Monday, August 13, 2012

Toddler Snoring

When you check on your toddler, do you see a sweet sleeping baby? Or does the scene sound more like a dog growling or an old man snoring?

My youngest daughter snored when she was little. A lot. Her older sister frequently came into our room at night proclaiming, "She's snoring. AGAIN!"

Because my husband suffers from sleep apnea, we took her to an ear, nose, and throat doctor. She needed ear tubes and a tonsillectomy. This formerly noisy three-year-old is now a silently sleeping college sophomore.

A new study from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center indicates that loud persistent snoring in preschoolers may be more than allergies. It could be sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), which can be a sign of behavior problems later on.

The children in the study who had SDB had a significantly higher chance of hyperactivity, depression, and attentional problems than those who snored little or not at all. This is concerning because these kinds of problems at this age are strong indicators of more serious behavioral problems in older children and teens.

What to do? If your child's snoring is only occasional, track it. If it gets to be 2-3 times per week or more, alert your pediatrician.

Need more information? http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/08/13/snoring-toddlers-may-have-more-behavior-problems

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