breath holding

Chloe47

My 6 month old sometimes holds his breath until he passes out, our gp told us this occassionally happens with u oung children and he will grow out of it. My question is for parents who have experienced this how did or do you cope?

Gee_G

Chloe47 wrote: »

My 6 month old sometimes holds his breath until he passes out, our gp told us this occassionally happens with u oung children and he will grow out of it. My question is for parents who have experienced this how did or do you cope?

My little boy used to hold his breath and I was always afraid of him passing out but he never did.
I was told by a few people that it happened to(now I don't know if this is right, I'm just repeating what I was told) to splash a bit of water in their face when they start holding their breath and it gives them a shock and they normally stop.

Chloe47

Thanks the doc wants us to just hold him and try settle him when it happens. It apparently doesnt harm him but its happened twice now and I just end up a mess after it.. did it take long for your little one to grow out of it?

Gee_G

Chloe47 wrote: »

Thanks the doc wants us to just hold him and try settle him when it happens. It apparently doesnt harm him but its happened twice now and I just end up a mess after it.. did it take long for your little one to grow out of it?

No. A few weeks, when he forgot about it really.it was more of a temper thing with him, not sure if its the same with your little man.I wouldn't blame you, even though you know what's happening I'd say its awful.

Chloe47

He does it out of temper too, it used to be just holding his breath but the last few times hes holding it until he passes out I hope he forgets about it soon too

moonshadow

A six month old doesn't have a temper... Is this your first child?

Gee_G

Chloe47 wrote: »

He does it out of temper too, it used to be just holding his breath but the last few times hes holding it until he passes out I hope he forgets about it soon too

He will I'd say. My little boy is 17months now and they seem to pass through phases quite quickly Hope he doesn't give you any more frights

Chloe47

moonshadow wrote: »

A six month old doesn't have a temper... Is this your first child?

Maybe temper isnt the right word, frustration might be more accurate or maybe anger.. yea this is my first baba

Gee_G

Chloe47 wrote: »

Maybe temper isnt the right word, frustration might be more accurate or maybe anger.. yea this is my first baba

Yes maybe frustration is a better word to describe it but he also definitely had a little temper on him too ;)

galah

Our son used to do that, can't remember what age he was though, probably around the 6 months mark as well. We used to simply blow in his face to startle him into breathing again, worked for us. He grew out of it after a while.:rolleyes:

Best of luck!

bp

I used to do it (so I am told) from fright. But grew out of it. The doc just said it was a coping mechanism. Lasted a few months I think.

Tirna

Our DD did it from 3 months to 1 year and 1 week, she is now 28 months and it hasn't happened since. The advice we were given (consultant pediatrician) was that once she was crying when it happened there was no problem and that it happens to lots of children and not to worry (easier said than done) that she would grow out of it.

It would happen when she was very upset, it was almost like she could not catch her breath and would go limp and blue. We used to take her outside to the air but she would come back around almost straight away. After a few times we would to be on our way outside before it even happened as you'd know by how upset she was that it was going to happen.

Chloe47

Thanks for the replys everyone and thanks for the advice ill try that

wdmfapq4zs83hv

Hi there, my little boy is 2.5 now & has done this since a baby. I cant remember the exact age it started but I would say maybe about 7/ 8 months. Google BHS (breath holding spells) and you will get a good bit of info. In particular if you search that on youtube you will see plenty of examples. Its apparently an involuntary reaction, usually to upset (like a tantrum) or sudden pain.

With our little boy this is exactly when it happens, if he gets very upset & has a tantrum or say if he stubs his toe. We had him at hospital so many times as a baby when this would happen as we were of course absolutely panicked. They did numerous tests, cardiology, neurology etc. Just to make sure there was nothing else going on like seizures. H;es healthy as an ox, unfortunately this is something we have just had to learn to live with. When it happens, I will grab him up & blow very hard in his face. Sometimes will take a few times but I always manage to get him breathing again. It is scary though as he will go completely limp, his face goes blue & he has even started to shake a little (like a little seizure) To be honest we would panick when it would happen but since I did the research on BHS I feel a lot better about it all & am usually very calm. They usually grow out of it by age 5. Its not a nice experience but if you can assure yourself that he will be fine it helps.

Big Bag of Chips

I don't know if it's relevant but my sister did it for years! I remember her still passing out when she around 6 or 7 (maybe even older?) It was usually when she was crying very hard over something - she would pass out for a few seconds. It sort of became "normal" for us to see her pass out

She's now 34 and fine, by the way.

Chloe47

Thanks for your replies im alot mpre relaxed about it now, if only I could convince my family hes ok I would be onto a winner lol

lang

Chloe47 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies im alot mpre relaxed about it now, if only I could convince my family hes ok I would be onto a winner lol

I used to go blue (holding breath) as a baby/young child and was normally due to laughing/crying too much. At the time my mam was told to put my head under cold water to 'shock' my breath back into me (Wouldn't recommend this at all now). Our 6 month old used to go blue around the lips when she was a newborn due to her crying. We were at a regular PHN check early on and were advised by her (and our GP) to go get it checked in the Hospital as could be something to do with heart... luckily everything was fine and she grew out of it pretty quick.

When she used to do it we would just blow gently into her face and this would make her take a breath. She's grown out of it now so all good.

Personally, I'd be concerned if she was actually passing out from the lack of breath but that's just me being overly worried I'd say.