paediatric oximeter

[SurvivalOfTheUnfittest]

This is a bit of a long shot, but I am looking into buying an oximeter that will help me establish whether or not ds2, aged 3, actually has sleep apnoea. I've always used an angelcare alarm and feel strongly that he does have apnoeas but the doctors are completely dismissive. At the weekend he was cold and I had to shout and shake him to get him to rouse, despite the monitor blaring. Can any of you recommend an oximeter that works on a 3 year old's finger please? Reviews seem very mixed. Is there one that has an alarm for when he's too big for the angelcare (due to mattress thickness)? Thanks.

Early morning bump

Sounds like you should get a second opinion rather than buy a pulse oximeter.

I think what londonchick says is wise. By all means get a second opinion - doctors are not infallible. However, buying an oximeter seems more like hypochondria-by-proxy than rationality. If your child is having genuine breathing difficulties you know it without a machine to tell you. I suspect you do know it, but perhaps feel you need the backup of a measurement before you can assert it confidently to the doctors. Save your money and find a doctor who will listen to you. BUT also be prepared to listen to them - there are other things that can cause similar symptoms. By all means keep fighting for a diagnosis and treatment but don't set your heart on what those should be. I know of a case where a mum was convinced her child had sleep apnoea, and was fighting for treatment for it, and was ignoring and feeling brushed off/dismissed when doctors offered inhaler medication instead as she thought it clearly wasn't asthma. Until the child was hospitalised with an asthma attack and she learned that asthma symptoms in children present very differently from the symptoms in adults, and the doctors did know what they were talking about all along.

I concur generally with London and Iris. If you have the money for an oximeter, why not pay for a private appointment with a paediatrician and get a proper examination and second opinion?

Thanks. I do know that it happens, but it happens infrequently. He had an overnight sleep study at our regional centre at 18 months old after a lot of fighting. The machines failed so the doctor couldn't let him go to sleep until 11pm and ds2 was then so overtired that he woke again at 2am (and every hour before that) and they sent us home as he wouldn't resettle by 4am. They felt they had seen enough, but I felt that it wasn't really a fair test on a boy who only seems to do it infrequently. They could see transient de-sats but that he righted himself and said no further action was required. This year we've had at least two occasions where we've had to shake him and shout to get him to rouse. I decided to ring the GP and ask them to record my concerns on his notes this week (after much nagging from friends and relatives). The GP suggested oxymetry as a way of establishing what is really going on. Because the alarm only goes off properly about once a month now (although we might have occasional false alarms), I don't think the medics would capture it on a further single night sleep study. That doesn't mean that he is okay though on the nights when it does happen. I'd love it to prove that I'm wrong, but I am currently standing by my instincts that something is amiss (and he has a range of other mild health issues in the background, including reflux, which may or may not cause children to hold their breath in their sleep).

It it's that rare then it's unlikely to be normal sleep apnoea which is to do with the structure of the muscles and tissues of the nose, throat and upper airways and so it would be more frequent if that was it. I'm not challenging that there's a problem, I'm just saying that it may be more complicated. I still think getting a second opinion would be helpful but also you might try keeping some additional records of what other issues might be affecting why it happens when it does. What positions does he sleep in? How often does he have a cold? Could the rarity be that this only happens if he sleeps in a certain position whilst in the snotty phase of a cold, and if so could you prevent it by re-positioning him in his sleep on those critical nights?

I realise that your initial query was about asking people to recommend their favourite oximeter gadget and no-one has been able to help with this. If you are sure you want to go down this path and you are doing it following the GPs recommendation then I would ask your GPs advice deciding which gadget to get - asking people on mumsnet is not going to give you answers which are any more reliable than the random strangers who have written the mixed reviews that concern you!

Thanks (but I do trust my fellow MNers more!) Will give it more thought.

www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B008DIZH0Y/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Thanks hedwig.