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- Knowledgebase: Behavioral, Developmental, and Emotional Problems
- Questions about behavioral and emotional problems, Autism, developmental delays.
- 6. My child holds his breath when he is crying or mad - Top
- Q: My child holds his breath when he is crying or mad and it scares me; what should I do?
A: Some children have breath-holding spells with crying or when they are mad or upset. It can start as early as a few months of age and can last several years. It generally does not last into school age. These are not dangerous, even though the children can hold it long enough to turn blue and pass out. If they do pass out, their involuntary breathing mechanism will set in and they will breathe and their color will return to normal. However any first time breath-holding episode should be evaluated by a physician to ascertain whether something else is going on, such as seizures, cardiac arrhythmia, etc. Once it is determined to be only simple breath-holding spells, your physician will advise you on how to handle them. Some children will learn to use breath-holding spells as a manipulative tool or a way to gain attention. If this is occurring, these episodes should be ignored (knowing that they are harmless) so the secondary gain the child receives for this behavior is eliminated and eventually the child will stop having breath-holding spells.
- Updated: March 24, 2001
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- Knowledgebase: Behavioral, Developmental, and Emotional Problems
James L Horwitz, MD
David C. Thomas, MD
Barbara Lindberg, PNP