My son needs to use a nasal canula to deliver 1/4 lpm of oxygen during sleep and he is absolutely refusing it! He is 19 months. Any ideas on how to get him used to the canula?

At my hospital, we use nasal cannulas on all of our pediatric patients, including preemies and infants. Truthfully, after just a few minutes, they forget it is even there. The problem is getting them to leave it along those first few minutes. We actually tape it to their face so they can't pull it off. It works great. We use 1" strips of Tegaderm to tape it to their cheek. Tegaderm is like sticky saran-wrap. It doesn't damage the skin when it is removed, so it's great for those items that are being removed repeatedly like your son's cannula will be. It is available at most drugstores, in the band-aid aisle. It comes in a roughly 3" x 4" patch, that you just cut down to size.

Here is a link for Tegaderm: http://www.zuckermanpharmacy.com/product.cfm/hurl/203976.html

This is a pretty good pic of how to tape the cannula to the face. The same would work for a toddler.

http://www.cssd.us/images/medicalinfo/rds3.jpg

Thank you!

I forgot to mention, 1/4 lpm of O2 is really a quite small amount, even in toddlers.

So if it is such a small amount, would that suggest that the CA episodes are not very severe?

Honestly, oxygen saturation readings should be greater than 90%. Drops into the 80s indicate apnea and mild hypoxia. I would consider 80% to be a mild-moderate drop. I have often seen sats of 60s and 70s with apnea, and I can't say that even 50s are uncommon. Keep in mind, though, that I work mainly with preemies. While a saturation of 80 isn't ideal, it's not a worst case scenario by far.

Thank you so much for your honest answers! I really do appreciate it all!

I got the Cannula on him tonight!!!! We played with it several times today and tonight after he fell asleep I was able to get it on him without him waking up and screaming! YEAH!!!:yahoo:

We will see how he does when he wakes up in the middle of the night! Hopefully, he'll sleep most of the night!

That's great! Hopefully he doesn't get too active in his sleep and knock it loose. Great job on convincing him to wear it. I knew you could do it!

Thank You! Last night didn't go quite as well but at least he slept through the night...I'll just have to keep working on it with him!

I'm sure it will be a different story every night for a while. I hope it becomes second nature for him soon.

I'm sure it will be a different story every night for a while. I hope it becomes second nature for him soon.

Thanks! I hope so also! I am meeting with his Pediatrician tomorrow and I am going to try to convince him to write a letter on necessity for the ComfyLift Bed. I know that sleeping on an incline will help with his GERD. Do you think that it might help with his night time breathing issues also?

If he were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, yes, the comfy lift bed might help. Since it is central apnea, it probaby won't make much of a difference. The comfy lift bed could certainly help with the GERD/reflux, though, so definitely bring it up with the ped.

Thanks for the input! I got the prescription from the doctor for the bed, now I just have to try and deal with the insurance company!

That's great. I'm glad you had a productive appointment with the ped. Good luck with the ins. co.

Look Lori!

Here he is with the canulla!:yahoo:

Great job!! I was admiring your handiwork last night, but didn't get a chance to post. LMBO, though, those are the same "tender grips" that we use on the infants in the NICU. You've done a great job with Ethan. Can you tell a difference in the daytime now that he's wearing the oxygen at night??

Not really, though his sleep has been very disrupted lately. First GERD was acting up now he's teething again...maybe ones he gets back on a good schedule, I'll be able to see a difference!

I hope so. Poor guy. It seems like it's always something with our little gerdlings.

Yep...but I have faith that one day this will all be behind us and we can say...remember when...?