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Article: Tonsils and sleep apnea.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Pediatrics for Parents
- Article date:
- April 1, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Pediatrics for Parents, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Children who snore, sleep restlessly, and continually complain of being tired may suffer from sleep apnea. The apnea (cessation of breathing) occurs when the child's tonsils are big enough to temporarily close off his airway.
One way to make this diagnosis is with overnight polysomnography, also called a sleep study. This study, which usually takes all night, monitors a number of body functions--heart rate, EKG, breathing patterns, amount of oxygen in the blood, etc.--while the child sleeps. The child's sleep patterns are also monitored by an observer. The results of the study can tell the doctor if the child has sleep apnea.
Since large obstructing ...