Bedwetting

Bedwetting that occurs more than once a week after the age of five is considered abnormal (called enuresis) and should be worked up by a pediatrician. While there are many causes of bedwetting, one that must be considered is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a disorder of breathing while asleep. In sleep apnea breathing stops for approximately 10-30 seconds multiple times throughout the night. In severe sleep apnea, breathing may stop hundreds of times throughout the night. The fall in oxygen levels associated with breath cessation causes an arousal. Often, there is gasping, chocking, or coughing as breathing restarts. These arousals may or may not be remembered in the morning. Snoring is common in sleep apnea, but not all children with sleep apnea snore. The only way to determine whether bedwetting or snoring is due to a more serious condition is to seek treatment from a pediatric treatment center in Chicago.

Symptoms of sleep apnea in children include excessive daytime fatigue, falling asleep throughout the day (i.e. at school, while watching television, or at the dinner table), hyperactivity (similar symptoms as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), irritability, and bedwetting. The dangers of sleep apnea include long term medical complications such as heart disease.

Pediatric treatment center in Chicago can examine the child and try to find the cause of bedwetting and determine if sleep apnea may be playing a role. In addition to taking a medical history, reviewing the child’s symptoms, and performing a physical exam, a sleep study is commonly performed.
A polysomnogram or sleep study uses a computerized recording of your brain and cardiovascuaascular activity to asses your sleep patterns. Traditionally, sleep studies were performed in hospital or storefront sleep “labs.” It is often very difficult to sleep comfortably in these situations. Sleep testing in Chicago with Sleep Diagnostics now offers a more comfortable, natural environment. Sleep Diagnostics has based their testing sites in luxurious hotel suites. Checking into a comfortable hotel creates a secure, relaxed atmosphere essential for a good nights sleep. As part of the study, you are entitled to enjoy the hotel facilities. The rooms are designed so that data collection goes through a computer port directly to the technician’s suite. Crown Plazas in Chicago and throughout the suburbs make the testing easy to arrange and convenient.

The Advanced Center for Specialty Care and Sleep Diagnostics are both adult as well as pediatric treatment centers in Chicago. If a diagnosis of sleep apnea is made, your physician can discuss treatment options with you.

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