Our 6-year-old suddenly started roaring snores after a cold. ENT scoped the nose/throat: adenoid hypertrophy, but there was still an airway, so no surgery—just meds and a nasal spray. After 1-2 months the snore shrank to normal breathing.

I’d read scary posts about “needs surgery” vs “quick surgery,” but our ENT said, “It’s adenoids, not huge. I’ll give you meds—no surgery.” That alone calmed me down; a month or two later the snore faded.

What we saw

Late December the kid (6) caught a runny-nose cold. He can blow his nose so no ear infection risk, but the discharge kept coming. Then at night he started a loud “FUGO, FUGOGOGO” snore. Before the cold he had quiet breaths, so I assumed congestion from the cold.

At the ENT I said “tons of mucus and snoring,” and they said, “Kids this age often get adenoid hypertrophy—could be that.” Because the snore had just started a few days earlier, we agreed to watch and use the usual meds (mucus thinner, allergy med, sometimes antibiotics).

Over New Year’s the snore didn’t stop. When the meds ran out we went back; they refilled the usual set minus antibiotics.

Sudden naps & brutal snore

Maybe poor sleep at night—he even started napping again, which he’d stopped doing. One day he fell asleep on the couch and unleashed “FUGO, FUGOGAA, GOGUGUOOOOOO, GAH, GOGAGAAAA” nonstop. That freaked me out, so I searched “child snore.”

Almost every result was a retelling of this clinic page: こどものいびき - 荻窪中尾耳鼻咽喉科 (JP).

Summary:

“Causes are enlarged adenoids (behind the nose), enlarged tonsils, or allergic-rhinitis congestion. Daytime shows sleep-deprivation signs (low focus), night shows heavy snoring and restless sleeping.”

They also mention “chest retraction” (sunken chest while breathing); I didn’t know what to look for. I kept staring at my kid’s belly during bad snores, but apparently it’s the chest that sinks (nervous parent face).

I also read that severe cases can have apnea, so some nights I listened carefully to be sure he was breathing.

What adenoid treatment looks like

A friend nearby said, “My 5-year-old had adenoid surgery.” They said the operation is quick and the hospital stay is about a week. Searching “アデノイド 手術 入院” showed similar timelines. They added, “They cough up a bit of blood after surgery, so don’t be shocked.”

Scoped at the ENT

Our ENT had said, “We can scope to check adenoids anytime—just say the word.” After meds alone weren’t fixing it, on the third visit we asked for the scope. The monitor showed a swollen lump just like the clinic photo above.

Diagnosis: “They’re enlarged, but there’s still an air gap, so I wouldn’t operate.” I was frustrated it hadn’t improved in 2-3 weeks, but a hospital stay would be tough—so I took the prescription and went home.

The cold had cleared, so no antibiotics this time. Instead we got a spray for allergic rhinitis—nasal spray.

About a month later the snore shrank

The snore was nightly, so I’d almost gotten used to it—sleeping beside him with earplugs. One night I noticed it was much quieter. Usually the huge sound hit right after he fell asleep; now it didn’t. As he went into deep sleep it turned into normal breathing. Yes! Improvement!

It’s been two full months since starting treatment. The adenoids are still enlarged, so there’s a faint “gogogo…” snore, but I can sleep next to him without earplugs. We ran out of oral meds about two weeks ago and now only use the nasal spray before bed (the doctor had said “just before bed is fine,” and the bottle lasts forever).

The ENT explained it like this:

• Around ages 3-6 some kids’ adenoids (behind the nose) swell.
• If the nose passage closes, they switch to mouth breathing and snore.
• As the body grows, nasal passages widen, and many cases resolve on their own.

In our case he had both adenoids and a runny-nose cold. Because there was still an air gap, we managed it by suppressing the mucus and watching—seems to have worked.

During the worst snore phase he looked a bit sleepy in the morning, but he still woke on time, played normally, focused on his hobbies, and didn’t habitually mouth-breathe.

I worried: is he really sleeping with that noise? Will it affect growth? Looking back, it was just 1-2 months, and aside from the loud nights, nothing really changed.

If you’re here because your kid’s snore scared you, get a scope at a nearby ENT. The clinic page above also says,

“We try three months of conservative therapy, and recommend surgery for cases that don’t respond.”

So try meds for three months and observe (earplugs may help you survive).