I found this website because I was looking up information for my 15 month old daughter. She has a new habit of crying so hard if she gets hurt that she makes no noise and then passes out. I was pretty frieked out the first time it happened. Then she did it again a few weeks later. It happened again Monday. I called her pediatrician's office and the nurse said that this is common. I had never heard of it before. She goes for her 15 mos check up next week and I am going to try and get more info. Saturday she had a siezure that lasted about 5 seconds and then slept in my arms for about 15 minutes. We found that she had a fever. The on call MD said that as long as she returned to normal they couldn't do anything if it was a true febrile seizure. Am I over-reacting to normal things?? I want to make sure my daughter is not having any neuro damage. I am an LPN but not real knowledgeable about children since I worked in a LTC facility. Has anyone else out there experienced either of these issues before? She just had surgery the end of February to get tubes put in her ears. She was on ABT (antibiotic treatment) since Ocotber for ear infections and I am not very happy that she was on ABT for so long. Could that contribute to this?

Emma (one concerned mommy)

By Luv2fly on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 12:05 pm:

I am not sure exactly what you mean however..... if she is crying very hard and not breathing, like mouth wide-open screaming, then you can blow in her face and it should cause her to breathe again. I've had to do this twice and it worked like a charm. I read this tip somewhere, but I am not positive about your exact situation. Good luck and big hugs to you and your dd.

By Bellajoe on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 01:05 pm:

My cousins son does this too. He crys so hard that he doesn't breath and then passes out. I only know this because my aunt told my mom who told me. She's taking him to the pediatrician soon too. I think he's probably around 2-2 1/2 yrs old.

I just wanted to let you know that your dd is not the only one.

Sorry i don't have any answers for you.

By Hammockhugger01 on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 01:08 pm:

I think she forgets to breath when she is gearing up for "the big scream" and she is so dramatic about it you'd think she just had a leg fall off. She suddenly goes limp and her lips turn bluish-purple. She then just sort of comes to and then starts crying again. Once she is calmed down and has had her fill of mommy kisses, she goes off playing again. completely herself.

By Crystal915 on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 01:26 pm:

Blow in her face, as Adena said. My DD did this, and one time went stiff and peed her pants during a tantrum at the playground. That time we did a light sternum rub, but when they are screaming like that blowing in their face makes them breathe. It's pretty harmless, a lot of kids do it.

By Kaye on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 03:09 pm:

My dd did this when she was about 15-20 months. I babysat a kid who did this, so it didn't freak me. The best advice that was given me is, they will start breathing again, so don't give it attention. So the first time it happened, i freaked, but the next two times I saw that look and just made it no big deal. I think we think at this age they can't manipulate us, but they can and they do. Ignore the behavior, it will go away. Welcome to the world of having a strong willed child, it only gets more fun from here! But giving kisses, is reward for that behavior, he will continue doing it until he doesn't see positive outcomes.

However, all that being said, talking to your dr to make sure there is not a medical thing going on is important.

By Marcia on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 11:58 pm:

My niece did the same thing for the first few years of her life, when crying. She's now 18 and just fine. Passing out is the body's way of making you start breathing again.

It's the possible seizure that I would be more concerned about. A five second seizure won't do any neuro damage, but I'd still want the doctor to check him out. That being said, did this happen at the same time as one of the passing out episodes? My daughter passed out from low blood pressure a few years ago. When she was going down, it looked just like a seizure. The doctor said that some people look like their seizing when passing out. She has come close to passing out since, but has never looked like she was seizing again.

It's pretty scary to witness these things, even if you've seen them before.

By Hammockhugger01 on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 08:21 pm:

Thanks to all. The pediatrician didn't seem too concerned. They also said if it happens to blow in the face. Said she would grow out of it.

They did a glucose test today. I forgot to ask if that was common at a 15 mos check-up or if it was because of the seizure.

By Rayelle on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 09:22 pm:

My 7 yr old dd used to do this or something similar. The dr called it "reflexive anoxic seizures" (sp). He said kids that do this do it in reaction to sudden emotions, commonly sudden pain or being very scared or upset. There have even been a few times where a child did this from extreme surprise, like getting what they want most for their birthday.

Dd started when she was about 9 months old and wanted more to eat. She passed out and held her breath while I was preparing more. the dr told me not to worry and it wouldn't hurt her but that it would scare me to death everytime. It sure did. It happened more frequently as she learned to walk because of the falling and with her brother being so young he struck her twice that made her do it. The one time he threw a heavy toy at her head and I really thought he killed her for what seemed like forever but was probably just a few seconds. At about age 2 they phased out. I think my younger dd did this too. As a baby twice she fell and held her breath. It is so hard to not freak out but that is all you can do really.