A man snoring is common, although sometimes very tiring. A snoring dog is touching, but it is also often tiring. But a snoring child is a reason for parents to be wary. Children's snoring during sleep can be a symptom of a serious underlying health problem.

Why snoring is dangerous

Snoring is the sounds that the nasopharynx can make when inhaling and exhaling during sleep. According to statistics, among adults from 30 to 60 years old, every second man and every third woman snores. Child snoring is less common, affecting about 10% of children between two and five. But it is precisely this that is most dangerous, because it can cause respiratory arrest during sleep, which leads to oxygen starvation brain and others internal organs. The result is deterioration general well-being child, weakness, fatigue, it is also possible for him to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, delay in physical and mental development. So, in no case should you ignore the problem of night snoring in children in the hope that it will go away on its own.

Why do children snore?

Surprisingly, even the smallest babies, just a few days old, can snore. True, in this case, pediatricians reassure parents by saying that at such an early age, snoring during sleep can be a completely natural phenomenon even in absolutely healthy babies. The fact is that babies’ noses are very small; due to dry air, crusts can form on their mucous membranes, so air from the nasal canals may not come out freely, but with sounds. So if your “snub noses” sniffle in the first weeks of their life, this is not a reason to panic. But if the problem remains relevant in the future, consult a doctor immediately. Indeed, in this case, snoring can be a dangerous symptom.

So, what can child snoring indicate:

• The child develops apnea syndrome. This beautiful word means very dangerous phenomenon– stopping breathing during sleep, which sometimes occurs up to several hundred times a night. Gradually this can lead to cardiovascular diseases, and in some cases even to sudden death.
• A less dangerous, but most common cause of child snoring is a cold, when the child’s nose is stuffy, he has difficulty breathing even during the day while awake, and at night these symptoms only get worse. Once you treat your runny nose, your snoring will go away on its own.
• Snoring can be caused by enlarged nasopharyngeal tonsils or adenoids. The growing adenoid tissue does not allow the child to breathe freely through the nose. As a rule, adenoids in children are a consequence of an infectious disease.
• Tonsillitis, or inflammation of the tonsils, can also cause difficulty breathing and snoring.
• It is difficult for a child to breathe through his nose due to the structural features of his nasopharynx - congenital pathologies in the form of a deformed nasal septum lead to snoring.
• Pathologies of the nasopharynx can also be acquired - for example, a tumor or cyst has formed in it, and this also results in difficulty breathing.
• Snoring may be a consequence of an obese child. At overweight fat cells are deposited everywhere, including in the larynx. Her soft fabrics grow and cause snoring.
• Allergies also lead to swelling of the nasal mucosa and, accordingly, breathing problems.

However, snoring can be not only medical symptom. There are others, exclusively domestic reasons difficult baby breath: the air in the child’s room may be dry, and the pillow chosen for him is “adult”, too high, and this does not allow the baby to sleep peacefully at night.

How to help a child who snores at night

The first and mandatory step that parents who want to make their baby's sleep easier should take is to show him to an ENT doctor. Only a specialist after medical examination will be able to determine the severity of the problem, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. Each cause of snoring has its own recommendations.

• If snoring is caused by a cold, then it must be treated by everyone available means– antipyretic drugs, hot drinks, warm clothing.
• If snoring is a consequence of adenoids, then either surgery or physiotherapeutic procedures can help.
• Snoring as a symptom of apnea. In this case, you will have to go through the most complex set of measures, including diet and physical exercise, and special therapy, during which for recovery correct breathing pressure in the respiratory tract changes.
• Pathologies in the structure of the nasopharynx and face that make breathing difficult are eliminated surgical intervention. Surgery will also help in eliminating neoplasms - cysts or tumors.
• Allergies are treated according to the recommendations of an allergist.

If the doctor does not find any pathologies in your child, but snoring is still an unresolved problem, then you should reconsider the conditions in which your child sleeps. Make it a rule to thoroughly ventilate the nursery before going to bed. If the air in it is too dry, then it needs to be periodically moistened so that dry crusts do not form in the nose, which can cause the baby to snore. Check whether the pillow for the child is selected correctly: it should not be high (no more than six centimeters), otherwise incorrect position neck will inevitably lead to snoring. It is also not recommended to place the baby on his back; It is believed that for snoring babies best pose for sleeping - on the side.

Traditional methods of treating snoring

There are many folk, so-called “grandmother’s” recipes in the collection of ways to combat children’s snoring. Some of them are worth taking on board - however, only after you have visited a traditional professional doctor, so as not to harm your child or aggravate his snoring problem.

Our ancestors fought snoring with special exercises for the oral and nasopharyngeal cavity:

• Let your child pronounce the letter “i” forcefully a couple of dozen times before going to bed every night. This exercise will help relax the throat and palatine muscles.
• Do tongue exercises with your child: when the mouth is closed, you need to pull the tongue towards the throat with all your might. The chin should be very tense.
• A fairly effective exercise for the chin, which will help increase respiratory tract, - you need to alternately pull your chin forward and return it to starting position. Repeat 20-30 times.

There is nothing complicated in these exercises, and they will not take much time to complete. But they can help establish healthy, problem-free sleep. True, you cannot exclusively self-medicate. Remember that you should consult your doctor first. And the sooner you visit a specialist, the sooner they will return to you and your child good nights without extraneous sounds.

Sometimes parents face a problem - their child snores. What to do in such a situation? Is it possible to self-medicate? Where and which doctor should I contact? The article discusses in detail the causes of children's snoring and actions in such a situation.

Causes of snoring in a child

According to research by Russian scientists, 4.6% of children aged 2 to 6 years snore during their sleep.

The causes of apnea in a child can be a variety of anatomical changes in the nasopharynx, which contribute to compression of the respiratory system:

• congenital or acquired narrowness of the nasal septum or larynx;
• inflamed lymph nodes;
• enlarged adenoids;
• swelling of the larynx;
• bronchial asthma;
• allergy;
• violation of the nasal septum;
• anomaly of the hard and soft palate;
• obesity.

Snoring is common in... You should pay attention to this and tell your doctor, as apnea is sometimes the cause of death in a child's sleep. Simply put, when snoring, it stops respiratory system, there is a lack of oxygen, which leads to cardiac arrest.

If the baby rarely snores, then this is not dangerous to health. Perhaps he is simply sleeping in an awkward position. Try turning your baby onto his tummy or side.

But if your child does not sleep well due to apnea, you should consult a doctor. So, for example, ordinary snoring disguises an illness “ infectious mononucleosis" In the first week of illness, the child simply snores and there are no signs of illness, and in the second week of illness, the lymph nodes become inflamed to such an extent that even while awake it becomes difficult to breathe. The disease is then accompanied by all the known symptoms of a cold. Therefore, tell your doctor if you have any doubts about your child’s snoring.

Treatment of snoring

Apnea treatment should only be prescribed by a qualified specialist.

If you notice that after sleeping in which you snored, your child behaves capriciously and gets tired quickly, then call a doctor at home or make an appointment. The doctor will examine the child and feel the lymph nodes. If they are enlarged, he will order blood and urine tests. Since a number of diseases have similar symptoms to each other, to make correct purpose it is necessary to make a correct diagnosis.

If you are sure the baby is healthy, try three simple ways to get rid of snoring:

• The right pillow. Its height should not exceed 6 cm, otherwise a high pillow can cause snoring.
• The baby's sleeping position is only on the stomach or side. It is not advisable to sleep on your back.
• Regular ventilation of the room and humidification of the air. Dry air dries out the mucous membranes of the throat and nose, which contributes to the growth of “crusts”.

If these methods do not help you, then contact an otolaryngologist. The specialist will conduct an inspection and if cause of apnea is not clear, then he will assign additional research in a specialized sleep center. A polysomnography procedure is performed. Before going to bed, sensors are connected to the body that record the heart rate, breathing movements etc. Within 12 hours, the devices record readings, on the basis of which a diagnosis is issued.

A number of exercises that help strengthen the walls of the larynx and palate will not harm:

1. During the day, ask your child to say the letter “i” at least 20 times. This will allow your throat muscles to relax.
2. With your mouth closed, pull your tongue towards your throat. You should feel tension under your chin. Repeat at least 20 times.

The last option is surgery. It is prescribed if after treatment there are no results and the situation worsens. The operation lasts from 10 to 25 minutes under local anesthesia. As a result, snoring decreases or disappears forever.

Not only adults, but also children are susceptible. Parents are very worried when their child for a long time snores without snot. Having noticed such a problem, you need to urgently take measures so that the disease harms the child’s health.

Pathological causes of snoring without snot

Snoring without snot occurs when breathing is impaired due to a mechanical obstruction that is formed due to pathological reasons.

Malocclusion. A child snores if he lower jaw moves back during sleep. The displacement is facilitated by the horizontal position of the body. In this case, the root of the tongue is located very close to the uvula, narrowing the lumen and preventing normal air circulation. Airflow becomes more powerful, causing vibration of the uvula and snoring.

Diseases of the ear, nose and throat. Due to the inflammatory processes of the ENT organs, swelling appears, which narrows the passage for air. Enlarged tonsils and pharyngeal tonsils are also the cause of children's snoring. Still, first of all, doctors pay attention to the condition of the adenoids (lymph nodes on back wall nasopharynx, which fight harmful microorganisms).

Enlarged adenoids are the most common cause of night snoring; when all muscles are relaxed, these formations can come into contact with each other and create air vibration.

Epilepsy. With convulsive contraction of the muscles of one side of the face, tongue, and pharynx, snoring occurs, reminiscent of “gurgling” when gargling. The seizure lasts up to 3 minutes, so parents notice it very rarely at night. With age, the disease usually disappears. Rolandic epilepsy requires specialist supervision.

Overweight. Obesity also extends to the nasopharynx area; fat narrows the airways, causing vibrations and snoring.

In addition to the above pathologies, snoring can be caused by:

• polyps, tumors in the nasopharynx, nasal passages;
• bronchial asthma;
• sagging tissue of the soft palate;

Physiological causes of snoring without snot

Unfavorable external conditions, not associated with diseases, can also be the cause of children's snoring:

Dusty and (or) dry air. This unfavorable factor promotes . They narrow the opening for air to pass through, making it difficult for the child to breathe during sleep.

Incorrect body position. Even a high pillow can cause snoring without snot, because incorrect body position leads to disruption of the passage of air masses.

Fatigue. This factor can cause snoring not only in children, but also in adults.

Congenital features. Some babies have narrow nasal passages - an anatomical phenomenon that is not associated with a specific disease. During the day, such children breathe normally even during active games; at night, breathing is disrupted.

In these cases, medical assistance is not needed; negative factors should only be eliminated.

Changing your sleep environment for snoring therapy

If a child snores at night, but there are no snot or other complaints, it is worth taking the following simple, but in many cases effective measures:

• changing the pillow to a lower one;
• changing the position of the child’s body during sleep (turn on its side);
• ventilation of the room;
• maintaining indoor air humidity ( optimal indicator – 65%).

This is important! If your child snores even after taking measures to eliminate the negative conditions, you should consult a doctor. Breathing disorders can lead to oxygen starvation (hypoxia), which delays mental and physical development.

Treatment of snoring associated with ENT diseases

Effective treatment of ear, nose and throat diseases is possible only after installation by a specialist accurate diagnosis. Treatment may include the following procedures:

• inhalation procedures (the choice of remedy depends on the diagnosis);
• use of vasoconstrictor drugs;
• taking antibacterial agents;
• rinsing the nose with antibacterial drugs;
• reception medicines for cough.

When formations (polyps, adenoids) are too large, they are removed through surgery.

Other methods of treating apnea in children

If the child has no diseases of the ear, nose and throat, and snoring continues even after possible elimination negative factors, treatment will be aimed at solving other problems.

Removing dry crusts. If snoring is associated with the formation of dry crusts in the child's nasal cavity, you need to safely remove them. For this purpose, solutions are used oil based, as well as saline solution. Removal is carried out in several stages:

1. blowing your nose;
2. lubricating the walls of the nasal cavity with oil (peach, eucalyptus or pine).

Help with malocclusion. When a child snores due to malocclusion, you need to contact your dentist, he will carry out a correction by installing plates or braces. The teeth will gradually straighten, and the child will breathe much easier.

Epilepsy therapy. Only a neurologist can determine whether snoring is the cause of epilepsy; he will also prescribe a treatment regimen. Epilepsy treatment may include the following measures:

• reception anticonvulsants(“Lamotrigine”, “Carbamazepine”);
• psychotherapy;
• immunotherapy using hormones (only in some cases);
• limiting psycho-emotional stress;
• limitation computer games, watching TV;
• minimizing the child's exposure to the open sun.

Weight correction as a method of treating snoring

Excess weight is rarely the cause of children's snoring, but parents should pay attention to this factor. Extra pounds appear due to endocrine diseases, low motor activity or metabolic disorders.

As a rule, weight is normalized if the following rules are observed:

• exclusion from the diet of light carbohydrates (baked goods, sweets), semi-finished products, fatty foods;
• control over the amount of food consumed and the timing of meals;
• sufficient amount of fluid consumed (depending on the age of the child);
• preference for teas and compotes with minimal sugar content;
• active sports.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a life-threatening disease

This is a disease in which work is temporarily disrupted pharyngeal muscles, the tone in the respiratory passages decreases, and a short-term stop of air circulation in the body is observed. An attack of apnea lasts for 10 seconds or more, all this time the body suffers from a lack of oxygen.

Sleep apnea occurs, so parents may not know about the problem for a long time. It is very important to contact a qualified professional with this problem in a timely manner. medical care, because the disease can lead to cardiac arrest.

To prevent your child from snoring, you just need to follow a few simple rules:

Strengthening the immune system. The protection of the child’s body needs to be strengthened from the first days ( breast-feeding), gradually the child must be accustomed to hardening, personal hygiene, active image life.

Proper nutrition. Increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in the child’s diet, fermented milk products, complex carbohydrates. We must also not forget about the drinking regime.

Walking on fresh air. Forests and the sea coast are especially good for this purpose. It is important to dress your child according to the weather. Walking outside will help enrich the child's body with oxygen and prevent hypoxia.

Taking vitamins. On pharmacy shelves you can find many vitamins, vitamin complexes for children of different ages.

Video: Snoring in children

There are a sufficient number of reasons why a child may snore. They can be associated with both diseases and anatomical abnormalities. But there is a fact: in childhood It is dangerous because the airways are not yet wide enough, and breathing may temporarily stop. But most often, snoring occurs when nasal breathing is difficult and the child has to breathe through the mouth.

Causes of snoring in a child

Like most diseases, the causes of snoring are varied:

1. Adenoids. In 80% of cases, snoring in children is caused by them. An enlarged tonsil partially or completely blocks the gap between the nose and larynx. Nasal breathing is disrupted or becomes impossible
2. Formation of nasal polyps
3. Accompanied by swelling inflammatory process in the nasopharynx
4. Common runny nose
5. Deviated nasal septum
6. Congenital or acquired abnormalities in the development of the hard or soft palate
7. Narrow structure of the nasopharynx, which is not a pathology
8. Unnatural structure of the front bone of the skull
9. Sore throat and other infectious diseases
10. Thymus enlargement. This thymus, which is located at the level of the fourth rib in the front, upper part chest. It produces a number of hormones and lymphocytes for the blood and is partly responsible for the child's immunity. Too much large size thymus is very dangerous for children, as it causes compression of the nerves and blood vessels passing through the chest
11. Asthma
12. Overweight.

Diagnosis of snoring

If snoring bothers you normal sleep child and causes short-term respiratory arrest, then treatment is required. Immediately pay attention to the following symptoms in children:

• Absent-mindedness
• Nervous behavior and moodiness
• Fast and frequent fatigue
• Study problems
• Intermittent and restless sleep during which the child suffocates
• The appearance of enuresis
• Stunting
• Increased sweating during sleep
• Frequent diseases of the respiratory organs.

Polysomnography will help determine how dangerous a child’s snoring is. Before going to bed, sensors are connected to the child, which take readings of the body’s vital functions and carry out monitoring general condition. The main criterion for determining the danger of snoring during sleep is the presence of dissolved oxygen in the blood. The higher its level, the less danger snoring poses to the body.

If problems with the respiratory system are suspected, consultation with an otolaryngologist is necessary. He will be able to determine the exact cause of snoring and recommend treatment options.

Treatment and prevention depending on the diagnosis

Treatment can be medicinal (conservative) and surgical. Surgical methods are used only if drug therapy did not bring any benefit.

Allergic rhinitis (rhinitis)

To prevent your child from snoring, you need to eliminate exposure to causing allergies substances. Carry out wet cleaning more often, review the home menu, get rid of pets and soft toys. The doctor may prescribe antihistamines. If all recommendations are followed, within a few days the children’s condition improves significantly, and snoring during sleep disappears.

Infectious runny nose (rhinitis)

At viral infections the doctor prescribes the treatment. Only he can determine what is necessary for children antiviral drugs, nasal drops or vasoconstrictors. It is worth remembering that it is dangerous to get carried away with nasal drops as self-medication: over time, addiction occurs, and the result of an overdose of drops is often atrophy of the mucous membrane.

Tonsillitis (tonsillitis)

Leads to enlargement of the tonsils, which makes the child's breathing difficult both during sleep and while awake. Snoring occurs during sleep, and the child may begin to choke and cough. If treated incorrectly or untimely, angina can become chronic. Permanently enlarged tonsils can lead to persistent snoring during sleep. Chronic tonsillitis may also cause other serious complications.

Overgrowth of adenoids

In this case, conservative drug treatment. Surgical methods for children are used only in the absence of positive dynamics. Most often this problem is caused infectious diseases, and it is important to eliminate these reasons.

The indication for removal of adenoids is their closure of more than 2/3 of the lumen of the nasopharynx, or complete closure of the opening of the Eustachian tube.

Deviated nasal septum

If a child has a deviated nasal septum (for example, as a result of injury), then the only way to solve the problem is to surgically correct it. But such an operation is only permissible when bony skeleton finally formed, that is, after the child leaves adolescence.

Overweight

If the cause of snoring is overweight, then after consultation with a doctor and exclusion of hormonal, hereditary and other diseases from suspicion, a diet may be prescribed.

Congenital pathologies of the nasopharynx

With such congenital anomalies How " cleft lip", "cleft palate" and the like, surgical correction is prescribed for children.

Treatment of snoring with modern folk remedies

If no pathologies or diseases of the respiratory system are detected in children, then to get rid of snoring you can use the following recommendations:

• Make sure your child sleeps only on a comfortable pillow that provides normal head position
• Teach your child to sleep not on his back or stomach, but on his side. On the back, the head most often falls back, and snoring occurs during sleep. When resting on your stomach, due to an uncomfortable position, breathing may also become difficult.
• Ventilate your bedroom before going to bed to saturate the air with oxygen. Regularly wipe the room, select toys and arrange furniture so that there is as little dust as possible in the room, which can cause snoring in a child
• To moisturize the mucous membrane, use weak saline solutions
• Keep your child busy with singing. It perfectly trains the muscles of the mouth, larynx and develops breathing.

For gymnastics purposes, a child must:

• Repeat vowel sounds several dozen times every day. Pronounce the sound “I” with tense muscles of the mouth and neck. Pronounce the sound “Y” while inhaling, straining your tongue
• Strain the far part of the tongue and try to move it as far as possible towards the throat
• Move your jaw from one side to the other.

In addition, it will be useful to use some tools:

• 3 sheets of regular, white cabbage, can be finely chopped and mixed with one tablespoon of honey. Eat shortly before bed
• For thirty days, give your child a quarter glass of freshly squeezed white cabbage juice mixed with a teaspoon of honey before bedtime.
• Finely chop two small onions and fry in olive oil over low heat. Grate one carrot and mix with fried onions
• Eat one baked carrot 3 times a day, an hour before meals.

14% of children snore in their sleep; snoring often occurs after suffering from acute respiratory viral infections, a runny nose or a cold. In this article we have collected information about the 2 main causes of snoring in children after illness, as well as methods of treating diseases that cause snoring.

What to do if a child snores after a cold?

Snoring itself cannot be treated. You can get rid of it only by finding out and eliminating the cause of this unpleasant phenomenon. Consulting an otolaryngologist will help with this. The doctor will conduct an examination, find out the cause of snoring, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

The method for diagnosing snoring is endoscopy of the nasopharynx, it does not cause any inconvenience to the baby and is completely painless. This method is quite popular and informative.

Sometimes the cause of children's snoring can be hidden at home, for example, it can be caused by too dry air in the room, then it is recommended to do wet cleaning more often or purchase an air humidifier. From time to time, snoring may also occur due to the large pillow on which the child sleeps. In this case, you need to purchase a smaller pillow.

Experts' opinions on snoring in a child after a cold

Otolaryngologist I.V. Leskov:

In order to understand why a child snores, you need to examine the nasopharynx. True, it is not at all necessary to look at the adenoids through the nose. Examination of the nasopharynx can also be carried out with a mirror - when correct implementation During the examination, children, as a rule, simply do not notice the mirror in the nasopharynx and tolerate the examination calmly. Finally, there are “home” methods for diagnosing adenoids. For example, before going to bed, you can drop any drops into your child’s nose. vasoconstrictor drops and see how the child breathes through his nose during sleep and whether noisy breathing continues. If snoring and noisy breathing persist, the problem is most likely an enlargement of the adenoids (they do not react in any way to vasoconstrictor drops). But if breathing noise and snoring disappear, this will mean that the adenoids normal size(that is, not at all more I-II degree), and you need to focus on the problems of the nasal mucosa.

Pediatrician E.O. Komarovsky:

Snoring at a young age has two main causes: adenoids and mucus accumulation in the nasal passages. A pediatric otolaryngologist, whom you should contact, can answer the question of whether you have adenoids, how enlarged they are, whether they are inflamed or not, and what to do with them. As for mucus in the nasal passages, you can reduce its amount by regularly moisturizing the nasal passages saline solutions. In addition, there is a great way to avoid mucus accumulation - to keep the room where the child is (especially where he sleeps) cool, moist air.