Obstructive sleep apnea is common among children, and those suffering from sleeplessness fair poorly in their day to day life. To overcome this sleep problem a study conducted in Washington proved that tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy is one of the best ways to improve the life of small children.
Those suffering from OSP are not able to breathe normally throughout the night and eventually start snoring very loudly. The study showed how the children responded to these surgeries and the impact of the surgery on their sleeping pattern.
The age and ethnicity of the children were also taken into consideration as they are potential factors that can affect the diagnosis of OSA and the impact of the surgery.
Enlargement of tonsils and adenoids caused the upper airway to collapse during sleep, disturbing the normalcy in breathing among children with normal weight.
OSA has a large impact on the quality of life, similar to chronic asthma or rheumatoid arthritis, and this surgery has a profound effect on the lives of the children.
The effect is the same on boys as well as girls and approximately 2- 4 % of children aged between 4- 6 years are affected by it. Not all the children with sleep apnea have behavioral issues; those scoring way outside normal parameters tend to benefit the most in OSA cases.
However even post operation a consistent follow up is a must to avoid any future health problems, or recurrence of obstructive sleep apnea.
Pic courtesy AlexPears on www.flickr.com
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