A breath holding spell is when a child holds their breath, usually after being angry, frustrated, startled, or in pain. Sometimes the breath holding leads to the child passing out. It can be frightening to watch a breath-holding spell, but they aren’t harmful and usually last less than a minute.
What helps a holding breath spell?
What should you do when your child has a breath-holding spell? To protect your child during a spell, lay your child on the floor and keep his or her arms, legs, and head from hitting anything hard or sharp. Your child may stop breathing for up to 1 minute (60 seconds) during a spell.
Can breath holding spells cause death?
Serious complications of breath holding spells are rare, but cases of sudden death, prolonged asystole, and status epilepticus have been reported. A detailed history and exam are important to diagnose theses spells and help distinguish from epileptic seizures and other causes of syncope.
Are breath-holding spells seizures?
Breath holding spells are a common and dramatic form of syncope and anoxic seizure in infancy. They are usually triggered by an emotional stimuli or minor trauma.
How common is breath-holding spells?
Up to 5% of children experience breath-holding spells. They can occur as early as 6 months and may continue until a child is 6 years old. The peak age for breath-holding spell is 2 years. Breath-holding spells are a reflex, that is the body’s automatic response to distress.
Can breath-holding spells cause brain damage?
Breath-holding spells are not dangerous. They do not lead to epilepsy or brain damage. Breath-holding spells usually begin when children are between 6 months and 2 years old.
What causes me to forget to breathe?
The interruption of your breathing may indicate a problem with your brain’s signaling. Your brain momentarily “forgets” to tell your muscles to breathe. Central sleep apnea isn’t the same as obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is the interruption of breathing due to blocked airways.
Do you ever just forget to breathe?
Our beautiful brain is sending out the right signals to our body so we don’t have to remember. This breathing process happens automatically that we actually do forget that we breathe. Most people do not breathe properly. Our breathing becomes shallow, only taking sips of breaths, whilst we are busy doing other things.
