People connect sleep apnea with overweight adults, mostly males, and this profile does tie in with most sufferers, but in fact everybody ceases breathing at some time when they are asleep. Not every night as with sufferers of sleep apnea, but every now and again.
Even babies can stop breathing sometimes. This can be a frightening experience for parents and carers. If you are anxious about your baby suffering from apnea, you could buy one of the baby sleep apnea monitors.
There are three types of apnea, which means ‘without wind’ and derives from Greek: central, obstructive and mixed or complex apnea. Obstructive apnea is by far the most common form and it is also the reason why babies get apnea the majority of the time as well.
Even though a small amount of apnea occasionally is fairly standard, constant apnea could be a sign that something is amiss medically. Two of the causes in babies could be inflamed adenoids or tonsils, which could have significant consequences.
It is a problem to tell what is going on with babies at the best of times, but when a baby is suffering from apnea, you may notice snoring, gasping, colouration and restlessness.
Obstructive apnea normally just happens during sleep when muscles are relaxed, however, central apnea can take place at any time of the day or night. Central apnea is caused by a section of the brain that regulates breathing not working in the correct manner. This type of apnea is more prevalent in premature babies.
Mixed or complex apnea is a blend of the other two types and is also pretty common in children.
Your doctor, the nurse or the midwife will check for apnea and may suggest that you get one of the various baby sleep apnea monitors. One of the concerns with these baby monitors is that none of them is completely dependable to detect the cessation of breathing. Therefore, the better baby monitors will have a heart beat detector as a back-up.
The monitor should also be able to activate an alarm outside the room where the baby is sleeping, so that the parent or carer can walk about the house without having to worry about checking up on the baby on a regular basis
These remote alarms are normally wireless these days and they may also have a vibration alert. This is a very helpful function. The last thought is the power source. Batteries alone are not actually suitable.
The best types are rechargeable. That is, they function like a mobile phone. This means that the sensor can be attached to the cot and the baby wherever it is, even when there is no local power source.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is now involved with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. If you want to know more, please go to our web site at Sleep Apnea Surgery Techniques