8 month old baby fainted in my arms and we don't know why

[newmomsue]

My 8 1/2 mnth baby girl fainted in my arms. She just woken up it was 6:30 am, had not eaten, not gagging, coughing or sick/feverish b4.She began to fuss and cry a little bit. I thought of teething pain but she would not take any medicine, turned her head away. As I walked with her I felt her start to go limp she went completely white and floppy. I believe she was blue around the mouth. She did not cry out as she was going limp. I laid her down with her head up on the armrest of the couch. I breathed into her mouth, she opened her eyes cried and tried to push me away. But before my eyes, she "faded" in front of me, it was as if she was trying to go into deep sleep mode. Again she went floppy so I breathed over her mouth and nose again, this happened at least 3 times, so every time I "left her alone she immediately tried to go "to sleep". We got her into the car (admittedly we did not lie her down completely flat, we were lifting her up) and again she went limp and her head lolled back. I had to stop the car to breathe into her. Finally my husband found us and we went to the hospital. She was very groggy and pale but seemed to be "awake" and breathing. By the time we went to the hospital she was herself again they checked her vitals, all were fine.  Blood oxygenation, pulse, pressure everything. Within the hour she also had an EKG and that was normal. The same day we did an EEG and that was normal. Next day doc did CAT25 blood works test - normal. We have since done an echo - normal. We had aheart monitor on her , awaiting results. IF all come out normal please why is she ok?

[myproblem]

Babies can have Narcolepsy, as well as Cataplexy, and Drop Seizures. Shee needs to see a pediatric neurologist, and get a more extensive work up. Something very similar happend to my friend's 4 year old daughter. It turned out to be drop seizures. She is fine with medication, but has to take it for the rest of her life. Just make sure to keep her on the heart monitor, and possibly a breathing monitor, or a blood oxygen monitor until you have a solid diagnosis. I would've been terrified.

[ozark]

sorry about your baby...i would ask your pediatrician about reflux..sometimes it can cause a vagal response and cause the heart rate to go down and blood pressure causing fainting or near fainting episodes....he would need a few test to rule this out.  good luck

[newmomsue]

Thank you for your responses, I am going to look up the names that you gave me on the internet, and print this for the pediatrician. We have seen a pediatric neurologist who did and EEG etc. We have to go to do another EEG in two weeks to ensure that the capture rate is as high as we can get it 80% - he never spoke of Narcolopsy, Drop Seizures which I will ask him about. It has been over a week and thank goodness it has not happened again and she is right back to normal but I am still perterbed that we don't have a diagnosis. They said that we may never find a diagnosis, that they are ruling out the big issues - 50% of ALTE (Apparent Life Threatening Events) go undiagnosed. I am trying to come to terms with that...



Thank you very much will keep posting as we progress

[who_is_this]

Sounds like seizures, but you will find out in time if this is the case or not.

In the meantime, you MUST take a course in infant and child CPR.  Your child has some sort of serious problem going on right now, and you may save her life by knowing the proper way to do this.  It is NOT always appropriate to give rescue breaths or cardiac compressions..a class will teach you how and when to begin CPR. Hope you find out soon what is going on. In the meantime, take a CPR course.

[newmomsue]

Hi There



We are taking a "refresher course" This Saturday! Though we have taken a general CPR course (9 months ago) only one segment dealt with infants. I am going to ask the instructor to

focus on infants and dealing with seizures, syncope etc. I think I need to know more about how what to look for to help me distinguish what anybody may be experiencing ie checking the pulse, breathing etc.



Thank you for your post!



BTW the last of the heart test came back normal! Great news! STill of course have to monitor her, do another EEG and take necessary precautions...

[Scottydog]

The same thing just happend to my 6 month old son on Thursday.  His 1st day resembeled a complete seizure, but he also had repeat incidents on Friday & Sunday closer to the fainting spells.  The 1st 2 times he needed reviving, but the 3rd he was already in the hospital and seemed to recover quickly while the doctors were there.  Bloodwork & a CT scan have all showed normal and he responds as an energetic baby.  He is scheduled for an EEG on Tuesday, but I doubt they will find anything there.  The Doctor suspects reflux causing a vagal disorder.  Hopefully this is an answer and there is medication to prevent future events of this.  Hope all goes well with your child.

[Scottydog]

We just got home from the hospital and have completed the EEG.  Unfortunatly we were sent home with no answers, as the EEG came back as perfectly fine.  We were advised to react the same way again should this event happen.  Our little guy is fine and acting normal and energetic even after 8 days in the hospital.  Please let us know if there is any one else out there that was able to get some answers.

[nickan]

What was the outcome of your issue?  Our baby seems to have the same problems your baby had in 2006

[MilanMiller]

Have they done and MRI or a CT Scan?  They could help determine if there are any neurological problems.

[Dana72]

Hi,

My baby just had an episode like the one you described. She is 9 month old. Test results did not show anything being wrong, but I am very concerned. What happened to your baby? How is she now?

Dana

[hab1807]

Sorry to hear your story.  Mine is quite similar.  My 6 month old son projectile vomitted in the car a month ago, I unstrapped him and tried to keep his airway clear.  As he kept vomitting, I felt his body go limp in my arms, he turned grey and his breathing slowed, almost stopping.  He had a viral infection a month earlier, and had been having some bowel problems since then. He had been constipated, so with the vomitting I was sure he had a bowel obstuction and was fading in my arms.  The hospital rans tests, all were normal.  3 days later my pediatrician put him on meds for a reflux.  2 days after that, another vomitting episode and the color change, limpness, and apnea.  Again we were hospitalized, had tests, were diagnosed with GERD, given some meds and sent home.  I immediately called my ped, for a GI consult.  He ordered more tests and agreed with the reflux diagnosis. 3 1/2 weeks later, he is constipated again, and irritable.  My pediatrician ordered a barium enema this past Tuesday.  As the test was almost over, my son went limp again, turned grey and was lethargic.  I am a RN, so I understand about vagal responses, but when it's your own child, it's frightening.  The GI believes he has a reflux and possibly a food allergy, he is referring us to a neurologist.  I will keep you posted.  Let me know what you find out. Good luck.

Heather

[helpcalifornia]

My son will be 8 months in 5 days.  A few days ago I noticed that he was blinking his eyes slower than normal (happened one time).  But that went away.  Than he blinked one and and than the other (one time).  And now for the past two days he has been rolling his