Our son (2.5) is scheduled for a T&A in a few weeks but now my dh and I are worried if we are doing the right thing.

I was wondering, does anyone know exactly why tonsils and adenoids are large?  Does the medical community feel that it just happens randomly or have they looked into the reasons?

We are now wondering if our son might have allergies that are causing this and if so will a T&A help or will we just end up having to treat the allergies too?

I actually don't even know if he has allergies, he doesn't have a runny nose or itchy eyes.  I have no allergies but my husband has pollen related allergies and is also allergic to strawberries and carrots.  But I came across this book by Doris Rapp called "Is this your child? For children who are complaining, cranky slow learners, aggressive, hyperactive, unwell or depressed; Discovering and treating unrecognized allergies in children and adults" and I realized that our son did have signs of allergies as an infant such as a persistent rash on his face and legs and he spit up after every feeding of both breast and formula, and he needed to big jiggled alot as a child to stay calm, all signs of allergies per this book.

And why is it that some nights his breathing sounds more labored than others?  Shouldn't every night be the same unless something is causing the T&A to get even larger some nights?

I don't know, on one hand I hate to think of taking the time going down probably many dead ends trying to find out if he has allergies but on the other hand I don't want to do the surgery and then still have an unresolved problem.  I just want him to breath better as soon as possible.

Any advice out there??

I don't have all the answers but I can tell you that my son has had allergy problems since birth. He has been on Clairinex since he was 6 months old. I do think his allergies have a lot to do with why his tonsils and adenoids are so huge. Now he is on Clairinex in the morning Benadryl and Nasonex at night then he has Prelone on hand if needed. I have been told not only will the T&A help his sleep apnea but it may also help some with his allergies. It won't cure his allergies but we should see some improvement. I am just hoping it cures his sleep apnea.  He just turned 3 this last Thursday and is scheduled for the surgery 2 weeks from Wed. Good luck and keep us posted.

I know exactly how you feel, we're in the same boat. Since my son has had his tonsils out, we've seen a huge improvement in his breathing (asleep and awake) no more snoring, no more gasping for air. But, I questioned the doc about the persistant dark circles under caden's eyes (why does he still look exhausted if the apnea is gone?) and he told me it's probably allergies.

We've had allergy tests done in the past (a blood test) and it didn't show any signs of allergies. His eyes do not water, he doesn't sniffle, he's never broke out in any kind of rash after he's ate anything.....I hate the idea of putting him through countless more tests, with the potential of coming up empty handed.

As far as having good nights and bad nights with apnea, I do know this....some nights will be better than others. There's a lot of factors as to why, the right position, etc.  Also, too, your tonsils grow to their largest (in relativity to the airway) during toddler years (most children are diagnosed with sleep apnea from 2-6.)  The tonsils then begin to atrophy during adolesence.  

That's a good question about "what makes tonsils large in the first place," I've always assumed it was genetic. I had huge tonsils when I was little...so I just figured that's where my kids got there big tonsils. Like brown eyes or freckles.

IMHO, there is definately a connection between allergies and apnea, just from what I've read here on the forum. But, does one cause the other? I don't know. Will treating one treat the other or make the other better? Wish I knew. Will treating one make the other worse? Maybe with more children being diagnosed with sleep apnea, researchers will find the link between allergies and apnea. Until then, all we can do is help eachother try to make the best decisions by sharing our stories. I wish I had more answers for you, but at least your not alone......and thanks for mentioning that book, it sounds pretty interesting, I'll look for it at the book store.

keep us posted.

Kim