Beware of Breathing Issues in Children During Sleep

Interviews with over 1,600 parents revealed that nearly all considered symptoms of apnea (snoring and/or gasping) among their children to be a problem, but most failed to share these concerns with their child’s healthcare provider. Researcher Dr. Kurt Lushington writes, “While there does need to be more education for parents on symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing—particularly around snoring or heavy breathing being a potential cause for concern—there are clearly other barriers to parents bringing up sleep problems in medical consultations… To address this, we suggest medical practitioners need to purposely include questions about sleep at consultations to prompt parents to discuss any symptoms they may have observed in their children at night.” University of South Australia, July 2021