Breath-Holding Spells

Hi C.,
This is a vega nerve problem. The child has no control over it and it is not caused by being stubborn. Most kids out grow it by age 5. They will breathe on their own. Make sure they are safe and have not hit their head.
S., mom of many

Hi C.,

I too had 'staring' episodes when I was not quite 2. The doctor told my mom that I would grow out of it. And many children do. But I didn't. And although I didn't have a full seizure until I was 55, I had partial complex seizures (not losing consciousness). In my 30's, I wanted to know the cause. So I talked with my doctor and had an MRI, which showed I had a scar on my brain - they feel it was from birth (I was born breech - butt first:). At least I had a reason.

Here are my suggestions:
1. Get your doctor to do an MRI - the one with dye shows more than w/o.

2. Do some research on the Ketogenic Diet (I think I spelled it correctly). There has been lots of luck with this diet with children.

3. Hopefully she doesn't have to be put on meds, or at least just temporarily. In the meantime, try some natural things - Lavender Essential Oil, Frankincense, Helichrysum, a blend called Valor (you can contact me for more info if you like). You can diffuse these in the air and she can simply breathe them (it won't hurt anyone else, either:).

I wish you luck and pray you find a solution. As I said, 2 years ago I began having full seizures infrequently. When she's old enough to understand, ask her if she 'feels anything' before it happens. Many people feel an 'aura' - like a switch goes off a few seconds before the actual episode.

Blessings,

B.

Hi C.,

Have you done your own research on Breath Holding Spells? I did after my son had his first at about 8 or 9 months old. His first one was sort of surreal - he was playing in the living room and I was in the kitchen cleaning. I heard him cry, turned around to see him on the floor having what looked like a seizure. It paralyzed me - I couldn't comprehend what I was watching and by the time I did it was over and he was back playing like nothing had happened. I check his pupil's for responsiveness, his pulse and breathe sounds and everything was normal so I didn't think anything of it. We did talk to the pediatrician about it at his next appt and he said that what I described sounded like breath holding spells. The kids' pediatrician was also mine, and my dad's so they know me really well. He asked if I had done any research on them and I said I hadn't because I figured it was a phase. He said I was right - it can be a phase but there are some things to look for.

So I did my own research and here's what I found (Oh, and BTW my son is now 3 1/2 and he stills has them on occassion - usually when he's overly tired AND hurst himself):

1) Breathe holding spells are more common in boys than girls

2) It can be genetic - since it can I started asking family and found out that both my parents had breath holding spells when they were toddlers

3) usually onsets around 8-10 months of age and then the kids tend to "outgrow" it by the time they are 5-7 yrs of age. Most studies said that the majority of children will outgrow it around the age of 3 but the average if ages 5-7yrs.

4) It is a reflex at first but can become a learned response - meaning if they learn that we as parents will coddle them and make a big deal out of the spells the child can learn to use this normally natural reflex as a "tool" to get a response from us.

5) In some cases it can mean a serious genetic disorder. They typically do not start testing for this unless the spells started prior to 6 or 7 months of age or last beyond 7 yrs of age.

I highly suggest researching it so you can get a feel for what all the studies say. Between the studies and my son's personality we learned that he has "triggers" for his spells. If he hurts himself he'll have one and they are usually worse when he's tired AND then hurts himself. So with him we really make sure he takes his naps. He's 3 1/2 yrs old now and he doesn't have them as often as he use to. Sometimes we'll go months without having one which is nice since there was a period of time it seemed like he had one or two a day (this only happened during growth spurts... he's 3 1/2 ft tall and weighs 52lbs - dad's 6'3" - so he's a big boy for his age).

So things we've done:
- noticed a pattern and did what we could to change that pattern

- not reacted to them. We make sure he's on a soft surface and can't injure himself and just let him have his spell. It normally takes him a few minutes to be coherent again so we just leave him where he's at until he's more coherent and acting normal again THEN we hold him and take care of what hurts.

- we tell him that spells are not necessary that he has to learn to settle down when something hurts or he's tired.

So I hope some of this is helpful to you. Definitely talk to your pediatrician about it and do your own research so you know what you're dealing with. I did my own so I had it all to hand to give to family when they looked at me like I was crazy or unconcerned when he had one. They scare people - hell - my son has had a couple that scared me.

Good luck!
A.
____@____.com

Check out the Parents Helping Parents (San Jose) website: www.php.com

Under support, select "seizure support network" and you will find info on the diet someone else mentioned and other useful info.

(408) 727 - 5775

C.,
If she did have a siezure no matter what kind repeated siezures can cause brain damage that will effect her quality of life later. Please get them under control asap as it will eventually effect your life too. I would also call a neurlogical office and ask what the signs and symptoms are prior to having a siezure. There are many types of them. I have ones that have no warning and they consume my whole body as well as my mind. I also sleep for hours afterwords with no ability to wake up.
W. M.

You might want to do more research or get a second opinion. The vasovagal syncope community is full of people told they had X, and it turns out they had Y. For example, I was labeled epilepsy, but after I came across this site via work
http://www.stars.org.uk/
so I asked my neurologist how they had ruled something like this out. Uhhh.... turns out my first neurologist had skipped those tests! When I finally had them done they changed everything.

I only mention this because on a couple of the case studies, I remember parents thinking the kids were holding their breath, but it turned out to be something the kids couldn't control.

Generally I like the uk site better, but it could have been on the US
http://www.stars-us.org/
like this child
http://www.stars-us.org/case-studies/stories/landons-stor...