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10 month old breathing issue
Hello,
A few years back someone named "SuperMom" wrote in about her daughter who had a breathing issue. It is very similiar to my daughter who is also 10 months. Below is her description of what happens. And i am wondering if anyone has found a reason for this, or if SuperMom is still around and can tell me if she found anything since. My daughters episodes usually occur after crying or when sleeping. They sometimes last over an hour. Also, most of the time she is able to sleep through them.
Thank you....Cheryl
"My daughter is 10 mths and 20 lb. She is normal in every way. However, when she was 4 mths, she had an episode of involuntary gasping in between normal breaths. It lasted 2 min. We assumed they were some sort of hiccups. The sound would best be described as when someone cries/sobs very hard and then tries to stop - it's the sounds they make when they are catching their breath - gasping hiccups and quick breaths. "
A few years back someone named "SuperMom" wrote in about her daughter who had a breathing issue. It is very similiar to my daughter who is also 10 months. Below is her description of what happens. And i am wondering if anyone has found a reason for this, or if SuperMom is still around and can tell me if she found anything since. My daughters episodes usually occur after crying or when sleeping. They sometimes last over an hour. Also, most of the time she is able to sleep through them.
Thank you....Cheryl
"My daughter is 10 mths and 20 lb. She is normal in every way. However, when she was 4 mths, she had an episode of involuntary gasping in between normal breaths. It lasted 2 min. We assumed they were some sort of hiccups. The sound would best be described as when someone cries/sobs very hard and then tries to stop - it's the sounds they make when they are catching their breath - gasping hiccups and quick breaths. "
Try googling esophageal spasms or look them up on this site. I have that but not my whole life, only in later years. it could be related to your daughters problems though I would go to an upper respiratory specialist to be sure it isn't asthma! I have that too so it would be wise to check all possible avenues are your daughters tender age. Also consider allergies and have her tested for any. Good luck.
I just wanted to weigh in on this subject since it has happened to two of our young children. Our son, who is 3 1/2 now, experienced his first "apnea of crying" or "sobbing spasm" when he was about 8 weeks old. He was sleeping in his swing and I noticed a definite pattern of (1) a sharp and sudden intake of breath (2) holding the breath for anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds (3) release or deflating of breath. All of this was involuntary, and happening beyond his control. This was definitely not a case of a child getting upset or crying and deliberately holding his breath. The best way I could describe them was "breathing spasms" or "involuntary gasping."
We rushed him to our pediatrician that night and the doctor said it looked like a hiccup, but was definitely something different. Oxygen levels were fine. The doctor had no answer so we just went home. The spasms continued throughout that night, even as my infant son slept. In the morning, they were gone completely.
This same scenario repeated itself throughout his infancy - nine out of ten of the episodes being triggered by sobbing or intense crying. As time passed, they began to shorten in duration and severity. By the time he was 2, they were gone for good and we've seen no repeats (again, he is now over 3 years old).
The best answer I ever got from a medical professional was from my friend, a speech pathologist. She said his throat structures were all normal, but that what was happening during an attack was something like a "Laryngospasm" where the throat/windpipe briefly and involuntarily closes up. The triggers for such spasms are varied, just as people experience headaches for a variety of reasons. Our job was to find the trigger.
Then the plot thickened. We had another baby last year and he ALSO has experienced these same spasms, however they were much milder and went away by the time he was 12 months old.
My personal theory about these sobbing spasms (esp. in infants and children) is that in an otherwise "healthy" child they are most likely triggered by:
1. Allergies (i.e. a very common allergic symptom is to have the throat swell, close up or spasm)
2. Exertion (i.e. similar to asthma but not actually a diagnosed condition - this would be classified as Intermittent Asthma, which is usually outgrown)
3. Intense Crying (this is a known phenomenon and happens to many of us - we get hiccups or spasms of the diaphragm after sobbing. In some people, perhaps this reflex is highly sensitive or exaggerated)
And there might be a combination of the above triggers.
And in almost every case....it's not life threatening. I think a parent would need to be very concerned only if an underlying condition was diagnosed such as chronic asthma or other respiratory disorders, structural abnormalities in the throat or lungs, or a severe allergy.
In our children's case I noticed something VERY interesting in hindsight. Both of our little boys had a serious milk protein allergy from birth (this is different from lactose intolerance). They were so sensitive that if I ate a little dairy and then breastfed them, they would have a reaction (usually extreme fussiness, gas and vomiting). Fortunately, both of my sons outgrew this allergy. AND around the same time they outgrew the milk allergy....the spasms stopped! This to me is no coincidence, esp. as I've seen it happen twice now.
In summary, in the case of my two youngest (I actually have 4 children but the first two never experienced this or the allergies), I feel that both were suffering from a moderate food allergy which put them at risk for these throat spasms. In other words, they did not have episodes of spasms every time some dairy got in their system. Instead, it was bouts of crying that triggered the episodes. But I'm pretty sure it was the pre-existing allergy which made them susceptible.
My theory bears itself out in what I've continued to observe. My two little boys may cry and sob and get very upset, but it no longer triggers the throat spasms, just the normal little "hiccups" we all get for a little while after.
Finally.....there is an article on the web called "The sobbing spasm or the apnea of crying: a review and a proposal for care" but I can't access it because it's in Spanish! If someone can get a hold of the English text, please let me know. It would be helpful to all of us who are concerned about this issue!
Thanks.
We rushed him to our pediatrician that night and the doctor said it looked like a hiccup, but was definitely something different. Oxygen levels were fine. The doctor had no answer so we just went home. The spasms continued throughout that night, even as my infant son slept. In the morning, they were gone completely.
This same scenario repeated itself throughout his infancy - nine out of ten of the episodes being triggered by sobbing or intense crying. As time passed, they began to shorten in duration and severity. By the time he was 2, they were gone for good and we've seen no repeats (again, he is now over 3 years old).
The best answer I ever got from a medical professional was from my friend, a speech pathologist. She said his throat structures were all normal, but that what was happening during an attack was something like a "Laryngospasm" where the throat/windpipe briefly and involuntarily closes up. The triggers for such spasms are varied, just as people experience headaches for a variety of reasons. Our job was to find the trigger.
Then the plot thickened. We had another baby last year and he ALSO has experienced these same spasms, however they were much milder and went away by the time he was 12 months old.
My personal theory about these sobbing spasms (esp. in infants and children) is that in an otherwise "healthy" child they are most likely triggered by:
1. Allergies (i.e. a very common allergic symptom is to have the throat swell, close up or spasm)
2. Exertion (i.e. similar to asthma but not actually a diagnosed condition - this would be classified as Intermittent Asthma, which is usually outgrown)
3. Intense Crying (this is a known phenomenon and happens to many of us - we get hiccups or spasms of the diaphragm after sobbing. In some people, perhaps this reflex is highly sensitive or exaggerated)
And there might be a combination of the above triggers.
And in almost every case....it's not life threatening. I think a parent would need to be very concerned only if an underlying condition was diagnosed such as chronic asthma or other respiratory disorders, structural abnormalities in the throat or lungs, or a severe allergy.
In our children's case I noticed something VERY interesting in hindsight. Both of our little boys had a serious milk protein allergy from birth (this is different from lactose intolerance). They were so sensitive that if I ate a little dairy and then breastfed them, they would have a reaction (usually extreme fussiness, gas and vomiting). Fortunately, both of my sons outgrew this allergy. AND around the same time they outgrew the milk allergy....the spasms stopped! This to me is no coincidence, esp. as I've seen it happen twice now.
In summary, in the case of my two youngest (I actually have 4 children but the first two never experienced this or the allergies), I feel that both were suffering from a moderate food allergy which put them at risk for these throat spasms. In other words, they did not have episodes of spasms every time some dairy got in their system. Instead, it was bouts of crying that triggered the episodes. But I'm pretty sure it was the pre-existing allergy which made them susceptible.
My theory bears itself out in what I've continued to observe. My two little boys may cry and sob and get very upset, but it no longer triggers the throat spasms, just the normal little "hiccups" we all get for a little while after.
Finally.....there is an article on the web called "The sobbing spasm or the apnea of crying: a review and a proposal for care" but I can't access it because it's in Spanish! If someone can get a hold of the English text, please let me know. It would be helpful to all of us who are concerned about this issue!
Thanks.
Hi. My 3 1/2 month old daughter has had this happen about 3 times since she's been born, tonight being the most recent and worst episode yet. Each time thus happens she has just had a hard cry. She tenses up her face and stops breathing for a second or two and that makes her scared, mad, and uncomfortable (I'm sure), so she just screams harder an harder, making the "spasms" that much worse. It took over an hour to calm her tonight, and even after she calmed down she was still having these spasms for another 20 minutes or so. It's very scary and is strting to make we wonder if there is something serious to be worried about. My husband said we would probably take her to the doctor tomorrow, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any information on this. Thank you, Sarah
My son is three months old and just had one of these spasms. He just got a couple o vaccines today. While that probably has no direct affect on him, I think the pain from that caused him to cry. He started to get these spasms and my wife and I search the internet to find out what the cause might be and if we should worry about it. This was one of the only sites that talked about it at all and supermom described it perfectly. I am glad this isn't a serious concern (although I will certainly bring it to my son's pediatrician at our next visit).
My son actually fell asleep and continued to gasp/hiccup in his sleep. He would wake up and cry for a moment before falling back to sleep. He continued to gasp/hiccup for about two hours. After he ate, he finally stopped. If anyone finds out what this is, what the cause is, or how to stop it, please post it!!!! Thanx,
-Staks
My son actually fell asleep and continued to gasp/hiccup in his sleep. He would wake up and cry for a moment before falling back to sleep. He continued to gasp/hiccup for about two hours. After he ate, he finally stopped. If anyone finds out what this is, what the cause is, or how to stop it, please post it!!!! Thanx,
-Staks
My 11mth old daughter just had one of these episodes and is sleeping throughthem as well. Did you find anymore information about what this is?
I have read several posts on this site written by mothers, including supermom, who were scared by their baby having involuntary breathing spasms after crying. I just wanted to let you know that I was one of those babies. I am now 19 years old, and continuing to live with these spasms, which, though frustrating and sometimes frightening, have never felt life threatening to me.
When I was 4 months old, my parents heard my crying one day suddenly stop mid-sob. They looked down and I appeared to be choking, unable to inhale. They rushed me to the hospital, where I spent 3 days in intensive testing.Nothing was found, and the was no diagnosis.
As I grew older, I learned to control my crying, never letting myself reach the point of sobbing. Sometimes I'll lose control and begin to spasm.
This is what it feels like: I feel capable of breathing out to sob, but incapable of inhaling, like I'm inhaling through a cocktail straw. I'm able to gasp in irregular rhythms, so that even when I'm done crying, I still sound as though I'm sobbing because of how hard I work to breathe. Later, after finally calming the initial tightness, I will have intermittent spasms that feel as though my esophagus is clenching and unclenching, causing me to gasp. At its worst, these spells make me feel dizzy and a little faint, or as though my hands are asleep from lack of blood. (I have low blood pressure.) I am a good runner and rarely winded, and have never been diagnosed with asthma.
I have no diagnosis, but this might be an insight into what your daughter is feeling. The spasms look scary, but if her problem is anything like mine, she will probably be okay.
When I was 4 months old, my parents heard my crying one day suddenly stop mid-sob. They looked down and I appeared to be choking, unable to inhale. They rushed me to the hospital, where I spent 3 days in intensive testing.Nothing was found, and the was no diagnosis.
As I grew older, I learned to control my crying, never letting myself reach the point of sobbing. Sometimes I'll lose control and begin to spasm.
This is what it feels like: I feel capable of breathing out to sob, but incapable of inhaling, like I'm inhaling through a cocktail straw. I'm able to gasp in irregular rhythms, so that even when I'm done crying, I still sound as though I'm sobbing because of how hard I work to breathe. Later, after finally calming the initial tightness, I will have intermittent spasms that feel as though my esophagus is clenching and unclenching, causing me to gasp. At its worst, these spells make me feel dizzy and a little faint, or as though my hands are asleep from lack of blood. (I have low blood pressure.) I am a good runner and rarely winded, and have never been diagnosed with asthma.
I have no diagnosis, but this might be an insight into what your daughter is feeling. The spasms look scary, but if her problem is anything like mine, she will probably be okay.
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