{"id":55183,"date":"2020-02-14T08:58:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T08:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.babyhealthandcare.com\/breath-holding-spells-why-some-toddlers-turn-blue-and-pass-out\/"},"modified":"2020-02-14T08:58:02","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T08:58:02","slug":"breath-holding-spells-why-some-toddlers-turn-blue-and-pass-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.babyhealthandcare.com\/de\/breath-holding-spells-why-some-toddlers-turn-blue-and-pass-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Breath-holding spells: Why some toddlers turn blue and pass out"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Photo: Stocksy United <\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Jessica Farber was picking up her son from daycare<\/strong> the first time he held his breath to the point of losing consciousness. When she went to put on Theo\u2019s jacket, the 15-month-old opened his mouth to protest. \u201cHe did one of those big, silent cries that usually ends when they catch their breath, but it never resolved,\u201d recalls Farber, now a mom of three. \u201cHe ended up contorting his body and going limp in my arms. He basically turned blue and passed out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The daycare director (who also happened to be Farber\u2019s mother) called 911.<\/strong> Meanwhile, Farber laid Theo down and was about to attempt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation<\/strong> when he suddenly started breathing again. The entire ordeal lasted only 60 seconds, but it had a lasting impact on the Toronto mom. \u201cIt was a shocking experience,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt like he was going to die.\u201d<\/p>

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Ten days later, it happened again. But this time, Theo\u2019s body jerked and his head tilted to the side repeatedly after he lost consciousness. It looked like he was having a seizure.<\/p>\n

In reality, in both cases, her son was having what\u2019s known as a breath-holding spell, a relatively common phenomenon that affects up to five percent of kids, usually infants and toddlers between the ages of six months and four years. \u201cIn my practice, there\u2019s probably not a single week that goes by without meeting parents who are concerned because this has happened, often in the bath or when the child was crying<\/strong> because a toy was taken from them,\u201d says Ran Goldman, a paediatrician and emergency physician at BC Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

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\nWhat is impetigo, and how serious is it for kids?<\/span>Even though breath-holding spells occur in one child in 20, doctors still don\u2019t know what causes them. They used to think it was attention-seeking behaviour, but it\u2019s now understood that the episodes are involuntary. A 2014 study from Turkey suggested that a delay in the development of the brain stem could be the culprit. \u201cWe think it might be a sign of immaturity of the brain to deal with stressors,\u201d says Julia Jacobs, director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Program at Alberta Children\u2019s Hospital. \u201cIt\u2019s kids who are more excitable than other kids, and they are less mature when it comes to regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most children experience cyanotic breath-holding episodes, which are triggered by excessive crying out <\/strong>of anger or frustration. Kids seem to run out of breath on the exhale, turn blue around the lips and then lose consciousness, usually for no longer than 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

Fewer children have a pallid breath-holding spell, brought on by a sudden scare or injury that causes their heart rate to slow and breathing to stop. These episodes look more like a fainting spell, with kids turning white before they pass out.<\/p>\n

When a child loses consciousness because of breath holding and their body convulses like Theo\u2019s did, parents often wonder about epilepsy<\/strong>. But the jerking that comes from breath holding is caused by a temporary lack of oxygen to the brain, not abnormal brain activity.<\/p>\n

If your child experiences involuntary breath holding, your healthcare provider will ask you to make note of the episodes\u2019 frequency and duration. If the spells are daily or if your child is losing consciousness for longer than 30 seconds, further testing may be needed. Jacobs recommends that all children who are experiencing episodes get an EKG, a non-invasive test that measures the heart\u2019s electrical activity.<\/p>\n

Breath holding has also been linked with iron-deficiency <\/strong>anemia. Some doctors recommend treatment using iron supplements, which has been shown to reduce the frequency of spells.<\/p>\n

Once parents understand what\u2019s happening\u2014and that their child will always start breathing again\u2014it\u2019s easier to stay calm during an episode. Focus on protecting your kid\u2019s head and limbs from hitting anything if they lose consciousness. In most cases, kids carry on with their day afterwards, but might continue crying or need a nap.<\/p>\n

If you catch a spell early, there\u2019s also a trick you can try to get them breathing right away. \u201cWhat the parent needs to do is to blow on the child\u2019s face abruptly and immediately, and to do that with all the force that they can get from their lungs,\u201d says Goldman. This normally stops the spell, he says. Farber used this technique, among others, on Theo, and says it was always effective.<\/p>\n

Now six years old, Theo has gone two years since his last breath-holding spell. He\u2019s a happy, healthy kid who has no memory of his breath holding. And his mom is feeling calm about it, too, because she\u2019s learned there shouldn\u2019t be any long-term effects. \u201cWe know for sure the [spells] are relatively innocent,\u201d confirms Goldman. \u201cThey do not cause any brain damage or long-term consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more:
<\/strong>What to know about febrile seizures<\/strong>
The difference between a tantrum and a meltdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

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