3 1/2 year-old with dry stuffy nose, snoring, apnea

My 3 1/2 year-old daughter has a perpetually stuffy nose, though it's almost
never a runny nose. She sleeps with her mouth open 90% of the time,
snoring, and showing signs of apnea if she tries to breathe through her
nose. Her doctor put her on an antihistamine for a while, and it had zero
effect. With or without a humidifier in the room, her nose is consistently
stuffy. I've also tried children's decongestants, with no appreciable
effect. She seems fine otherwise -- no sneezing or coughing usually, no
itchy, watery eyes. She's better in the daytime. Her sleep is quite
disrupted, and she seems tired all the time. But she's happy and otherwise
healthy, it appears.

I searched past postings on Google, but could only find things relating
either to very young babies or to kids with stuffy RUNNY noses. So I'm
asking here.

Thanks.

Jim Beaver

"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
news
My 3 1/2 year-old daughter has a perpetually stuffy nose, though it's
almost
never a runny nose. She sleeps with her mouth open 90% of the time,
snoring, and showing signs of apnea if she tries to breathe through her
nose. Her doctor put her on an antihistamine for a while, and it had zero
effect. With or without a humidifier in the room, her nose is
consistently
stuffy. I've also tried children's decongestants, with no appreciable
effect. She seems fine otherwise -- no sneezing or coughing usually, no
itchy, watery eyes. She's better in the daytime. Her sleep is quite
disrupted, and she seems tired all the time. But she's happy and
otherwise
healthy, it appears.

I searched past postings on Google, but could only find things relating
either to very young babies or to kids with stuffy RUNNY noses. So I'm
asking here.

Thanks.

Jim Beaver

I can't really help you Jim, but I had this same problem as a child. My
nose was perpetually stuffed until the second grade when it ran and ran....
Haven't had the problem since. I remember one of my grandmas (the
controlling one) getting on me about eating with my mouth open. Well, I
couldn't *breathe* if I kept it closed!

Anyway, hope you get it figured out.

Bizby

I would have the doctor look at her tonsils and adneoids. My oldest daughter
had spleep apena due to enlarged tonsils and huge adenoids. She was a mess
during the day and we had behavioral problems because she was so tired. We
had the tonsils and adneoids out and she was a different child.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
news
My 3 1/2 year-old daughter has a perpetually stuffy nose, though it's
almost
never a runny nose. She sleeps with her mouth open 90% of the time,
snoring, and showing signs of apnea if she tries to breathe through her
nose. Her doctor put her on an antihistamine for a while, and it had zero
effect. With or without a humidifier in the room, her nose is
consistently
stuffy. I've also tried children's decongestants, with no appreciable
effect. She seems fine otherwise -- no sneezing or coughing usually, no
itchy, watery eyes. She's better in the daytime. Her sleep is quite
disrupted, and she seems tired all the time. But she's happy and
otherwise
healthy, it appears.

I searched past postings on Google, but could only find things relating
either to very young babies or to kids with stuffy RUNNY noses. So I'm
asking here.

Thanks.

Jim Beaver

Is she drinking a lot of cow's milk or eating a lot of cheese? Dairy
is *very* mucous-inducing and some people have sensitivities to it that
causes problems like this. If I have dairy more than three days in a
row I get "cold symptoms" -- stuffy nose, clogged sinuses, etc. If
she's a big dairy ingester, I would recommend cutting back on that and
see if it helps. Good luck!

dragon

I'm going to second the adenoid thing. We're going through that with
our almost 4 year old, and these are exactly the questions the ENT
asked. In our case his nose has been stuffy since Oct, ears have been
filled to the point of hearing troubles since Dec, and last week the
first visit to the ENT confirmed huge adenoids causing the blockage and
both problems.

Hi --

Your child's stuffy nose could be caused by a variety of problems,
including allergies, enlarged or infected tonsils and/or adenoids, a
chronic sinus infection, and then other rarer conditions.

Your ped. should be prescriping a twice daily round of nasal irrigation
(salt water) and probably one of those steriod nasal sprays (ie Nasonex
etc.) to help clear your daughter's breathing. You may also need a
round of antibiotics, or a referral to an allergist or ENT.

This is a problem that should be dealt with. If your child fails to
breathe through her nose then her nasal passages will not grow properly,
leading to chronic problems for the rest of her life. She may also have
orthodontic problems as a result of the mouth breathing.

If she has dark circles under her eyes, then allergies are likely
(although chronic infection of the sinuses and/or adenoids may be an
additonal problem).

Get it checked out.
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

"bizby40" wrote:

"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
news
My 3 1/2 year-old daughter has a perpetually stuffy nose, though it's
almost
never a runny nose. She sleeps with her mouth open 90% of the time,
snoring, and showing signs of apnea if she tries to breathe through her
nose. Her doctor put her on an antihistamine for a while, and it had zero
effect. With or without a humidifier in the room, her nose is
consistently
stuffy. I've also tried children's decongestants, with no appreciable
effect. She seems fine otherwise -- no sneezing or coughing usually, no
itchy, watery eyes. She's better in the daytime. Her sleep is quite
disrupted, and she seems tired all the time. But she's happy and
otherwise
healthy, it appears.

I searched past postings on Google, but could only find things relating
either to very young babies or to kids with stuffy RUNNY noses. So I'm
asking here.

Thanks.

Jim Beaver

I can't really help you Jim, but I had this same problem as a child. My
nose was perpetually stuffed until the second grade when it ran and ran....
Haven't had the problem since. I remember one of my grandmas (the
controlling one) getting on me about eating with my mouth open. Well, I
couldn't *breathe* if I kept it closed!

Anyway, hope you get it figured out.

I had a stuffy nose all the time as a child, and it was eventually
figured out as allergies after I missed much school in first grade,
but no one else in the family ever got my 'cold'.

I was allergic to dust, pollen, animal dander - basically whatever was
around in the air I was allergic to it. I also slept and still sleep
with my mouth open. I can assure my periodontist that I don't grind
my teeth in my sleep because my mouth is always open when I'm asleep.

My allergist explained that I was better in the daytime because
adrenalin helped. I think the low level allergies gave me a stuffy
nose without the nose running, which happened when I had a cold or
started sneezing.



grandma Rosalie

Beth Kevles wrote:


Your ped. should be prescriping a twice daily round of nasal
irrigation
(salt water) and probably one of those steriod nasal sprays (ie
Nasonex
etc.) to help clear your daughter's breathing.

Beth, you're a ped, right (or do I have you confused with someone else
on the group)? If so, I was wondering: do they now prescribe Nasonex
for a child that young? When my DD was this age, the allergist said
there was no allergy medicine they could prescribe until she hit age 8,
and the only thing we could do for her is give Benadryl at night. Just
curious if it's changed.

And what about trying the Breathe Right strips? We've had success with
them, and they don't involve medication.

I agree with Beth that a visit to the allergist is called for. Even if
there's nothing they can do, it is good to start this process early.
And IME, it is a process... a long and frustrating one with a lot of
trial and error and good parental sleuthing to figure out the trigger.

If your experience is like mine, you may have to wait a long time for
the initial appointment, especially if your insurance requires a
referral.

During that waiting time, it will pay off if you can start the
sleuthing process. I'd start with the most obvious triggers first:

1) Do you have pets? Do you notice when you're visiting relatives at a
pet-free home, her stuffy nose clears up?

2) Do you smoke in the house? If so, stop and see if that helps.

3) How dust-free is the child's environment? Make sure you clean the
child's bedroom thoroughly, wash sheets frequently, etc, to reduce
dust, pollen, and other potential allergens building up in the room.

Find a place other than the bed for the stuffed animals to sleep,
because they are notorious dust catchers. Remove carpeting and opt for
wood floors. Try a different type of pillow (feather allergies run in
our family, but then again the foam pillows can cause problems for
others). Take down blinds because they collect too much dust - replace
with simple curtains that can be easily removed and thrown in the wash
on a routine basis.

For us, we noticed that DD's allergies greatly improved when we finally
moved out of our 100-year-old, carpeted apartment that was very
difficult to keep dust free, especially in the winter when the old
radiators kicked up tons of dust. Our new place is much much better,
easier to keep clean, and her allergies have greatly improved.

4) Think about whether her stuffy nose is worse at certain times of the
year, which could indicate seasonal allergies. This is useful to know,
because then you only need give medicine during those times of year,
not year-round.

5) I'd look at food allergies last. They are the most difficult, IME,
to figure out, especially if we're talking stuffy nose and nothing
obvious like hives.

We did eventually discover that DD, who loves pistachios, is highly
allergic to them! She eventually started getting a disturbing reaction
in which her entire body would swell up with hives after eating them.
She is also allergic to tree pollen, and probably a few other
environmental things. And has a severe reaction to poison ivy - I
forget how what the experts called this - but we must take extra
special care she doesn't come in contact.

jen