Getting sleep apnea diagnosed in infants can be a bit of a difficult task. It requires that you take your infant to a doctor who specializes in problems with sleep disorders, such as apnea, and get them tested for the disorder. Since most infants grow out of any issue with breathing come 40 weeks from conception, it can sometimes be difficult to get into a doctor until they would naturally hit that mark. However, if you are worried about your child, getting them in to see such a specialist is a very important step.

Getting Sleep Apnea Diagnosed in Your Infant

Your new baby needs to be able to breathe. They do a lot of breathing while sleeping, as that is when they are most actively healing and growing. If they stop breathing during their sleep, you need to get them checked out for sleep apnea. They may stop sleeping once a night for 20-60 seconds, or occasionally more, or they may do it every few minutes in more severe cases. Once you notice them struggling to breathe in their sleep, you need to make a call to your infant’s pediatrician.

They are going to want to take a look at your infant as soon as they can, especially if your infant is a preemie. They are going to check and make sure that your infant does not have any type of an infection which could be causing them to struggle to breathe and cause sleep apnea symptoms, and they are going to look for early signs of a lung disease that may not have presented sooner. After those basic tests are completed, if they have not found another reason for your infant’s distress, they will send you along to a specialist to see if sleep apnea is the problem.

The specialist you are going to see is going to know quite a bit more than your standard pediatrician does about sleep apnea. They may send you to an ENT, or ear, nose, and throat doctor, as they know quite a bit about sleep apnea in infants and children, or they may send you to a dental specialist, who knows quite a bit about how the soft palate of the mouth can impact breathing in people of all ages. Both of these specialists are qualified to help diagnose your infant’s condition.

The Tests to Get Diagnosed

Polysomnography, also known as a sleep study, is typically what is used to help diagnose sleep apnea in people of all ages. What happens is the person being diagnosed will sleep. During their sleep, they will be monitored and watched. Their breathing rates will be tracked, as well as their heart rates, blood pressure, and in some cases, brain waves. This can tell a doctor a lot about what is going on when your infant stops breathing during their sleep.

If your infant stops breathing for those extended periods of time during that sleep study, you should get the diagnosis you went there for – sleep apnea is the cause. Then, it is up to you and the specialists to work together to create a treatment plan that is going to help your baby struggle less between now and being around 40 weeks past conception, when most babies have outgrown the issues that may have led up to it.

Treating Sleep Apnea in the Interim

There are a couple things that can be done to help treat sleep apnea in your infant. Occasionally, medications can help speed up the maturity of the lungs, allowing them to struggle less to breathe more efficiently. The most common type of treatment for sleep apnea is a machine that helps keep airways open while your infant sleeps. This can be done in an incubator style machine that your baby would sleep in, but this is often only done in hospitals, or it can be done with a machine that you take home.

This machine, called a CPAP machine, sits on your infant’s face as he or she sleeps, and keeps just a tiny bit of pressure going through your infant’s airway during sleep. This helps the airways stay open, and allows your infant to sleep with less disturbance and less struggle from their sleep apnea. Most of the time, these two treatments only need to be done for a short time, but your child’s doctor will best be able to determine what is the right length of time for sleep apnea treatment, as they have seen how severe your child’s case of sleep apnea really is, for themselves.

If you need to find out more information on how to get an infant living in Columbus, Ohio, diagnosed or treated for sleep apnea, then give Mark Levy, DDS, a call today. You can reach his office by calling (614)777-7350, and schedule an appointment to see him right away.