Baby holding breath?

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Does anyone else's baby do this? My baby is 10 months old and for the third time now has cried so hard that she struggles to catch her breath and her eyes roll as though she's going to pass out.

The first time it happened was in November she got a fright and cried so hard that she struggled to catch her breath. She had bronchiolitis at the time so I put it down to that.

It happened again last week while I was feeding her she started crying then the crying just gets harder and harder until she's silent, her head and eyes rolled back and her body went stiff. I took her straight to the doctor who wasn't too concerned and mentioned "breath holding syndrome". He made a referral to paediatrics to be on the safe side but insisted he wasn't concerned.

Now she's just done it again. This time her eyes didn't roll but she goes silent and stiff. I phoned the doctors surgery and they said the referral has just been submitted today as it was seen as non urgent. I've to call back on Tuesday morning when they reopen to speak with the doctor again.

These episodes last probably about 10 seconds if that but at the time it feels longer. When it happens I panic and quickly pick her up which probably makes her worse but when it happens I can't think straight. She just goes back to her normal self after and I have no other countries concerns about her health. The fact it's happened twice now in the space of a week is really frightening me. I know some toddlers will hold their breath during a tantrum which the doctor kept mentioning but this is completely different. For a start she's too young to do it deliberately and I can see for myself that it's how hard she's crying that causes her to do it. Its making me scared for her to cry in case it happens again.

I don't know where that countries came from. Sorry for the length of the post just wanted to make sure I put all the details in.

Try blowing in her face when she holds her breath. It stimulates a breathing reflex

Knittingmama thank you I will try and remember that for next time. It just always happens so quickly and I get myself into a panic I don't have time to think rationally. I pick her up and shout her name and hit her back to try to bring her round but I imagine this does not favours and makes her even worse.

One of my twins randomly holds his breath when concentrating on something - he holds it for quite a long time, then starts panting and gasping, then does it again. Over and over. Happens every few days. Doctors don’t seem concerned but it freaks me out.

I used to look after a child who did this, quite scary!
I cuddles and blew at her hard. And cuddles after but tried not to make it a big deal as it wasn't clear if she was doing it on purpose.

Is baby actually holding her breath then blow in the face.
I had a condition as a child where the vagus nerve becomes over stimulated with pain/emotion which would cause me to become unconcious. It started when I was 6 months old when I was stabbed by a nappy pin. Try and take note of what you are seeing and try and video it if possible. Most likely just holding breath!

Tammy every few days I hope she doesn't get this bad it's really scares me I couldn't cope with it happening this often. How old is he? What do you do when it happens?

fuzzy I will have to remember the blowing thing. I cuddle her afterwards but she just doesn't seem fazed by it all.

I'm just scared that she's going to stop breathing, pass out or take a fit. Hopefully the hospital appointment comes through soon I'm worrying in case there's a problem.

ArnoldBee thanks for that information I'm going to look this up because it sounds like what she does. Sounds really scary though . The doctor mentioned to me about videoing it but i don't see me being able to do this due to my panicking.

I've just had a quick Google and NHS website suggests reflex anoxic seizure which mentions the vagus nerve. It sounds exactly like what my baby does except she goes bright red rather than "deathly pale". Also it says the episodes last less than a minute but hers last around 10 seconds.

I'm just going to have to keep a really close eye on her until the appointment and try not to let her get too upset which won't be easy

Ds did this ad a baby it is terrifying. Blowing in his face used to snap him out of it. And he grew out of it very quickly

We called 999 once. They were lovely and told me that if he ever does hold his breath for too long the breathing reflex will kick in before anything bad happens.

Yes it’s a thing, my daughter did it once when she was 5 months old and went to hospital in an ambulance! She was teething at the time. It’s a pain response. Apparently the worst that can happen is they will pass out, which snaps them out of it and brings normal breathing back. Bloody terrifying though! I can’t remember the proper name for it, otherwise I’d google it for you.

He’s 18 months old. He’s never gone unconscious or even close to it, but have filmed him when it happens - he holds his breath for 10-15 seconds, pants and catches his breath for 5-10 seconds then repeats, usually 4 or 5 times in a row. He has another health issue affecting his blood sugar, and I’ve wondered if it’s related but his doctors reckon it’s just something some kids do and he should grow out of it. I’d say it’s different in your situation since it sounds like it’s causing issues when it happens (maybe because she’s younger and smaller?) so I would definitely push for a more urgent referral. He also has enlarged adenoids but his ENT says this isn’t related.

My dd had RAS, from about 10 months to 3.5 years. Most babies grow out of it.
It can be alarming to see but it is short lived.
I think you'll find gp will do very little as the tests to co firm the diagnosis are quite arduous.

It scared the living daylights out of my mum but I was always fine. The main issue was people telling me what I couldn't do! My mum.was advised just to leave me to see what would happen.

Thank you everyone for the replies reading them all has put my mind at rest a bit especially reading that the breathing reflex should kick in before anything bad happens. I'm going to try and hurry the referral along and will be asking about RAS as I think it might be this. I will definitely blow in her face the next time, would like to video it so I can show the doctor but really don't think I could stop to do this as it really scares me and I just want it over with. I really appreciate all the responses.

Just had another couple of screaming matches before bed she was crying pretty hard not sure if it was hard enough to make it happen again but I blew in her face straight away both times and it made her gasp so I feel reassured by this. No more shouting and back slapping