Children are dependent. They need the help of their parents in diverse ways especially when it comes to medical treatment. So, you have to be ready to stand in the gap to make your child’s sleep apnea therapy more effective and comfortable.
Though, the efficiency of CPAP machines is dependable. Yet, there are some additional support you can offer to help improve your child’s treatment to be quicker and better. More so, children naturally become anxious immediately they sight cpap machines. Your action support and encouragement will make a huge difference in the entire process.
So, how can you help your child get the best result from the sleep apnea therapy? Learn more how AHI can maximize the effectiveness of your CPAP machine in treating sleep apnea.
How to Help Your Child Make the Best Use of A CPAP Machine
1. Introduce the CPAP therapy slowly
Don’t forget that CPAP therapy comes with anxiety even for adults. So, providing everything in haste can bring more harm than good. Typically, your child’s sleep apnea therapy will be more successful if you systematically and gradually encourage your child to get familiar with the CPAP machine and the wearing of the mask.
At first, your child may feel strange and uncomfortable wearing a mask to bed and that’s okay. It is your duty to make him or her adapt to the new lifestyle. If the case of the symptoms is severe, don’t be tempted to take hasty actions. There are several tricks to you can introduce during the day to make your child get used to the CPAP machine’s operation. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the tricks.
- Encourage your child to wear the CPAP mask during the day while playing or performing other daily activities. Meanwhile, your child don’t have to wear it throughout the day. He or she can wear it at intervals like 10 minutes in every 2 hours of the day. That way, your child will naturally adjust to the feel of the mask. Also, make it a point to on the CPAP machine at intervals during the day to get your child familiar with its noise.
- Ask your child to lie down. Put on the machine and fix the mask to the nose. Allow the air to run for a short time to open the airways in your child’s lung. Though that effort can be little, it can go a long way in solving the sleep apnea problems.
- Run the CPAP machine at night. You may not necessarily connect the mask to the nose of your child, just allow the machine run for some time at bedtime and off it after a while. the goal is to get your child familiar with the sound of the machine at night.
The above tips will help you child get familiar with the day and night time CPAP therapy routine and make adaption easier. You don’t have to worry about immediate result; when your child finally gets used to the use of CPAP machine, the result will happen quicker.
2. Maintain adequate cleaning routine
Regular cleaning is essential to maintaining the form and productivity of any machine. To keep your child’s CPAP machine working at the top performance level, you need to help out cleaning the machine its accessories frequently.
Typically, children are expected to mess things up without thinking about the consequences. That puts on you more responsibility to monitor the machine’s maintenance.
So, how do you go about it? Start by cleaning the seal of the mask. This part of the mask accumulate face oils while in use and if not attended to on time, it may affect the mask’s grip power. Not only that, excess face oil stains can cause the growth mold and microbes or attract dust and debris which may expose your child to congestion and coughing.
Use mild soap to clean the components everyday by washing them gently in a warm water. Meanwhile, you don’t have to wash the headgear daily, once a week cleaning will suffice.
Avoid using oil-based or aromatic cleansers alcohol and bleach because they can damage the mask and limit your machine’s efficiency.
3. Replace faulty part of the machine on time
When you notice a part of your child’s CPAP machine is not functioning properly, the next best thing is to replace it immediately. That is called early response system. At the point your machine start to develop little fluctuations, consider that as early warning signs and act in right response accordingly.
If your child’s mask get cracked, torn or damaged, discard the affected component and replace it instantly. There are several spare parts in the market to make up for the damages at any time. Aside from the case damages, you should always change your child’s mask’s cushion every 2 to 4 weeks. You can replace your child’s headgear and mask frame after every three months.
Take note not to replace any component of the mask with a fake or inappropriate part. It can pose further complications on the machine and mask. It is advisable to seek help from your CPAP machine supplier for recommendations whenever you want to replace a part.
4. Make the bedroom sleep-friendly
Creating a warm bedroom environment for your child can make the use of the CPAP machine more comfortable. There are several ways you can turn your child’s bedroom to a sleep haven. A bedroom environment that makes a child fall asleep naturally will aid the effectiveness of the machine.
To make that happen, make your child’s room dark at night bedtime. The reason is that light suppresses the effect of melatonin, an hormone that makes it easier for people to fall asleep. You can also minimize noise by shutting all the windows to aid easy sleep.
Finally
Make sure that you purchase a CPAP machine that doesn’t make too much noise at night. Your child will love to use the machine every night if you follow the above tips adherently. You can also seek help from your child’s doctor for further medical advice to maximize the effect of CPAP therapy for your child.