Modern Express News (reporter Ma Zhuangzhuang) When a child sleeps, it becomes ugly to open its mouth and breathe? This popular saying on the Internet has made many parents anxious. However, on social platforms, some bloggers have "countermeasures" for this. Many parents are planted with grass "oral breathing correction patch", when sleeping, use the correction patch to simply and rudely seal the open mouth of the child to achieve the habit of correcting the breathing habit of opening the mouth. The Modern Express reporter found that the sales of this corrective patch are not small, but is it really effective? Ear, nose and throat experts say this is not only useless, but also hides risks and can even cause suffocation to endanger life.
Sales: A sticker corrects open mouth breathing? There are stores that sell more than 10,000 per month
"Children sleeping with their mouths open and breathing will become ugly, parents should pay attention." Such a description touched the nerves of Bao's parents. The Modern Express reporter found that on social platforms, a kind of glue sticker that prevents breathing with open mouth quietly became popular, favored by many parents.
On an online shopping platform, enter "oral breath correction patch" to search, and many stores that are selling will pop up. The reporter randomly clicked into a shop and found that, according to the description, this correction patch is a kind of tape, and the shape is mostly "X" shaped. On the promotional pictures hung by the merchant, the correction sticker is pasted on the model's mouth to prevent the mouth from opening when sleeping. "Mouth sealer", "Shut-up artifact", "X design, fit closely" ... Most merchants use this word to describe the correction patch, and say that children can develop a good habit of nasal breathing; for adults, they can sleep all night without snoring.
In the comment area of a store with more than 10,000 monthly sales, the reporter saw that some consumers hung up photos of children after use, and after using them for a few nights, their mouths appeared red and swollen. Some people have questioned that the corrective sticker only makes people not open their mouths, and if they are used without a smooth nose, it is dangerous. And this danger, some stores do not remind consumers in a conspicuous position.
The reporter consulted the customer service staff of many stores, and the other party said that the oral breath correction patch is not a medical device and belongs to daily necessities. In terms of price, it is not waiting, such as a brand of oral breath correction patch a bag of 30 stickers, the price is 5 yuan to 7 yuan.
Experts: It may cause suffocation and endanger life, parents should not use it
On April 12, a modern express reporter contacted and interviewed Sun Haiyong, an attending physician in the Department of Otolaryngology of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital. Sun Haiyong once encountered a parent who took out a mouth breathing correction patch in the outpatient clinic and consulted whether he could put his mouth on the child's sleep. "Clinically, we certainly don't let parents correct the child's open mouth breathing symptoms in this way." Sun Haiyong introduced that the child's mouth breathing is due to the hypertrophy of tonsils and adenoids, resulting in a decrease in nasal airflow and insufficient nasal ventilation, in this case, the child will involuntarily open his mouth to breathe and expand the air flow.
Parents are anxious about their children's open mouths and breathing, worried about their ugly faces, and do not hesitate to use the so-called correction patch to simply and rudely stick their children's mouths up. However, this method is not only useless, but also hides risks. "If the mouth is artificially glued up, the oxygen content into the lungs will become less, which will easily lead to lack of oxygen when sleeping at night, affecting normal development." In severe cases, it can also cause apnea and even suffocation that is life-threatening. "
Sun Haiyong said that parents believe that the child's face becomes ugly due to open mouth breathing, but it is actually because of the hypertrophy of the adenoids and tonsils, resulting in the deformity of the upper jaw hard palate showing an upward arch, and finally making the mouth not very good.0 That is to say, the ugly face is not caused by breathing with the mouth open, and using glue to stick things like this will not have any effect.
According to the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children in China (2020), obstructive sleep apnea in children refers to a series of pathophysiological changes caused by the frequent partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during children's sleep, interfering with children's normal ventilation and sleep structure. Obstructive sleep apnea in children, if not diagnosed in time and effectively intervened, will lead to a series of complications, such as maxillofacial dysplasia (adenoidal facial), behavioral abnormalities, learning disabilities, etc. The main causes of upper airway obstruction in children are adenoids and/or tonsillar hypertrophy.
Sun Haiyong also mentioned that the treatment methods given in the "Guidelines", whether conservative treatment, drug treatment or surgical treatment, do not have a way to stick to the lips. "We recommend that parents, if they find that their children often open their mouths and breathe, they should go to regular hospitals to seek medical help, and do not trust the methods circulating on the Internet."
(Mobile screenshot edited by Wei Rufei)