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Sleep apnoea is the cessation
of breathing rhythm whilst sleeping.
Apnea results most commonly from Obstruction to the upper airway.This
is known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Much less common and far
more dangerous is the
failure of the Ventilatory drive in the central nervous system.
The two forms of sleep apnea then are O.S.A. from some obstruction in the airway
and C.N.S Apnea as a result of central nervous system fault.
The obstrutive form of sleep apnea is quite easily treated once the area and
cause of the airway blockage is analysed
Common causes of O.S.A.
in adults are excessive glandular tissue in the posterior pharanx, fat
accumulated around the neck, chronic sinus -mouth breathing ,retruded lower jaw.
Children also suffer from O.S.A. and this is given in some research as the
reason for Attention Deficit Disorders ,Asthma attacks at night ,Bed wetting
,excessive tiredness or hyperactivity.
Chronic sleep apnea in the young reduces growth rates and general child development.
Sleep Apnoea. The interruption of the normal breathing rhythm
in sleep, where inspiration cesses.
The cessation of breathing is most
commonly due to obstruction of the airway. Obstructive Sleep Apnoea or O.S.A.
.The major obstruction in the young are
enlarged adenoid or tonsular masses although the obstruction processes more
complicated than this.
Common symptoms seen in O.S.A. are
1. Excessive morning tiredness.
2. Chronic bedwetting.
3. Snoring during sleep.
4. Hyperactivity .aggressive or
unsociable behaviour.
5. Retarding of the expected growth in height.
6. Crowding in the teeth becoming obvious
as the permanent teeth erupt.
7. Imbalance of the jaw growth. I.e.
lower jaw too small or too large.
8. Poorer performances at school than the
family expectations.
9. Difficulty in concentration.
10. Asthma attacks at sleep.
11. Glue ear and other middle ear
infections.
These symptoms are all associated with
and have a direct physiologic pathway to sleep apnoea.
Sleep apnoea in children is a serious if
little understood area of child health and development.
Solving sleep apnoea must address first
the habitual mouth breathing behaviour.
Often tapping of the lips can effect
major changes with little else required.
The more serious problems will need the
assessment of a competent medical specialist to ensure a patent nasal and
post-pharyngeal space exists. For normal breathing.
By expansion of the upper jaw to
relieves crowding the nasal air way is enlarged and the lower jaw naturally
rotates forward to further open the post –pharyngeal space .IE the airway
The maintenance of a competent airway
coupled with nasal breathing is the key to optimum growth and development
The control of asthma is impossible in
chronic mouth breathers
The increased airflow that comes from
nasal inspiration creates negative pressure that contribute to opening and
cleansing the eustation tubes middle ear infections and bursting of ear drums
occur most often in the presence of blocked eustation tubes .
The deeper inspiration lowers the
incidence of low carbon dioxide induced asthma .The nasal passages warm, moisten
and filter the air to remove the challenge to the immune system placed on it by
passive mouth breathing
Increased Oxygen tension allows the
normal operation of the pituitary gland to release essential growth and
endocrine hormones.>the control of the bladder relies on just such pituitary
hormones...Sleep apnoea thus affects the normal release of essential hormones.
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