Pediatric Sleep Apnea

Treatment

Your doctor will work with you to find the most appropriate treatment for your child's sleep apnea. To treat mild sleep apnea, your doctor may recommend the following:

• Aggressive treatment of nasal congestion, allergies or gastroesophageal reflux. These conditions can cause airway inflammatory changes and contribute to limited air flow.
• Avoiding airway irritants, such as secondhand smoke. Even if a parent or caregiver smokes outdoors, the toxins can cling to clothing and cause the child to experience airway irritation.

To treat moderate to severe sleep apnea, your doctor may also recommend one or more of the following:

• Removal of the tonsils and adenoids (adenotonsillectomy). Your doctor may remove the tonsils or adenoids if they're blocking your child's airway. In some children, your doctor removes only the tonsils (tonsillectomy) or only the adenoids (adenoidectomy).
• Positive airway pressure breathing device (also called continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP). A CPAP is a small electrical unit with a fan that gently blows air through a tube and mask attached to the nose, or nose and mouth. It sends air into the back of the throat to keep your child's airway open.
• Weight loss. Excessive weight is a more common cause of sleep apnea in adults than in children. However, losing weight may be part of your child's treatment if obesity contributes to your child's sleep apnea.
• Oral appliances. Oral appliances move your child's bottom jaw and tongue forward to keep the child's upper airway open. Mayo Clinic dentists have experience developing oral appliances, such as dental devices, mouthpieces or mandibular advancement devices, to treat sleep apnea.
• Septoplasty and turbinate reduction. A septoplasty straightens a crooked (deviated) bony partition between the nostrils (septum). Turbinate reduction trims or removes one or more of the curved bones along the wall of the nasal passage. These procedures can help open the nasal passage to ease breathing during sleep.
• Jaw surgery (orthognathic surgery). During jaw surgery, the surgeon moves the upper jaw, lower jaw or chin forward. This surgery is usually appropriate for adolescents who haven't been helped by other treatments and whose jaw structure worsens blockage of the upper airway.

Read more about tonsillectomy, septoplasty and jaw surgery at MayoClinic.com.