Apnea is a condition in which lapses in breathing are experienced. The word “apnea” originated from the Greek word and it means “without wind”. This is the medical term. It is used to describe the occasional cessation of breathing of a person. It might be normal to some. However, it might also be related to some health conditions that should be a cause for concern especially when it happens to your baby. If your baby stops breathing while sleeping, buying a baby sleep apnea monitor may prevent an infant death.
Put simply, obstructive apnea, central apnea, and mixed apnea compose the three varieties of apnea. The most common type of sleep problem in infants is obstructive sleep apnea. This can be caused by reflux, or any other blockage of the airway. Hazards from this are particularly apparent for very young children as it occurs at night. Without developed speech, babies are unable to tell parents whether they are suffering from this problem.
Snoring, having trouble breathing and changes in color are typical symptoms of this type of apnea. Obstructive apnea is primarily evidenced in very young children by lack of peaceful sleep.
The last type of sleep apnea is caused by a malfunction in the brain that tells the baby to breathe. For infants, this might signal an inherent deficiency. Even though central apnea is very rare in adults, it is quite common in babies especially with premature babies. This can happen whether you are awake or asleep.
There is a third type of apnea. This third type is called mixed apnea and combines the characteristics of obstructive and central apnea. It is not unusual for this to happen to sleeping or waking infants at any time.
Your baby is automatically evaluated for any problems in health such as breathing defects when it is born. As this is just an initial evaluation, it can change in the next few months. Do not delay in taking your baby to a physician if there are any signs of trouble with breathing. There are different methods of re-assuring yourself that your baby will be ok, which include a baby sleep apnea monitor.
A variety of monitors, each with individual features, are available to detect sleep apnea in young children. There are many features that you need to ensure the proper monitoring of your baby before you choose a baby sleep apnea monitor. A heart beat monitor, along with sleep apnea monitor, will give a parent peace of mind if they are concerned that their baby will stop breathing while sleeping. If apnea is not detected by the apnea monitor, this can serve as a backup, as it will also manifest in the heart rate of the baby.
A remote alarm is another must have feature which will notify you if anything goes wrong when you are not in the same room along with your baby. It must also have a power loss alarm. The power loss alarm is the device that is activated when the devices are low in power. The very most important feature to look for on this machine is an AC power plug for both recharging and operating it.