Looking For The Best Baby Sleep Apnea Monitors

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Everyone experiences pauses in breathing once in a while. This does not only happen to adults but to babies as well. This breathing pattern is called apnea. Although this is completely normal to some, it may also be related to some health conditions that should be a cause for concern especially when it happens to your baby. Being in this kind of predicament, you may opt to seek for the help of baby sleep apnea monitors.

The Different Types of Apneas
The word apnea has its origin from a Greek word which means “without wind.” It is the medical term used to describe the occasional cessation of breathing of a person. Even though it is normal, it may also be a symptom of something more serious that is health related.

Basically there are three types of apnea: obstructive, central and mixed. Obstructive apnea is most common in babies and children. It is caused by obstructions in the airway such as adenoids and enlarged tonsils. This is quite dangerous especially for babies since it usually happens during sleep time. And as babies, they still can’t articulate whether they are already experiencing symptoms of the condition.

Symptoms of this type of apnea include snoring, labored breathing, gasping for air, and changes in color. But the cardinal sign of obstructive apnea in babies is restlessness.

Another type of apnea is central apnea. This is usually caused by defect in the part of the brain the controls breathing. In babies, this could be a congenital defect. Central apnea is very rare in adults but quite common in babies especially those who were born prematurely. Unlike obstructive apnea, this can happen at any time of the day.

The third type of apnea is called mixed apnea. This condition is the combination of obstructive apnea and central apnea. This is particularly very common in infants. It could occur any time, whether awake or asleep.

What To Do If You Think Your Baby Has Apnea
When your baby is born, he or she is automatically evaluated for any problems in health like defects in breathing. But this is just an initial evaluation which can change in the next few months. The first step is to have your baby checked up by his or her doctor. If apnea is detected, the doctor can suggest different ways to help you monitor your baby one of which is with the use of baby sleep apnea monitor.

What to Look for In Baby Sleep Apnea Monitors
There are a lot of different baby sleep apnea monitors each with different features. In choosing a baby sleep apnea monitor, there are certain features that the device must have to ensure the proper monitoring of your baby.

Heart Beat Monitor
This feature is a must for the device that you will choose since no apnea monitor is 100 percent accurate in detecting cessation of breathing. This will serve as a backup in case the apnea monitor fails to detect apnea because it will also manifest in the heart rate of the baby.

Another must have feature is a remote alarm. Even if you are not in the same room with the baby, a remote monitor will notify you if anything goes wrong. It must also have a power loss alarm. This is used when the devices are low in power. Last but not the least, the device must also be equipped with an AC power for recharging and powering the device.

Digital Baby Monitors and Child Safety

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Today, almost everything has gone digital. Cellular phones, computers and even simple household appliances, such as telephones and microwaves, have all switched to digital technology. However, the growing concern of many is whether these hi-tech gadgets can be considered safe for our health, especially in gadgets such as baby monitors that are usually placed in such a close distance to children.

A lot of parents nowadays fear that if they use a digital monitor to help them keep watch of their child, they might be exposing their offspring to too much of electromagnetic radiation and this may cause significant damage to the child’s nervous system. Children, after all, are much more prone to damage as their systems are still developing at such a young age. So we ask the question that many of these parents want to know, is it really safe to use digital baby monitors for children?

What is Electro-SMOG and How Does It Threaten Our Health?
Electro-SMOG is the electromagnetic energy that is emitted by common gadgets in our home such as our televisions, cordless phones, microwaves and digital baby monitors. Studies have been made over the years claiming that too much exposure to electro-SMOG can result to health problems affecting the nervous system of the body. A person may have such initial symptoms of headaches, disruptive sleep patterns, chronic fatigue and abnormal behavioral patterns in children.

How Are Baby Monitors Different from Other Gadgets with Electro-smog?
Because of the huge possibility of the electromagnetic energy used in the digital technology of modern baby monitors, a lot of parents are fearful for the safety of their child. But on the other hand, manufacturing companies of these digital monitors claim that the amount of radiation that their baby monitors emit are at levels that do not pose serious danger to children.

Phillips is one of these manufacturing companies that claim that the level of electro-smog released by their gadgets are 10,000 times lower from the safety norms that are accepted internationally. The company also adds a recommendation that for parents to have total peace of mind, they can position the monitoring device at least a meter away from the child.

Going digital in such technologies has many benefits, but there really are minimal risks involved. The digital models of baby monitors have proven over the years to be better in reception as compared to that of the older analog version. These models have also proven to be much better at providing privacy for the family. However, for many parents who are concerned with the safety of their child, switching to modern technology can certainly be frightening.

But as long as one knows how to set certain prevention methods such as placing the monitor at a safe distance from the baby (at least one meter) and not adding a lot of other appliances inside the baby’s room such as televisions or computers, then much harm on the child’s health can greatly be prevented. Always keep in mind that the monitor’s distance from the child is very important.

The greater the distance of the monitor from the child, then there is also a greater reduction to the amount of exposure to radiation. Most manufacturing companies nowadays have also been improving their products to make them less health threatening.

In conclusion, parents can always have the option for opting to the hi-tech digital baby monitors especially because its many benefits, but if fear for the safety of the child is still present, always remember that there are precautions that one can follow to minimize risks.