Breath Holding Spells - Longmont, CO

My daughter would do the same thing. It would happen when she was throwing a tantrum, but once they pass out, they start breathing again. She grew out of it eventually

My son did this a few times when he was about thirteen months old. Usually it happened when he was super tired and was crying really hard, or if he got hurt somehow. However, my pediatrician told me that some kids learn this behavior as a way of getting what they want. My two year old niece does this and her parents play right into it. Whenever your two year old does this just lay him/her down on their back on the floor so they won't get hurt falling. You can usually tell if they are doing it on purpose, throwing a temper tantrum. If this is the case you cannot give in to them, because they will learn that this will get them what they want.

I feel for you!!!!!! My oldest did that all the time! My doctor told me that it's normal. He also told me that he used to say that to mom's with no sympathy, thinking that mom's just overreact. Then he had a child pass out in his office. He told me he now has a lot more sympathy for anyone with a child that holds their breath, but it is still normal. My daughter is now 5 and it's been about 7 months since her last episode. I noticed that she would usually hold her breath if she got her feelings hurt. I would try to convince her to breathe, but most of the time it didn't work. The best thing I found for her was to gently lay her flat and put her arms above her head. It never took longer than 20 seconds for her to come around again. It's good to remember that they are breathing when they pass out, so it's just the body doing what it's supposed to. They do grow out of it! Hang in there!

Go to pediacast.com or dot org and type in holding breath. This is a pediatrician-run podcast.

Hi T.,
I recently posted a question very much like this and was surprised at the number of responses that I received. My son began doing this at 10 months and it scared me to death. It did not take him long to realize that it scared me to death and so he did it on purpose a few times just for my reaction. After my post I was armed with Mom knowledge and a spray bottle. When he does this now we first try to ignore, then blow in his face, and then, if all else fails, a blast of water in the face. It only took the water bottle once to make hime realize we weren't messing around. He still has an occasional episode but they are few and far between and usually when he is VERY tired. I spoke with our GP and he said that we were taking the appopriate action and that it was a phase which would pass with time. Good Luck with your breath holder!

My Daughter who is 28 months has been doing this since she was born. The first time is terrifying but my doctor told me she would grow out of it. She did pass out a lot more when she was younger, I think in the past 4 months she has only passed out one time. The only time she holds her breath is when she is really mad. I know she is going to pass out when her mouth starts turning purple, then I just calmly talk to her and tell her to take a breath or I blow into her mouth which usually makes her take a breath and she doesn't pass out. I am hoping she grows out of it fast. Scares the daylights out of me. Good luck with it.

Although I don't have experience with this issue, a friend's son that did this when he was much younger, he is now 10+, she would keep a spray bottle loaded with just plain water and mist his face lightly when he did it. The cold water got him to breathe again.

You might also want to check out this post and ask this Mama how it went as she was in the same boat not too long ago! www.mamasource.com/request/15618999964955377665

Good luck to you!

we finally had to start getting after our son for it. No holding and comforting. When he starts we count to three and on three we spray him in the face with water... sometimes soaking him. I know it sounds mean, but it works and it is much better than him turning blue and passing out falling to the floor. Good luck. Our son is 2 1/2 and seldom does it any more and what he does do is stopped by the threat of water LOL!!
HTH,
S.

My son used to do this all the time. Just make sure he is on a hard surface and don't make too much of a big deal out of it and it should go away.

My son began this a month after birth. I tried the spray bottle and would NEVER use that again. It only made it worse. He eventually out grew it. I took him to heart and neurology Drs to no avail. He did it any time. Some triggers were lots of people. Didn't matter if he knew them and that wasn't even the only trigger. In the car driving in his carseat he would have an episode. No one would babysit. It is VERY hard to understand the trauma that the parent goes through. My son did have one seizure from it, a grand mal. I raced him to the hospital. I found the best response was NOT to freak everytime but just hold him. Let him go through it. Kiss him, lay him down when done and let him rest or nap. Kinda hard to do this when buying groceries or being pulled over by a cop But we moms persevere! :) I always prayed no one would call the cops when he did it in public. In my son it was not something he controlled. Like the mom said he would do it on purpose. This was an uncontrolled response and he would literally turn blue his back would arch backward until his feet touched the back of his head and then nature would kick in and he would pass out and the breathe again. SCARY. If this is what is happening water does NOT help! Contact me if you would like to talk. P.s. my son is now 16 and loves people and is fine. Just a little onery! :)

My girlfriends daughter does this and the first time she did it we were scared to death. We had no idea that it could happen. It was the scariest thing to watch. They took her to the hospital and said that it's normal. She was told to lay her on the ground and walk away. My friend blows in her face to get her breathing when she starts going into holding her breath and most of the time it works. The last time she held her breath she went into a seizure, which lasted like 5 mins or more. Again she took her daughter to the hospital to be told that its rare but it can happen and last upto 10 mins. Also once they have done it once they will most likely do it again. The more attention you give it the more they will do it. Now that I know that its normal I don't pay attention to it. I suggest just making sure that they can't hurt themselves and walk away and let them pass out. My friends daughter quickly recovers from her spells now and is fine if she has them.
Good Luck, I know that its hard to watch but that's why its best to walk away.

T.,

My 16 month old daughter does the same thing and it freaks me out. Whenever anyone sees her do it for the first time, they panic. Her daddy absolutely hates it! She will get so mad and start crying and hold her breath until she turns blue. I usually blow in her face to get her to take a breath. My 5 year old son will actually run to her and roll her over and breathe on her when she's doing it! My mother in law told me on of hers did that, and she would blow in his face or throw water on him. I have never thrown water on her, I heard it doesn't work well or let her pass out though, that would just break my heart! Good luck

V.

This is very common - esp for that age. Blow on your child's face to help snap them out of it. Catch them if they faint or spasm. Don't try to move the child, just make sure the child isn't hurt by falling or flailing into something.

Is it associated with a head trauma? Take note of specific times your child has a breath holding spell. What happened just before? Just after? Talk to your pediatrician about it.

The body's natural defense against breath holding is blacking out. Then they start breathing naturally again.