What Is an Apnea Monitor and How to Use It?

An apnea monitor is a medical device that keeps track of the respiration and heart rate of a baby or adult. This device ensures that a baby is breathing properly. It starts to show an alert when a baby’s breathing or heart rate stops or slows down.

Continue reading this article to know more about this medical device.

This medical device is used to keep track of the breathing of an infant or adult with a risk of respiratory failure. Medical professionals recommend this portable device for infants, especially premature babies diagnosed with apnea.

Apnea is a serious sleeping disorder where the breathing repeatedly starts and stops.

Some of the benefits of apnea monitor are as follows:

• An apnea monitor helps you to check your baby’s breathing and heart rates. In case your little one experiences sleep apnea, the device will start the alert. It will start the alarm if the heart rate drops below the optimal level or in case of respiratory stoppage for a long time.
• This device helps you to determine whether your youngster is apneic or not. In case the breathing stops, the machine will start an alarm, indicating apnea. Further, this medical device helps in detecting variations in the heart rate. It provides critical information about the infant’s heart rate or breathing that helps in preventing sleep apnea.
• There are two types of apnea, namely mixed and central obstructive. The device helps you to understand the type of apnea your baby has by detecting variations in breathing and heart rate. A sleep apnea monitor will help to prevent overdiagnosis and can even save the life of your little one.

The side effect of an apnea monitor is that it causes skin pain due to the electrodes in contact with the baby's skin. However, it is not a big concern, taking into consideration the several benefits the device has.

In case your device has a backup battery system, you should consult your medical professional and understand the ways to maintain a constant charge.

An apnea monitor is equipped with several electrodes and/or a belt that is attached to the baby’s stomach or chest. In case the baby’s heart rate or breathing falls below the normal level, this device triggers an alert on its monitor. This device is also known as A/B or apnea and bradycardia monitor. Though there are different types of apnea monitors, every type of monitor consists of sensors that determine the breathing and heart rate of a body during sleep.

You can follow these steps to use the apnea monitor effectively:

Step 1: Place the device on your baby’s stomach or chest to use the stick-on patches or electrode patches.

Step 2: Attach the connectors of device electrodes to the device’s monitor.

Step 3: Switch on the monitor and wait until it generates the results.

This medical device is used to monitor the breathing and heart rate of your baby and thus helps to keep a check on sleep apnea. Serious sleep apnea can lead to life-threatening situations. If left untreated, it can affect the sleep levels of the child and can hamper future growth and development.

While using an apnea monitor, you should take care to protect your infant’s sensitive skin. Some of the tips that you can consider while using this device on your baby are as follows:

• Rub a mild moisturiser on your infant’s skin before they go to sleep.
• Avoid using creams or lotions before putting your baby to sleep.
• Make sure that your baby sleeps on their back on a hard mattress.
• Make sure there are no blankets, soft toys or pillows in the baby's crib.
• Do not apply powders or lotion on your infant's skin, as they can prevent the sensors from functioning optimally.
• Remove the adhesive pads from display, if any, and replace them as recommended by the manufacturer. Make sure not to change the pads more often than the recommended intervals to avoid the risks of inflation on your infant's skin