:41 pm

To most people snoring is just one of those things that gets really annoying after awhile, or becomes the joke at the family reunion about a husband snoring so loud the wife thinks they live by an airport. However, what most people don’t know are the dangerous effects of snoring.

Problem number one, your significant other may kill you… just kidding. Though snoring can cause a severe amount of tension in a relationship and could even cause you and your partner to split apart. It may begin with sleeping in separate beds, which doesn’t seem like a big deal, but puts a great deal of distance between you and your partner in terms of being close to each other.

Problem number two, snoring is often related to sleep apnea. This is a very serious condition that may go from snoring to being unable to breathe. Obviously breathing is pretty important, without that whole air thing you’ll probably die. Additionally, if you experience difficulty breathing then you may wake up frequently, or toss and turn during the night leaving you sleepy and fatigued in the morning, leaving a major negative impact on your health.

Some studies even suggest that snoring may be linked to certain heart diseases. Again much like the air thing, you need a heart to do that whole pumping blood thing. Pretty important, at least I think so.

Anyway, people need to start realizing that snoring might not be so harmless after all and that it can be incredibly harmful to you.

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September 22, 2009

9 Ways To Reduce Snoring

Filed under: Uncategorized, alcohol, healthy, nasal spray, nasonex, sleep apnea, snoring, weight loss — Amanda @ 4:16 pm

If you’ve got a father like mine then when you were growing up you could probably hear him snoring throughout the house. This snoring was pretty intense, not just minor sound that can only be heard if you were in the same room with him, but a ridiculous noise you could hear in every room of the house. It sounded like a combination of jet engines (engines because only one would not begin to describe this noise), and the noise your house would make if it was torn from the ground by a tornado. Yes, it was that bad. So eventually my mother was basically through with having to listen to that and forced my father to at least try something to help the snoring. Fortunately, there were many different options my father could try to prevent him from snoring. What works for my father might not work for you so I have compiled a list of different approaches one can try.

1.Elevate your head as much as possible by either sleeping on more than one pillow or else by sleeping on a thicker pillow.

2.Avoid dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cheese or ice cream before bed because these foods can cause the build-up of mucus in the throat.

3.Try sleeping on your side instead of your back. This allows the air to travel smoother and the muscles in your throat to stay a bit tighter and decrease the likelihood of snoring.

4.Avoid a big meal before you go to bed because when your stomach is full of food this puts pressure on the diaphragm and thereby limits breathing passages (this is especially the case if you have eaten fatty, fried or starchy food).

5.Before going to bed inhale steam or sleep in a room where a humidifier is turned on. This will help keep your throat well lubricated.

6.Try using nasal strips. Nasal strips help to open up airways and will make sure that plenty of air can be brought into the lungs.

7.Resist the urge to drink alcohol before going to bed.

8.If you are overweight make an effort to lose some weight. Even losing a few pounds say 10 or so, can make a difference when it comes to snoring.

9.Eat a spoonful of liquid honey before retiring for the night. (I’ve never actually tried this one, but some people on the internet have said that this is a good way to reduce snoring).

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