If your child has been snoring for more than a year, don’t mistake it for deep s

If your child has been snoring for more than a year, don’t mistake it for deep sleep. Unfortunately, many parents miss the warning signs and delay seeking help.

Many parents assume that a child who snores during sleep is just sleeping soundly and deeply. But is that really the case?  

A well-known Olympic diver, who is also a mother of two in her daily life, shares her children’s everyday moments and records those small but warm memories, just like any other mom.

A video showed the older sister habitually keeping her mouth open with her tongue out, and the younger brother snoring lightly in his sleep. It seemed like an ordinary warm family scene, but sharp-eyed netizens spotted red flags right away and rushed to remind: watch out for mouth breathing and adenoid face!

The mother, who pays close attention to details, immediately took both children to the hospital for checkups. The results were surprising: although the two children had similar symptoms, the causes and treatments were completely different—one only needed medication, while the other required surgical intervention.

What’s going on here?

Snoring is not a sign of "sound sleep"—it’s an alarm from the airway.

Many parents’ first reaction when they hear their child snoring is, “They’re sleeping so soundly,” or “What a deep sleep.” But the truth is quite the opposite.

Medically speaking, it is clearly stated that:

The essence of snoring is the sound produced by vibration of soft tissues when airflow passes through a narrowed airway. Snoring means that the child’s breathing passage is not clear.

During sleep, the throat muscles naturally relax and the base of the tongue falls back slightly. If the adenoids or tonsils are already enlarged, the airway becomes even more compressed—air squeezes through, creating the snoring sound. In severe cases, the airway can be temporarily completely blocked, causing sleep apnea. The brain then sends an emergency signal due to lack of oxygen, jolting the child awake with a sudden gasp before they fall back asleep.

 This process can happen dozens or even hundreds of times in a single night. The next morning, the child wakes up with no memory of what happened during the night, but the body has already taken the toll—leading to irreversible negative effects:

Chronic nighttime hypoxia

Directly suppresses the nighttime secretion of growth hormone. Over time, this results in delayed height development and poor physical growth.

Loss of deep sleep

Causes fragmented sleep and extremely poor sleep quality, leading to daytime lethargy, poor concentration, and memory decline in children.

Abnormal behavioral patterns

Children who cannot sit still in class, lack focus, or frequently zone out are most likely not having attitude problems, but are suffering from a physiological state impaired by long-term sleep hypoxia.

Those "cute little snores" that parents find endearing are actually the hidden culprit behind continuous harm to the child's body. For the same mouth breathing and snoring, why does one child need medication while the other needs surgery?  

The two children had similar symptoms—restless sleep and habitual mouth breathing—but the underlying causes were completely different.  

For the older sister, the issue was a "blocked nasal passage" caused by rhinitis.  

Her nasal mucosa is sensitive. During seasonal changes, colds, or exposure to allergens, the nasal mucosa becomes congested and swollen, directly obstructing the nasal airway. Since she cannot breathe normally through her nose, she is forced to compensate by breathing through her mouth. In this case, the adenoids are not significantly enlarged, and the bony structure of the airway remains open. Therefore, simply controlling rhinitis with medication, avoiding allergens, and, when necessary, undergoing desensitization therapy can resolve the symptoms at the source—no surgery is needed. 

For the younger brother, the issue was a "structural thickening" of the airway—adenoid hypertrophy.  

Long-term, repeated inflammatory stimulation caused pathological hyperplasia and enlargement of the adenoids, which is equivalent to a "thickening of the walls" inside the respiratory tract, directly blocking the posterior nasal passages. This is a structural narrowing of the airway. Moreover, the child had been snoring for over a year, with symptoms progressively worsening and already affecting growth and development. Conservative treatment was no longer sufficient to open the airway, so surgical removal of the enlarged adenoids was necessary to relieve the obstruction. 

 In simple terms: rhinitis is a temporary ventilation obstruction, while adenoid hypertrophy is a long-term structural problem. Different causes naturally require different approaches.

Rhinitis vs. Adenoid Hypertrophy – A Quick Reference Guide for Accurate Differentiation

Many parents cannot tell the two apart, which leads to two common pitfalls: rhinitis that should be treated with medication drags on into chronic sinusitis, and adenoid hypertrophy that should be surgically addressed is delayed until facial changes have already occurred. The table below helps parents quickly make a preliminary distinction and form a more informed judgment.

Of course, the safest approach is not to make a judgment on your own, but to visit a professional medical facility and consult a specialist for a definitive diagnosis and treatment plan.

Correct steps for parents to take—say goodbye to guesswork.

When dealing with a child’s snoring and mouth breathing, parents don’t need to be overly anxious, but they absolutely must not ignore it. Simply follow these four scientific steps to manage the situation properly:

Step 1: Distinguish between "occasional" and "chronic"  

Occasional snoring after a cold, nasal congestion, or crying is a normal physiological phenomenon and requires no intervention. However, if a child’s snoring or mouth breathing persists for more than 3 months, or even over a year, it is a pathological symptom that must be taken seriously.

Step 2: Don't rely on "I think"  

Children cannot actively express "I'm having trouble breathing" or "I'm lacking oxygen." They can only send signals through behaviors like snoring during sleep, mouth breathing, daytime drowsiness, and poor concentration. Parents should not mistake these abnormalities for "sound sleep" or "laziness." Every long-term abnormal sign is a distress signal from the body.

 Step 3: Choose the right specialty and get the right tests  

If long-term abnormal symptoms appear, go directly to an ENT department. Nasal endoscopy is the basic examination. If needed, CBCT can be performed to assess the degree of adenoid obstruction, and sleep monitoring can evaluate the level of oxygen deprivation—both providing essential evidence for treatment planning.

Step 4: Follow the doctor's advice and receive standard treatment  

The doctor will develop an individualized plan based on the child's condition. At this point, parents have only one thing to do—follow the medical advice. Do not delay treatment out of fear of surgery, and do not stop medication on your own just because symptoms temporarily improve. Leave professional matters to professionals, and trust your doctor. 

"Thank you for reminding me."  

This athlete's family was fortunate—the timely reminders from netizens helped the children receive prompt diagnosis and treatment. But in real life, countless other children's sleep abnormalities remain unnoticed.  

There is never a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to children's oral, nasal, or sleep issues. Give your child less of "I think" and more of the doctor's "Let me take a look."  

Early detection, early differentiation, early intervention—that is how we protect our children's healthy growth.