Scary - 9 month old ds passed out after banging his head.

[Wallace]

He was pulling himself up and fell. He started to cry but then did a scary arching back, breath holding thing. Then went limp and starey eyed for a fraction of a second, then started to cry again.

It was scary until I remembered that dd used to do the same. He was fine shortly afterwards, crawling around and playing. I was a bit shaky though!

Anyone else's children do this? Dd hasn't done it for so long I had almost forgotten.

How is he now? I would ring OOH or NHS Direct for advice.

My DD used to do this but not following a fall, she did it in temper!

He is asleep now (in my arms)

I'm pretty sure he is fine, but will be checking on him in the night anyway. He sleeps in our bed so easy to keep an eye :)

When my DD does the holding breath and arching back thing I blow hard in her face and it makes her take a breath before it gets to passing out. I'd think that the passing out bit would probably be due to the breath holding but with a bang on the head I'd get it checked - think any injury to a child under 1 they tell you to go to a&e. Hope he is ok x

Thanks, I will cuddle him close tonight :)

You have my sympathy, DS1 did this for the 1st time aged 8mo and really scared us

He's now 3 and has done it in total probably 10 times, always in response to pain / shock e.g. trapped fingers, dropping something on his toe, banging his head.

When it 1st happened I took him to GP who was quite nonchalant and said it's breath holding in response to pain and that he'll grow out of it which I thought he had as hadn't done it for several months, until a few weeks ago when he banged his head on a door frame (was running through and was pushed by another child) and he had another episode.

It's really horrible to watch as it almost looks like a seizure.
I think he basically faints in response to the pain / shock and is usually a bit pale and clammy afterwards but fully recovered after 20 mins or so.

I have read that you should put them in the recovery position but must admit we usually pick him up and hold him until he comes round (always within 10-15 secs although feels like an eternity).

I warned nursery about it when he started there aged 14 months and they have experienced it before with other children and thankfully he's never done it there.

Can you remember at what age your DD 'grew out' of it?

What a shock, it's scary isn't it? This is breath holding spells. Some children are prone to it. It is often a reaction to shock but can also happen like a tantrum when they get frustrated or angry at not getting their own way.

You can try blowing in his face when he starts which apparently can cause them to start breathing again (or maybe this is just a displacement activity for adults). If your DS has one again, hold him when you see him starting, try to soothe and calm him, be prepared for the passing out, they come round straight away and give him plenty of cuddles afterwards as they can be quite scared. They usually wet themselves when this happens too so if not in nappies, watch out!

It's best to speak to HV or GP about it just to make sure they are satisfied it isn't anything more serious. My HV wasn't familiar with it and referred to the GP (or was it the otherway around) who also wasn't familiar. They referred us to Childrens and Family Mental Health Services but I said I was happy not to take it further. HV recommended avoiding 'flash points' but I pointed out that they most often happened as a reaction to not wanting a nappy change or teeth brushing and I wasn't going to avoid those! Tried to work round it to make the nappy change and teeth brushing a bit easier. They also happened more when he was tired, hence teeth brushing at bedtime being an issue. First one happened about 10 months as a reaction to jamming his finger in the shower door. Last one happened when my DS was about 3 and a half. Think they are expected to grow out of it by 4 or 5.

Warn anyone taking care of your DS and let them know what to do otherwise they could get in a panic.

Hope he's ok Wallace DTD1 keeps pulling herself us in the cot (whilst wearing a sleeping bag!) and then headbutting the bars when falling I've read that you shouldn't have cot bumpers but am really nervous about her hurting herself. Bloody scary!

DD did this, it is scary, blowing on face will get him to take a breath.

My son does this . It's called a Reflex Anoxic Seizure . Most common after a bang to the head. But he has done it after many falls. Not just to his head.
He was doing it about once a month, then every few weeks then more regularly. His latest one was just under 3 weeks ago.

His first one happened when he was about 11m. He's 22m now. And will supposedly grow out of it by his 3rd birthday.

He's seen a few gps , been referred to a consultant at the hosp and had an ECG scan. He is generally well in himself we just have to watch out for episodes .

When it first happened he just used to go floppy with eyes half open but now he goes floppy but also then arches his back and goes stiff. His eyes are sometimes shut. His jaw makes a clicking sound and sometimes locks too . He goes grey and his lips go blue. It's very scary. My Dh can't cope with it very well, luckily I don't get upset until he's come round.
They have started to last longer from him being unconscious for just under 10 secs to now a few mins. Sometimes he's cuddly after and sometimes he's fine.
While it's happening we have been told to lie him on his left hand side and gently talk to him as he can possibly hear us , even though he is unconscious

Hth

And blowing on him and splashing him with water didn't help prevent the faint.

This doesn't stop dd , ds1 or Dh throwing cups of water on him and blowing madly at him each time .

LaVita Jojo maman bebe sell bumper pads that wrap around 2 cot bars so they are protected anywhere you want them if you would feel more comfortable with that rather than a traditional cot bumper - I have no idea how to post a link or I would!!

Thanks all :)

He was normal in the night (which means several feeds!)

I think dd grew out of it when she was about 4. She used to go quite blue around her lips too. My sister used do it as well. She did it with temper too, secondcoming.

I will try blowing next time. Now I have remembered what dd used to do I will be able to see it coming.

Thanks again, always helps to hear others' stories. :)

It is a response to pain/shock, quite normal but see GP if concerned. The main time you have to worry if he passes out is not immediately after the head injury but some time later.

Thanks. He has done it a few times since, but blowing in his face seems to work and stop the faint :)