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.
Breath holding is common, especially in children aged six months to six years old. When your child holds their breath, it is often called a spell. Breath-holding spells can happen after your child has had a fright or a minor accident, or when they are scolded, frustrated or very upset.
Breath-holding spells usually are triggered by physically painful or emotionally upsetting events. Typical symptoms include paleness, stoppage of breathing, loss of consciousness, and seizures. Despite the dramatic nature of the symptoms, the spells are not dangerous.
A breath-holding spell will last only one or two minutes from beginning (crying or sobbing) to end (waking from unconsciousness), although they often seem longer to parents who observe them.
Breath-holding spells affect 0.1 to 4.6% of otherwise healthy infants and young children from six months to five years of age [4-6]. The onset is usually between 6 and 18 months of age, and is almost always before two years of age [1, 6-8].
Cyanotic breath-holding spells are usually caused by anger or frustration. If the child's face turns white, it's called pallid breath-holding spell. The child may cry a little bit or not at all before having the spell. Pallid breath-holding spells are usually caused by the child being startled or in pain.
Several studies suggest that there may be an association between iron deficiency anemia and breath holding spells and iron supplementation can decrease the frequency of breath holding spells frequency, with a starting dose of 4 to 6 mg/kg/day.
No. Children with breath-holding spells do not have epilepsy. As breath-holding spells may look like epileptic seizures, the 2 are often confused. Breath-holding spells happen after your child has been frustrated, startled or hurt.
Doing so for too much longer can decrease oxygen flow to the brain, causing fainting, seizures and brain damage. In the heart, a lack of oxygen can cause abnormalities of rhythm and affect the pumping action of the heart.
Temper tantrums are almost inevitable during the second through fourth years after birth and can be considered a developmentally normal behavior. Breath-holding spells can be cyanotic (usually a response to anger or frustration) or pallid (more often from fear or minor injury).
There are 2 known types of breath-holding spells. The most common (85%)5 is a cyanotic breath-holding spell, which occurs when facial cyanosis is noticed after the child stops breathing. A pallid breath-holding spell is associated with a sudden scare to the child, and he or she becomes extremely pale during the spell.
They are most common from 1 to 3 years of age. Some children have them every day, and some have them only once in a while. Breath-holding spells are usually not serious and don't cause lasting damage. With time, they go away on their own.
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.
Breath-holding test is a reliable and safe method for assessing the sensitivity of peripheral chemoreflex to carbon dioxide in patients with chronic heart failure.
The longest instance of someone holding their breath without inhaling pure oxygen beforehand is 11 minutes and 34 seconds. However, most people can only safely hold their breath for 1 to 2 minutes.
In general, breath-holding spells cause a child to faint. A spell may sometimes cause the muscles to twitch or the body to stiffen. Your child will wake up on his or her own and start to breathe again normally. Call 911 or emergency care right away if your child does not start breathing within 1 minute.
Triggers can differ from person to person, but common triggers include tiredness and lack of sleep, stress, alcohol, and not taking medication. For some people, if they know what triggers their seizures, they may be able to avoid these triggers and so lessen the chances of having a seizure.
After five to ten minutes of not breathing, you are likely to develop serious and possibly irreversible brain damage. The one exception is when a younger person stops breathing and also becomes very cold at the same time. This can occur when a child is suddenly plunged into very cold water and drowns.
A body of breathlessness research using functional neuroimaging has identified a relatively consistent set of brain areas that are associated with breathlessness. These areas include the insula, cingulate and sensory cortices, the amygdala and the periaqueductal gray matter.
Aura (Late Warning Signs)
People with partial seizures may experience the following signs seconds or minutes before the actual seizure: Unusual smells, tastes, sounds, or sensations. Nausea. A Déjà vu feeling (you feel like you are experiencing something that has occurred before)
Stimulants such as tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, sweets, soft drinks, excess salt, spices and animal proteins may trigger seizures by suddenly changing the body's metabolism. Some parents have reported that allergic reactions to certain foods (e.g. white flour) also seem to trigger seizures in their children.