Child with sleep apnea

[ChicagoGranny]

"It is well known that mouth breathing is associated with adenotonsillar hypertrophy

You are confusing cause and effect. An association (correlation) is different from causation.

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... there are repetition infections which cause tonsillar lymphoid tissue hypertrophy, changing the breathing of children to a chronic obstructive pattern.

That quote is from the full study you referenced: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... via%3Dihub

So you see, enlarged tonsils in children cause mouth breathing. The child does not develop breathing problems because he has a habit of mouth breathing. The breathing problems cause the habit of mouth breathing.

[zebras]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17721406
Removal of adenoids reverses sleep apnea
There are more papers that show that it even reverses ADHD like symptoms.


This is causation.
I think there is a tendency on this board to jump to bold conclusions.

Regarding your quote: It says that there is a multitude of causes for hypertrophic tonsils, among them infections.
These enlarged tonsils or adenoids cause mouth breathing. As a result the child develops sleep apnea.
To sum it up: Adenoids in children can cause sleep apnea. It is vital to diagnose and treat it early as it will have an impact on facial and dental growth. In more severe cases it will lead to failure to thrive.

Of course breathing through your mouth is a symptom of adenoids and not directly a cause of sleep apnea.
But it is an indicator that something is wrong with your airway and is directly involved with it.

EDIT: Alright, there seems to be some major confusion. Adenoid growth leads to nasal obstruction. Any kind of nasal obstruction increases the risk for sleep apnea, especially in children. Turbinate hypertrophy as another example: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23070869
Fact is: If your child is a mouth breather, there is a problem.

Perhaps you guys can specify what you mean by breahting problems.

[palerider]

Alright. What I was trying to say:
Common cause of pediatric sleep apnea is mouth breathing.

Mouth breathing does not *cause* sleep apnea,

Sleep apnea often *causes* mouth breathing.

Unless you have some credible reference material.

Dude, how does sleep apnea cause mouth breathing?
Mouth breathing is a risk factor for sleep apnea and often aggrevates it.
Things that cause mouth breathing in children also cause sleep apnea in children.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20963335
"It is well known that mouth breathing is associated with adenotonsillar hypertrophy - which is the main cause of obstructive sleep apnea among children. Despite the importance of this matter, there are only a handful of studies showing the relationship between OSAS and mouth breathing."

But whatever. Let's just claim whatever we feel like...

Your statement "Common cause of pediatric sleep apnea is mouth breathing." is *clearly* false. Even the reference you cited says that mouth breathing is a *symptom*, not a cause.

Mouth breathing *does not cause sleep apnea*.

People open their mouths to get air when they've got sleep apnea, there are *many* tales of people who thought they were confirmed mouth breathers who are happily using nasal masks with cpap, *and not breathing through their mouths anymore*.

Your cited reference says that people that *have* OSAS often mouth breathe, nowhere does it insinuate, or say, that mouth breathing causes anything. it *does* say that enlarged adnoids and tonsils can cause sleep apnea, *and mouth breathing*.

Not "whatever", you're claims are *false* and *misleading*.

[zebras]

Alright, I phrased it wrong the first time. After that, I phrased it right.

In children, sleep apnea is strongly associated with mouth breathing. Removal of adenoids often cures the sleep apnea.

[ChicagoGranny]

Common cause of pediatric sleep apnea is mouth breathing.

Still false. It's a symptom of pediatric sleep apnea, not a cause.

www.snopes.com/apnea/cause/mouthbreathing/FALSE

[zebras]

Okay, you're right.
It's a symptom. And indicates that there is something wrong with your breathing (adenoids etc)

[palerider]

Okay, you're right.
It's a symptom. And indicates that there is something wrong with your breathing (adenoids etc)

Yes, that's what we said originally. Glad you finally came around.

[ChicagoGranny]

Okay, you're right.
It's a symptom. And indicates that there is something wrong with your breathing (adenoids etc)

Best wishes until our next kerfuffle.

[zebras]

haha probably didn't sleep well.