Breath-holding is when a baby or child stops breathing for up to 1 minute and may faint. It can happen when a child is frightened, upset, angry, or has a sudden shock or pain. It's usually harmless but can be scary for parents, particularly when it happens for the first time.
During breath-holding, your child may:
Your child may be sleepy or confused for a while afterwards.
Although breath-holding can be scary for parents, it's usually harmless and your child should grow out of it by the age of 4 or 5.
Breath-holding episodes:
Your child is not doing it on purpose and cannot control what happens when they have a breath-holding episode.
There's no specific treatment for breath-holding. It should eventually stop by the time your child is 4 or 5 years old.
Medicines are rarely used to treat breath-holding.
Breath-holding is sometimes related to iron deficiency anaemia.
Your child's blood iron levels may be checked. They may need iron supplements if their iron levels are low.
Breath-holding is usually triggered by a sudden shock or pain, or strong emotions like fear, upset or anger.
There are 2 types of breath-holding:
This is the most common type of breath-holding and happens when a child's breathing pattern changes.
This type of breath-holding happens when a child's heart rate slows down.
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