Question by B-Dizzle: can a 3 year old have sleep apnea?
My niece is almost 3 years old. She is about 10 lbs overweight and has trouble sleeping at night. she gasps and wakes up frequently. she also snores and breathes loudly. I am terrified of her stopping breathing so I am constantly awake watching her making sure she is ok. It looks like sleep apnea (my father has it and uses a c-pap machine) but I have never heard of this in a child so young. is there another explanation? (I will be speaking to her mother about making her a doctors appointment in the morning but since I can’t sleep right now I was hoping to find someone who has experienced this.) She also refuses to nap most days even though she is clearly exhausted and fights sleep until she just cant anymore. I have noticed this for awhile but I just thought it may be because she is very stubborn.
And sometimes she will wake up crying and when this happens she also complains of feeling “ants” on her chest.

Best answer:

Answer by Remy
I’m so sorry to hear this…

From your niece symptoms, I think that she has sleep apnea. But, remember, this is my personal opinion.

Yes, some children have sleep apnea, and you will be very surprised to know that some infants have this sleep disorder. Sleep apnea in infants may be a cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) , which is a fatal syndrome that affects babies usually between 1 and 12 month of age.

You should know that some of the sleep apnea symptoms differ in children compared to adults with sleep apnea. The children with sleep apnea are hyperactive or aggressive. They are not necessarily sleepy as adults with sleep apnea.

A sleep apnea symptom, such as behavioral problems and poor concentration, can affect a child for the rest of his life. Therefore, you should act immediately in treating sleep apnea, if your child has this disorder.

I hope my information helps.

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