Sleep snoring affects children’s growth, parents should pay attention

Medical doctors have proved that snoring is often caused by the vibration of the trachea when it is almost completely flat or obstructed. Snorers become articulatory resonators because of narrowing of the pharynx and nasal cavity, or enlargement of the inferior turbinate and tonsils, which block a part of the airway; on the other hand, the neck muscles relax after a person sleeps, and the trachea becomes flattened under the effect of gravity, and snoring is emitted when the airflow passes. Finnish researchers found that children with obstructive sleep apnea have reduced secretion of growth hormone. Children with adenoid hypertrophy or enlarged tonsils had increased growth hormone production after adenotonsillectomy. The investigators suggest that upper airway obstruction can lead to reduced nocturnal growth hormone secretion in children, but the mechanisms responsible for the growth hormone impairment need to be studied in depth. Children are less tolerant to hypoxia, and if respiratory distress is not corrected in time it can be a major problem. Nowadays, people’s living conditions have been improved, and it is quite common for children to rest in separate rooms with their parents. If they do not observe carefully, parents will not know that their children snore; on the other hand, some parents lack medical knowledge and do not take snoring seriously and are not alert. Therefore, parents should be more observant. When a child has snoring, especially when the snoring is loud, irregular, or the snoring sound changes in tune, he or she should go to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible.