Mouth breathing - does it need dealing with?

[JavelinArse]

My almost 10 year old son breathes through his mouth. Noisily and constantly (never through his nose). He has never had problems with his tonsils but often speaks in a way that sounds like it's coming from high up in the back of his throat if that makes sense?! Not quite nasal but similar sort of thing.

I do remind him to try and breathe through his nose but he just won't do it or if he does then it's just for a couple of breaths and then he's back to mouth breathing!

Is this something that I need to take him to the G.P about? Is it likely to have long term implications or am I being a neurotic worry pot again ?

Adenoids? DC2 had his out at a much younger age but before the operation you could hear him sleep breathing through closed doors.

I did wonder if it could be related to his adenoids but he doesn't have problems with his ears or throat so I'm not sure? When he talks he always sounds as if he is recovering from a cold iyswim?

He doesn't snore as such but he does breath loudly and has always been very restless through the night.

Dr. Google hasn't reassured me, it came up with all sorts of links about how mouth breathing can lead to health problems later in life! I think I'll ring the GP just to put my mind at ease!

I did this. It was my adenoids. Whatever they are!

I'm 46 and still a mouth breather. I remember years of my mum and dad nagging at me to breathe properly ?? I never mastered it, my dad used to shout at me if I was sitting close to him, STOP MOUTH BREATHING, I was a nervous child and they wondered why ! Other than that I am fine, I just tried to breath through my nose again and managed three then went back to my mouth breathing, which is not noisy, honest!!!!

You need to get him to see an ENT specialist.
Make an appointment with your GP and get a referral.

Having restful sleep is very important, and if he's snoring he's not sleeping properly.

Also, he will bug the shit out of his future partner, if he ever manages to get one with that racket!!

Sort it out pronto.

I was 8 before I realised you were supposed to breathe through your nose. Can't do it, well, I can if I concentrate, but, I forget and resort back to type.

Am a dreadful snorer, and, can't do tumbleturns at swimming.

Watching with interest tumbleturns matter more to me than disturbing DH's sleep

DS1 was a mouth breather. He had a tongue tie which left him with a very high narrow palate and an underdeveloped mid face. Not that you would notice unless you know what to look for, but it left his nostrils very restricted giving him no option but to mouth breathe.

He had his tongue tie lasered when he was 7yo and has undergone 2 years of orthodontic treatment with braces and headgear to guide the growth of his mouth/face.

The headgear drew out the restricted mid section, opened up his nostrils and stopped the snoring, mouth breathing and restlessness at night.

Mouth breathing can affect the development of the jaws and face, and not in a good way. Google orthotropics for more info.

Yes, mouth breathing not ideal for development. It can lead (amongst myriad other things) to changes in facial dimensions which are difficult to correct. Agree that ENT may be a good idea

I would second adenoids. DS had his removed age 5. He had a cold soon after and it was the first time I'd heard him sniff. Up till then he had snail trails whenever he had a cold and often when he didn't. Large adenoids block the back of the nose so the snot can't drain down the back of the throat and also blocks the airway. This also happens when you have a cold when the nose becomes blocked when the mucous membranes become very inflamed.
There may be anatomical problems such as a high arched palate and also chronic rhinitis can lead to mouth breathing.
It needs looking at since mouth breathing can cause problems with the developing dentition and cause inflammation of the gums.

common in those with dustmite allergy.

worth asking gp for blood test to make sure this mouth breathing isnt allergy related.

btw, children should not snore, it they do its either adenoids or rhinitus

or structural.

DS1's xray before orthodontics is on my profile. You can see how flat he is across the nose.

There was a prob earlier with seeing the pics on profiles, hopefully its' working.

That's interesting mawbroom, as my DC has orthodontics to bend the facial/ jaw bone. DC also had tongue thrusting, and was awful to breastfed - terrible latch.
So far so good.

If you think your DS is losing sleep, you need to sort something out asap OP.

If his bite is a bit misaligned, you need to see an orthodontist, and an ENT specialist will give advice on adenoids/ tonsils and palate.

You might not need the surgery if he has his palate widened and lowered, by orthodontics, as this will give his soft tissue behind his nose more room.

The best work of orthodontics is done early, and not to the teeth, surprisingly, but to the bones in the jaw and face.

Don't leave it too late. 10 is a good time to start intervention as there is still growth ahead. 13 is leaving it a bit late for the palate and jaw to move.

And what if it is dustmite allergy related.... that cant be entirely catered for. Does antihistimine help?

I'm asthmatic (or dustmite allergy) and breathed through my mouth until mid-teens when a friend of my mum told me that I'd be better off breathing through my nose as the nose filters out germs more effectively and that I would get ill less often (I used to be plagued with frequent chest infections as a child).

I took the advice on board and within a couple of weeks of extremely conscious breathing to train myself to inhale through my nose, I had it mastered and it became completely natural.

As it happens, I did get fewer colds and far fewer chest infections after that, but how much of that was down to changing my breathing habits, and not just part of me growing out of being a bit of a sickly child, I do not know!

DS1 was tongue thrusting too VenusRising . The back of his tongue could not lift to complete the correct swallowing action so his tongue went forward when he swallowed. That stopped after his posterior tie was revised.

Thanks for the replies, I am going to call the GP tomorrow and get him checked out.

I don't want to keep reminding him to breathe through his nose and make him conscious of it, especially if he can't help the mouth breathing!

I was worried that I was making a big deal out of nothing but it definitely seems like it's worth pushing to get this investigated.

Buy Close your Mouth by Dr McKeown. It's focussed on asthma but still worth reading.

Mouth breathing can have lots of implications, facial structure, infections, concentration...

Its easy enough to fix, suggestions in the book. Once you have taught him how to, you can then get him to change his habits, like nose breathing while lying on his tummy watching his favorite TV programme, then three nose breaths every time he goes into a room, then while he is reading, gradually it will become habitual, you can also get school on side and add reminders in like get him to put his hand under his chin when listening at school.

Mawbroon I know this is a pretty old post, but can you PM me if you see this? Going through similar with my DS and i'd be really grateful if I could ask you a few questions... ? Ta. x

My 3 year old son is a serious mouth breather. His breathing seems very loud all of the time. He has a constant barking cough too. Gp is trialling him on Clenil inhaler for asthma but just doesn't seem overly concerned 're his breathing, I on the other hand am.
He was born with 2 collapsed lungs and has always sounded very mucousy. His nose always sounds blocjed. He has suffered from chronic ear infections for a while and has had grommets fitted twice, to no avail, and his adenoids removed.

I am worried that there may be an underlying issue with his lungs.
Has anyone experienced anything like this?

As well as seeing the gp it might be worth you asking the dentist as sometimes there can be an issue with the jaw which can be corrected with orthodontics.