Sorry this isnt in toddler but cud do with an answer. Dunno how many of you remember me talking about C having a head injury in france when she fell off the sofa and hit her head on the tiles then got in such a tizz she held her breath until she passed out

Well shes had a couple of episodes of breath holding again since though nothing as serious and shes snapped out of it quick. Today though she did a full blown meltdown.

Ive mentioned she isnt well and was feeling hot so i tried putting a thermometer in her ear but she was wriggling and fighting so i figured would be easier to use my work underarm one. Boy was i ever wrong. She went into full on ab dab fit of temper and then held her breath. I jiggled her but she kept doing it and then started to go a bit grey so i blew really hard in her face and it seemed to jolt her out of it and she started crying. I cuddled her and kissed her for 5 mins then took her in the kitchen to help me load the dishwasher to take her mind off of it. She was ok all afternoon aside from being grouchy but no more than she has been all week with feeling poorly.

Does anyone else have experience of this cos its *$%£ scary stuff. Im not sure shes even holding it on purpose as she looked as frightened as me today it was almost like she had gotten herself in such a state she couldnt even get a breath in rather than holding it out of temper. All over a sodding thermometer. Looks like i wont be using that again. I have a forehead one but it doesnt read accurately and i have an ear one which she fights me on but i guess will just have to persevere with that if i need to take a temp but would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced this as its a bloody frightening experience and i hope she outgrows it really soon. Doesnt help she has a cracking temper and sometimes its odd to know what will set it off.

Blimey Mario, that sounds really scary. I've got no experience but didn't want to just read and run xx

Dont have any experience, but would say just blow in her face to catch her out of it tis horrible seeing them do that...perhaps ask HV next clinic, see if they have a method of stopping her.. my older 2 have always had a problem with taking meds and temps.. I had to lock them between my knees and hold their head still.. looked torturess (sp) but got meds into them
Wish her better though poor chicken xx

Thankfully Libby has never done this, but I've just googled and came up with this, don't know if it helps?

Toddlers who hold their breath
Even though a child may learn to play by the rules, until they are at least three years old, they cannot begin to truly understand cause and effect. Therefore, when they break the rules or boundaries we set them, they are often baffled by the reaction they get from cross parents.
Breath-holding is their way of trying to claw back some control, or at least some room to negotiate.
The first time a child holds their breath (for what seems a terrifying duration for the parent), is usually during a raging bout of uncontrollable anger or frustration. They may forget to breathe in during a flood of tears, and suddenly they notice their are holding their breath.
If the child then continues to hold their breath, it is possible that their lips and skin turn pale or blue. At this point, they may faint, which is the body's way of recovering on autopilot. It looks worse than it is, because a child who has passed out will then start to breathe again.
Holding their breath like this cannot harm your child because the body will not allow him or her to stop breathing long enough to do any serious damage (just as we couldn't ourselves, under normal conditions).
It is hard to switch off your own emotions when a child reacts in such a way. However, it is important for you to be on guard where possible. If an episode like this gets a shocked reaction the first time it happens (and why wouldn't it, from any worried adult?), the toddler will use it as a way of ending future confrontations and as a route to getting his or her own way.
Discuss your reactions with your partner so that you can be prepared for other incidents and be united in how you deal with them. There is no need to make the breath-holding incidents another issue to argue about with your child, but be firm and stick to your guns over the initial cause for disgareement, then your child will know that the hassle of holding his or her breath isn't going to win them battles.

Hope she stops it soon - must be bloody awful seeing it

Slightly off topic but my OH does this when he has to have bloods taken to the point where he has to be sedated to have bloods done. I would say with C that the control thing is highly likely so she intends to do it but then gets so far and can't stop so that scares her. The risk is that she starts to do it for attention because after each episode she is so upset that you need to cuddle her and give loads of affection. As harsh and as hard as it is you probably need to minimise your reaction and just deal with the physical aspects (getting her breathing again) and ignore the behaviour itself until she stops doing it. I don't envy you hun and I am here if you want to talk about it.

That sounds awful, it's a tricky one because your probably best ignoring it but I don'tknow how you possibly could! xx

Not exactly the same but when Caitlin was teeny (0-3mths) and had the milk allergy symptoms she would scream and cry to the point she would stop breathing a few nights a week. The HV told me just to blow in her face, its all that you can do at that moment. Strangely it works bloody well though! Caitlin definitley wasnt doing it on purpose, she was crying because she was sore and then got caught in a cycle of screams with no time for air. I doubt C is doing it on purpose either, but perhaps watch incase it does become a habit eg She screams, holds her breath, you panic & then give her hugs & play might teach her to do it for attention (though I know if Caitlin scares the shit outta me my first reaction is to hug/kiss so its tough...)

HV also said that if she ever did cry so hard she passed out she would probably come round again quite quick, as susan said its the bodys way of shutting down and rebooting so to speak.

Hope its just an odd occurance that she soon grows out of. I think you are doing all you can at the moment. x


Ha- I just had to edit this as I called Susan Libby ... Flip Libbys getting clever dishing out advice

my youngest brother usued to do this through temper and a freind son does this.. .. it can be a form of epilepsy.. through them not controling there temper but very rare... i used to hold my breath (as a child ) through sheer frustration and anger..and when it happend its very hard to stop .. the blowing in mouth is a goodone xxx

not saying c has epilepsy or frightning you jus what i have been told x

GillandWil wrote:

Slightly off topic but my OH does this when he has to have bloods taken to the point where he has to be sedated to have bloods done. I would say with C that the control thing is highly likely so she intends to do it but then gets so far and can't stop so that scares her. The risk is that she starts to do it for attention because after each episode she is so upset that you need to cuddle her and give loads of affection. As harsh and as hard as it is you probably need to minimise your reaction and just deal with the physical aspects (getting her breathing again) and ignore the behaviour itself until she stops doing it. I don't envy you hun and I am here if you want to talk about it.

Unfortunately its a difficult one as the 3 times she has done it its been a fear reaction - in france she had hit her head, the 2nd time she slipped in the bath and yesterday the thermometer frightened her so i understand the advice but its hard to find a balance between not giving in to a behaviour and calming her fear. I honestly dont think its a conscious thing, whether she would use it as such in the future i dont know but right now i dont think she means to do it, i saw the terror on her face yesterday and it was really distressing. Shes fought me on stuff at other times and had paddies without doing it, today i had to check her temp again and she didnt do it just yelled at me a lot while it was being done so its not always when she loses her temper. As it was once id cuddled her we went to load the dishwasher so it was distraction i used anyway. Most of the stuff ive read says mention it to gp so might mention it later. Only once a month so far at least, ive read some kids do it every day.

Lilly has always done this, until the point were she passes out! i remember posting in a panic on ab when she was a few months old .

You did well to blow in her face its scary but the worst case would for them to just faint, its so scary

Mentioned it to nurse at her appt today who said she thinks its prob worth mentioning to doc if she does it again just to have her checked over so will keep an eye out for now