Q: My two year old daughter snores like a lawn mower. Is it too early to intervene? What is the protocol in this scenario?
Dr. Smith: Protocol is to get a good view of her palatine tonsils. I am assuming they are very swollen, but the adenoids, which you can’t see, are far more likely to be a problem. What you really need to do is watch her while she sleeps and see if she ever gasps for air or stops breathing for more than 5 seconds or so. The peak size for tonsillar tissue is between 3 and 5 years of age, so she will probably get worse. Girls are also ahead of boys at this age for pediatric OSA (peaks at age 4), then the numbers go down, and peak again in the mid to late twenties, with boys from then on taking over the lead.
If she DOES stop breathing, this can affect her growth and development in MANY ways, so it is not something to be taken lightly. please get her in for a sleep study soon. 2 years old is not too young.
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