Bangs McCoy

Jamie holds his breath

February 23rd, 2008

I am trying to better document Jamie’s Breath-holding spells. A quick history:

One afternoon last fall, Jamie and I were out on the front porch playing around (Rees was napping). We received a package (thanks Rus!) and I was distracted while opening it - when I turned just in time to see Jamie fall face forward down a step and knock his forehead right on the cement. He started to cry, and I picked him up and turned him to me, to comfort him. As I did so, his countenance changed - his pupils dilated and he got a look of terror on his face. His body stiffened and he arched his back and lost consciousness.

I was pretty freaked out, but stayed surprisingly calm. He was breathing heavily. The phone was right there, so I grabbed it and dialed 911. The operator was very calming and instructed me to put him on the floor and make sure there was nothing in his mouth. He was breathing - it was like he was just asleep. Within minutes, a fire engine and two ambulances arrived. Jamie began to stir when about five EMTs crowded into our living room. They assessed the situation and sent the fire truck and one ambulance away. They were very kind while they talked to me about what happened. Jamie was awake now, and was very mellow, just lying on the floor where I had placed him and looking around. He was not worried about the EMTs - eventually he got up and interacted them and with me. They checked him over and couldn’t find anything wrong, so they left. Rees slept through the whole thing.

Later, I called my mom to tell her about it, and she mentioned that my niece Melanie (daughter of Chad and Kathi), who is about 18 months older than James, ‘faints’. So, I talked to Chad and he told me that they had determined that Melanie experiences ‘pallid’ Breath-holding spells, usually after a bump to the head. This happens with her a few times per month, on average, and the symptoms he described to me were almost identical to what Jamie experienced. He gave me some links to read too, which made me feel much better. We went off to Colorado the next day for Bryan’s family reunion.

I talked to Dr P about it when we visited him for Jamie’s first birthday appointment soon afterward. He was concerned, and admitted that he did not know much about Breath-holding spells. Oddly enough, Jamie experienced one in the office (his second-ever) after bumping his head lightly on the floor. So Dr P got to witness the whole thing. He was pretty intrigued and planned to find out more, especially since we seem to have a family connection with Melanie.

We have since determined that as far as we know, there will be no long-term effects, and he should grow out of it by the age of five. I’ve read that the best a parent can do it handle it calmly with as little fuss as possible, because if the kid realizes that they’re causing a stir, they may learn to control it and bring on a spell whenever they feel like it (if they’re mad or throwing a tantrum, for example). So we’ve been doing our best. He’s fainted at my parents’ house and also at Bryan’s folks’.

Entry Filed under: I do stuff, I have kids, Jamie has BHS