BacktoCampusCare: What to Know About Anxiety

The new school year comes with a lot of change for children—a different classroom, teacher, peers, learning material and routine. These changes can cause stress and anxiety in some children and teens, especially if they struggle in school and dread going back.

How to respond to stress

Kids and teens of all ages can feel stress at times, and that’s normal. It’s essentially a signal to get ready for what’s coming. With typical back-to-school stress, a parent or caretaker can help adolescents start the school year with confidence—and gain important coping skills—with the following tips.

1. Listen and validate your child or teen’s feelings.
2. Talk through what they can expect of everything from the morning routine to the bus ride to the school day and dismissal.
3. Visit the school and the classroom, especially if the child is younger or is new to the school.
4. Check in with your child about how the year is going so far.
5. Look ahead at what the rest of the year could be like.

Recognize chronic stress and anxiety

Stress can be good for kids. But on the other hand, chronic stress and anxiety that lasts for more than a few weeks aren’t healthy. In recent years, Wellstar Pediatrician Dr.  Andrew Doyle has noticed a growing number of adolescents, especially females, have anxiety.

“It’s normal to have stress; it’s not normal to have anxiety,” Dr. Doyle said. “Understandably you get nervous with new situations that make you uncomfortable, but you’re still able to do it and have fun. Significant anxiety starts to interfere with a child or teen’s ability to do what they need to do—homework, school, social situations. That’s when it’s helpful to get it checked out.”

In addition to having difficulty participating in and completing activities, signs of anxiety in children and adolescents can include difficulty sleeping, abdominal pain, headaches, significant changes in appetite or an explosive temper.

Effective treatments include lifestyle changes, medication and therapy. For example, lifestyle changes can include getting enough sleep, exercising, eating a healthy diet and planning downtime from social media and life responsibilities.

“Therapy and role-playing can help you recognize your stressors and think through how to handle them ahead of time so you can face those situations,” he said. “For example, on exam day, start with positive self-talk. You can say, ‘I’m feeling nervous. I have a headache and an upset stomach. I know that’s because I’m anxious. I’ve taken many tests before and I can do this, so I don’t need to worry about it.’ Breathing exercises before the test can help you stay calm.”

Start the year strong with a wellness screening

Another way to begin the school year right is to check in on your child’s emotional and physical health. Wellstar pediatricians will get to know your child and help them live their healthiest.

“I try to do whatever I can to help our patients and families so that when they leave my office, I've given them something to hold onto that is going to make life better for them,” Dr. Doyle said.

Find a pediatrician near you and book your child’s back to school exam so they can start the year strong.

A new school year is right around the corner. While kids may be the ones returning to the classroom, parents still have their own homework to do too: making sure their child has a healthy start.

Before heading back to school, Wellstar health experts say it’s more important than ever prioritize your child’s physical and emotional well-being.

“Parents can help their children be prepared for school by starting early,” said Wellstar Pediatrician Dr. Andrew Doyle. “Be sure to speak to your children and address any anxieties they may have now about the new school year.”

“Also, getting them scheduled to see their pediatrician for important screenings and immunizations will help them be their healthiest,” he shared.

If you have sleep apnea, waking up tired may be your norm. Even if you wear a CPAP every night, you might not get the good night’s rest you need. Thankfully, there’s a different option available.

Positive airway pressure (PAP)—CPAP and BiPAP therapy—is the most common treatment for sleep apnea. It pushes pressurized air through a mask to keep your airway open so you can sleep better. But it doesn’t work well for everyone.

“For years, countless patients who have been intolerant of CPAP or BiPAP therapy have had few options for treatment,” said Dr. Michael Vick, an otolaryngologist with Wellstar. “What we have done in the past has been painful and unpredictable.”

Fortunately, if you don’t respond to PAP therapy, there’s good news. Wellstar is a multidisciplinary Center of Excellence for Inspire Implants—the first with the designation in Georgia and the second in the country. This hypoglossal nerve stimulator can reduce sleep apnea without the bulky mask.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder. It causes you to stop breathing off and on while you’re asleep. It can happen when something blocks your airway (obstructive sleep apnea) or if your brain doesn’t send the right signals to the muscles that control your breathing (central sleep apnea). Either way, your body doesn’t get enough oxygen.

To kickstart your breathing, your body triggers a survival reflex. The jolt wakes you up just enough for you to start breathing again. But it also breaks your sleep cycle, meaning you’re tired the next day. And without proper treatment, you can develop high blood pressure or other heart problems that can be life-threatening.

How is sleep apnea diagnosed?

You may have sleep apnea if you snore, wake up frequently at night or stop breathing when you sleep. An at-home or overnight in-clinic sleep test can diagnose you accurately.

At-home tests use a finger monitor to measure and record your airflow, blood oxygen level, breathing pattern and heart rate. We may suggest an in-clinic test called a polysomnogram if we think you have central sleep apnea. This test uses electrodes placed around your body to evaluate your arm and leg movements, blood oxygen level, brain activity, breathing, and heart and lung activity while you sleep.

Common treatments for sleep apnea

Oral appliances can treat mild sleep apnea, and surgery can address treatment-resistant sleep apnea. But two types of PAP therapy have long been the most common treatments for most people with moderate-to-severe sleep apnea:

• Continuous PAP (CPAP): A machine delivers constant air pressure through a mask to keep your airway open during sleep.
• Bilevel PAP (BiPAP): A similar machine uses a mask to deliver higher air pressure when you inhale and lower air pressure when you exhale.

More advanced sleep apnea treatment

PAP therapy is uncomfortable for many people. If it doesn’t work for you, an Inspire Implant can reduce your sleep apnea without the mask. The two-piece implant involves a sensor in your chest and a receiver that wraps around the hypoglossal nerve that controls your tongue.

Our ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists partner with lung and sleep medicine experts to place the device. They perform a minimally invasive procedure that requires two small incisions. This outpatient surgery requires minimal recovery time.

Once in place, the implant works simply. When turned on at night, the sensor sends a signal to the receiver that gently stiffens your tongue and palate with each breath, so your airway does not become blocked—all without waking you.

According to Dr. Vick, Inspire has been a breakthrough for many patients who cannot tolerate CPAP or BiPAP therapy. While success rates can vary depending on individual health factors such as body mass index (BMI), Inspire generally delivers higher satisfaction, fewer complications and a more comfortable recovery than previous surgical options.

“With Inspire, we have a successful and convenient treatment option with a high patient satisfaction rate. While it is a surgically placed device, there is far less risk of complications and downtime than anything we have previously offered,” he said. “If you cannot tolerate PAP therapy, you should consider Inspire.”

Learn more about Inspire at Wellstar and find an ENT who’s right for you.