Adenoids and Tonsils Why is my kiddo snoring?

Adenoids and tonsils are both amazing and annoying at the same time.  In kids especially.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, both of these clumps of tissue help our body stop, recognize, and fight infectious in our upper airways.  The adenoids act as guard for the back part of our nose and nasal sinuses and the tonsils for the back part of our throats.  This is why, when we do have an upper respiratory infection from things like a common cold, the adenoids and tonsils get to work, swell up, and produce mucous to help our white blood cells move the virus out of our body.  Thus, the runny nose, postnasal drip, sore throat, and throat clearing symptoms you get with each new bout of preschool viruses.  Normally, once your body gets that nasty virus out, the tonsils and adenoids return to their normal size, and the snot in your upper airway clears.

But, for some kiddos, their tonsils and adenoids are always big, either from birth or from the body thinking it is under constant attacks from things like pollen, dust, and other seasonal allergens.  Chronic, larger than normal adenoids and tonsils can lead to longer lasting issues such as chronic runny nose, congestion, snoring, sleep apnea, sinus infections, and ear infections.

We used to take adenoids and tonsils out for basically any descent reason.  Nowadays, though, the main indication for removal of tonsils and adenoids is sleep impairment. If we have a child with disrupted sleep on a nightly basis it can have a multitude of effects on the kiddo’s energy level, ability to learn, and capacity to act like a functional human being rather than a crazed little monster for parents and teachers 24/7.  I mean how would you act if every 30 min you are partially woken up at night?  No amount of Vita Coffee is going to help me act like a well-adjusted person with that much disrupted sleep.  

So, how do we know if the tonsils and/or adenoids should come out?  Well, there are a few ways we can investigate.  The first is with a sleep study in which a sleep medicine specialist measures how many times a kiddo pauses breathing during night.  If they show evidence of multiple episodes of awakening due to snoring and pauses in breathing, then there is a strong case for removal of the adenoids and/or tonsils.  Another option is to have the Ear Nose Throat specialist (Otolaryngologist) use a special mirror/scope to look at the tonsils and adenoids to see how big they are and assess if they think they will cause pauses in breathing while asleep.

If the decision has been made to remove the tonsils and or adenoids, this is performed by the Otolaryngologist in an outpatient setting and is expected to have a swift recovery and extremely low rate of complications.  Though it should be known that adenoids and tonsils can regrow after removal.  They are slow growing over months and years and, usually, by the time they regrow a child’s nasal passages are bigger, and the adenoids and tonsils do not cause as much of an issue.