Breath holding! PLEASE help me!

[Inyournewdress]

I am beside myself right now because of dd’s breath holding when upset, she looks so scared and goes purple/blue. Sometimes just seconds into being upset she does this and it’s multiple times a day. She looks about to pass out and we desperately try and blow on her face to get her to breath which sometimes works.

She is 16m and her sleep, eating, screen time, everything, are held to ransom by this because I have to try and stop her getting upset.

I will post some more details later, but I just needed to ask if anyone has any ways of reducing this or making them take a breath. It’s a nightmare.

I am getting a referral for her to go to a paediatrician for a general check up and blood test for iron deficiency etc.

sorry, just so stressed and drained by this, she is ill right now and it has made it worse

Hello, my son used to do this at around 18months. It was a short phase and he stopped doing it after a few weeks. We tried really hard to distract him while he was doing it but it was really scary so can definitely sympathise.

Thanks Milky it is traumatic isn’t it, but so glad it resolved for you

My LO has done this since he was about 1, the first time he did it he passed out abd I thought he’d died! It’s so traumatic. He’s 28 months now and it’s less frequent and blowing in his face usually stops him from getting to the point where he passes out. I’ve worked really hard on trying not to just give into his demands for fear of breath holding as I can tell it’s effecting his behaviour (though this may not be the case for your little one). Providing he is not eating (fear he’s going to choke is a problem) I generally just hold him so he can’t bang his head and let him tantrum even though I know what’s coming - seems better than constant placating 😬. My doctor said it’s just a reflex some children don’t develop until they are older and not to be too concerned - I feel your pain though!

@Arya89 I am so sorry you’re dealing with this too, that first time sounds horrendous. I totally understand about the placating, and I think I have to try and work towards doing what you are doing. Very good point about the eating.

Its so hard! Thank you for sharing your experience and advice, it helps x