This is a contributed post and therefore doesn’t necessarily reflect the views or opinions of this blog.

It’s one of the worst things a parent can go through, but it happens regularly. Any child can go through a very health issue that occurs during the night. If as a parent you don’t know what is going on with your child, it can be a scary experience. You can see and hear how uncomfortable they are but there’s no one illness or condition that you can accurately diagnose. You end up not wanting to close the door to their bedroom and go back to sleep. So staying up with them all through the night just to keep a constant eye on them in case their condition worsens, feels like the only option left. The strange and sometimes frustrating thing is, it could be something that isn’t life-threatening and easily treated.

Night terrors

Night terrors are not the same as nightmares. Put simply nightmares occur in our imagination and are creations of our subconscious mind. Deep sleep is also known as REM sleep which is the deepest state of sleep; in this state is where nightmares happen. A child experiencing night terrors will often scream, kick and thrash around while still sleeping. This happens when they suddenly wake up from non-deep sleep. They happen in children of the ages between 3 -8 and normally to those who have a family history of sleepwalking.

For parents, it’s vital to remember that although witnessing your child in a panic-stricken state is awful, night terrors are not harmful to your child. In fact, they won’t even remember them the next morning. Do not attempt to wake them up while they are experiencing night terrors as they may not recognize you and this increases their panic further. It’s not uncommon for the child to have their eyes open while having a night terror episode so don’t confuse this with them being awake. Try to make a light conversation about what you saw to talk about what could be triggering them, but don’t do it alarmingly. Usually, they grow out of it, but if it persists, you will need to contact your doctor about them.

Photo by Max Pixel

Sinus restriction

We’ve all had a terrible night of sneezing and having trouble breathing through our nose. Since children are still growing and their immune systems are weak, it’s hard to know what is causing their this kind of discomfort. But did you know there are services by night pediatrics that you can access online? This company allows for online consultations from 12 pm (noon) to 9 pm during weekdays, and 9 am to 9 pm on weekends. You simply use their service to speak with a doctor online. Tell them about your children’s symptoms, and you can see whether a blocked sinus is due to allergies, a common cold or the flu virus. This is a great relief for parents as if you have given your child medicine of a sort, but it doesn’t seem to be working, you can get a quick analysis right from your home and accurately treat them immediately if it’s recommended by the doctor.

Night terrors are sometimes horrific to watch as it looks like the sufferer’s actions are like someone who is awake. Don’t panic and just log what you see on a piece of paper. Try to calmly start a conversation with your child and figure out what could be triggered them. Since the online pediatric service is open until 9 pm, if they can’t seem to get to sleep, you can always seek peace of mind by using the online consultation.