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Sleep Apnea Symptoms in Men and Kids – Is there any Difference?

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sleep apnea symptoms

The word apnea has a Greek origin. It is taken from the word “apnous” or “apnoia” that means “breathless”. Sleep apnea greatly decreases your sleep quality.

As a result of which your overall health also takes a corresponding decline. If you regularly suffer from tiredness in the morning after all night’s sleep and your bed partner nags about ‘you snoring all night long’, you may be suffering from sleep apnea symptoms.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition where one’s breathing is interrupted during sleep. The phase lasts for a few seconds to a minute but is repeated unlimited times during the night. It is an involuntary act that does not cause the patient to wake up. Some patients may exhibit periods of shallow breathing rather than complete respiratory cessation.

An episode of apnea follows loud snoring and ends in a snort like noise. As the quality of sleep is disturbed, the patient suffers from daytime sleepiness and is often sullen and irritated. Sleep apnea symptoms in children reveal as hyperactivity and disturbed behavior in school. The reason behind this is very logical. Your brain and body do not get enough oxygen while sleeping.

How Common is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea symptoms may be found in both sexes and all ages including children. Sleep apnea affects more than 18 million adults in the US. One out of every five individual suffers from mild symptoms of sleep apnea while one in fifteen suffers from moderate to severe symptoms.

An estimated minimum of 2-3% prevalence is found in children. The figure rises to 10-20% in children with habitual snoring.

Causes of Sleep Apnea in Adults

Based upon the root cause, sleep apnea is categorized as

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type. It occurs when the throat muscles are lax and airway gets blocked by soft tissue. Thickened soft tissue or excessive fat may also act as obstructive agents

Central sleep apnea occurs when there is a disturbance in the signaling from the brain respiratory center. The respiratory muscles fail to act when they do not receive the signal. The rhythm and control do not synchronize in central type. This type is usually associated with the underlying condition as heart failure, stroke, and use of certain pain medications.

The mixed type, as the name indicates, defines a condition where both central and obstructive types exist in parallel.

How Do You Know if You Have SleepApnea Symptoms?

The symptoms of sleep apnea defining the obstructive and central types usually overlap. A sleep study distinguishes between the two. Some of the common symptoms of sleep apnea in adults include

How Do You Know Your Kid Suffers from Sleep Apnea Symptoms?

[su_highlight background=”#fed388″]Did you know children often get misdiagnosed with ADHD instead of sleep apnea? That is because children do not fit the typical patient sketch of sleep apnea.[/su_highlight]

Though the symptoms of sleep apnea almost remain the same, the day-time symptoms resemble that of the hyperactivity associated with ADHD. That is why it is important to keep a vigilant check on sleep apnea symptoms in children.

About 10% of children with complaints of snoring suffer from sleep apnea.

The causes of sleep apnea in children invariably includes the obstructive type. Most often, the obstruction is caused by enlarged adenoids or tonsils. Childhood obesity is another reason that acts as a risk factor for sleep apnea. Children with Down’s syndrome often present with sleep apnea.

[su_highlight background=”#fed388″]The throat muscles become relaxed while sleeping. The soft tissue and enlarged adenoids or tonsils obstruct the airway resulting in snoring and episodes of sleep apnea.[/su_highlight]

Risk Factors for Sleep Apnea

Certain risk factors make you more prone to the development of sleep apnea. These are stated as

Risk Factors for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Being overweight imposes fat deposits in your neck, making the airway narrower.

Any obstruction, be it fat deposits or enlarged thyroid or tonsils particularly in children predisposes to sleep apnea symptoms.

Nasal deformity like a nasal septum causes congestion in the nose making the airway narrow.

Any kind of allergy, particularly chronic allergic conditions as sinusitis poses a risk for sleep apnea in the long-term.

A neck circumference of 17 inches or more in men and 15 inches or more in women is a risk factor for the development of sleep apnea.

Men are two to three time more likely to suffer from sleep apnea. It is a clinical observation.

As we grow old, our muscles lose their tone. Flabby and slack neck muscles predispose to sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea might run in the family.

Sedatives and tranquilizers relax the throat muscles making you more prone to developing sleep apnea with extended use.

Alcohol works the same way as relaxant drugs.

Smoking increases the process of congestion in the upper airways by causing inflammation. Smokers are said to be three times more susceptible to sleep apnea symptoms.

Women have an increased risk of developing sleep apnea with the advent of menopause, an aging factor.

Risk Factors for Central Sleep Apnea

Risk Factors in Children

Long-term Complications of Sleep Apnea Symptoms

The ideal situation is to diagnose sleep apnea symptoms promptly and receive treatment. Sleep apnea symptoms if allowed to be continued without treatment cuts down the quality of life. It also culminates into many other life-threatening conditions. Some of the complications of untreated sleep apnea include

Complications in Adults

Complications in Children

Some of the complications as lack of focus, day time sleepiness, poor school performance, disturbed behavior in children are common to adults. However, children may develop serious complications as

Managing Sleep Apnea Symptoms in Children and Adults

For cases with mild symptoms, the underlying cause is usually addressed. Losing weight, quitting smoking, receiving prompt treatment for allergies are some.

Similarly, removal of adenoids or tonsils in children helps. Addressing the allergies with nasal decongestants and topical nasal steroid drops may help.

The common form of intervention therapy for both children and adults includes

  1. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

CPAP is a machine that clears open the airways via delivering positive pressure through a mask. Though cumbersome in the beginning, most patients learn to sleep through the night with the help of this machine. With the advancement in technology, many upgraded versions of CPAP have emerged. They increase the user-compliance of the machine.

With the latest CPAP machine, side effects are less. Auto-CPAP and BPAP automatically adjust the air pressure during the inspiration and expiration phases. CPAP remains the most common remedy for sleep apnea so far.

  1. Oral Devices

In cases of mild sleep apnea symptoms, oral devices are useful adjuncts. They move your jaw forward, thereby opening the throat and the nasal passages. These include dental devices and mouthpieces.

  1. Surgery

If CPAP fails to deliver results after a three-month test and trial period and no other method brings the patience compliance up, then doctors often recommend surgery.

Surgery remains the first option in patients with a congenital deformity of the face or skull. Similarly, surgical removal of adenoids and tonsils in children greatly aids the symptoms of sleep apnea. Different forms of surgery include

Take Home Message

Sleep apnea symptoms may be confused with other breathing disorders and therefore are disregarded as a trivial issue. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment help avoid complications which may prove grave in pediatric cases. Long-term complications in adults can also be prevented thereby improving the quality of life.