My 2.5 Year old son holds his breath while breathing??

[Karynrme]

My son is 2 1/2 and he holds his breath while he breathes, with I would say 90% of the breaths he takes, why?? He inhales, holds his breath, lets it out, takes a deep breath (because he held it for so long previously) then lets that one out, inhales and holds his breath again... it annoys me so much! He does it during normal moods, not while he is upset or in any kind of 'mood'.... sitting on the sofa watching TV he does it, in bed while Im laying with him to go to sleep at night he does it. not really while he is playing (too busy) more when he is sitting, watching TV.... has anyone ever heard of such a thing? He has been doing it for a long time, I would say since I can remember... is it a habit??

[mymoonmystars]

my 21 month old daughter started doing this almost 2 weeks ago.

She’s either grunting or holding her breath. Or both. It sounds like she’s trying to poop all day. She does it the worst watching t.v. that I have now limited because the grunting gets really bad. We only introduced tv barely over a month ago.

It was the only time I noticed but it seems to happen more and more as time passes. Last night she even grunted in her sleep mildly, a couple times, which made me stress out all over again.

Sometimes I think her chest looks sunk but I’ve been highly observing her every little move and how her entire body looks since the grunting / breath holding so sometimes I think I’m paranoid and making up stuff.

As far as her history, she had a very scary and serious choking incident a few months back (been checked out by a doctor afterward) and she had severe constipation as an infant , but I’m happy to say the last year she’s been pooping great.  

Coincidentally, a few days after the grunting started she got constipated again, but it honestly doesn’t seem related, so I dunno.

She is not sick, hasn’t been sick, and she doesn’t seem bothered or upset by this.

She seems to stick her hands in her mouth more since this all started too. Sometimes she drives them so far she gags.

I won’t call it annoying but it stresses me out so bad worrying something might be seriously wrong.

Google
Doesn’t have answers. I may make an appointment for her next week.

If anyone wants to connect . I also will be checking this thread.

[Theclarkinators]

My son 4.5 years is having the same breathing issue. He did have reoccurant croup. So we went to see and ENT. They scheduled a Bronchoscopy. But he is so bright and otherwise normal. He does have coughing fits when he runs and throws up. But his lungs are always clear. So they ruled out asthma. Would love to hear what happens with your folllw ups.

[Clayr92]

Did you ever take your daughter to be seen ?

[scobes]

Hi I found this post after googling the same issue for my 4.5 year old daughter. She holds little breaths when concentrating or watching tv. I was reminded she did this even when she was 2 after I watched a Christmas home video. I then reminded myself I also do this and I'm doing it now as I read these posts! There is nothing 'wrong' with me. I have a cold at present and had ear nose and throat issues when younger. I had rhinitis and had my annonoids removed. I also suffer from hay fever and although I can breath through my nose I prefere to breath through my mouth as I feel I get more air. Perhaps I have small airways??? Who knows it could all be related?? I'm taking my daughter for an audiology test in a couple if weeks as her teachers have concerns about her hearing and concentration, I'm thinking she may also have similar childhood ailments I had. She is very bright and artistic,  loves drawing and writing but does have a short attention span. I think this is all simply the make up of her and I dont want to get too bogged down researching and finding answers to 'explain' her ways.

[Ena_Dolphin]

Like everyone else I was Googling to find out some information regarding my now 2yr old sons breathing habit. I probably only noticed it a few mths ago (around 21mths old). He only does it when he settles down to go to sleep. (Takes a deep breath, holds it for a little while then exhales).  Once he's asleep and changes his breathing from through the mouth to through the nose it stops.  He's my third, he's the most challenging of my kids and neither of the older two have any habits like this.  I was just concerned if it was linked to SIDS/cot death hence starting to Google.  More research/info and links to this habit would be great. Thanks to all keeping this post alive. It's been an interesting/informative read.

[mominpa2]

My daughter had strep last month and promptly developed a blinking tic.  A little while later she developed this breath holding pattern that everyone here describes.  I really think the tic was brought on by the strep because her brother developed tics at the same age (8), after having strep. Both kids were treated promptly with antibiotics when they had strep.  Her brother never had the breath holding tic, he would mostly bite his lip. She does have asthma and allergies, but on a recent visit her pulmonologist said her asthma has improved and he thought it was a nervous habit/anxiety.  She tells me she cannot control the breathing issue which she never had before the strep. I am bringing her to more doctors soon.

[vstacey74]

My son is almost 5 and has been diagnosed with ADHD, it seems like he forgets to exhale just like everyone else on this thread. I dont know why he does it and cant find answers anywhere, he does it when watching tv or playing video games or just sitting quietly, no ideas why; he also has a speech delay so getting answers from him are hard. Glad to see im not alone in the quest to find answers.

[Pinklid1]

My grandson does this also !!! What the hell is it !!?? Yes annoying...I thought he would out grow it....he is 7 now.

[sylvie_w]

Thank you so much for your post! I've been going crazy for years looking for an explanation; my 5 yo son has been having breathing problems ever since I can remember - holding his breath, breathing through his mouth, puffing; I feel bad, it looks so unhealthy - and it's annoying; He also has a  little underbite and speech/articulation problems - and I think it's all related;
He was evaluated by ENT 2 years ago - who stated my son would grow out of it; orthodontist said the same thing - recommending that we follow up when he has permanent teeth and explain his jaws still form and can change;
I think it's time to get a second opinion and see another ENT and have them take a closer look at his tonsils;

[tere115]

Hi, my 3rd old daughter does the exact same thing.  She was diagnosed  with autism.  I asked several  doctor's why and  many believe it's a neurological stimulating effect for them.  Many autisic kids are highly sensitive to touch, sounds etc...the breath holding and releasing is oddly soothing to them.  

I drives me crazy!! I worry about her heart rate, blood pressure but she does it at her most relaxed stage.  one dr said it's like getting  high, not the best example but I see the relationship to the feeling she gets.  I hope this helps alittle.

[SSToddlerMom]

I have a 3yr old son who has been doing this for over 2 weeks now. He has been doing this when he is watching TV, right before sleeping, or when he sits in the car seat. Sometimes he even does this while eating too. We recorded the sounds that he was making (like grunting while exhaling) and took it to our pediatrician. Hearing that, the doctor mentioned that it might be related to allergies and recommended using one spray of Flonase in each nostril for a month and see the pattern. He mentioned it might be due to either allergies or adenoids and monitor him for a few days. If in a month there is no change, he said we would need to get an x-ray done to see if the adenoids have been affected.

It is definitely hard to see our kids go through breathing difficulties but I would advice you to record this when you kid does it as it would be easy for your doctor to see the pattern. I will keep you posted on how things go.

[CombatMedicDoc]

I may have found an answer. My son is a little over three and has this too. Seems like the best answer I can find in not trusting in a primary care Dr. and requesting a referral to an ENT (please read below someone got an this diagnosed). I am also in the medical field and there is nothing more dangerous then airway complication. For Everyone looking for an answer this is the best that I have found. My question is how is you child's sleep patterns. My son wakes frequently during the night and yells for Mom or Dad. This may be linked to him waking himself while having a little trouble breathing or sleep apnea. Hope it helps.

Question

My 3 yo holds his breath throughout the day. He'll breathe in (short), hold it for 3-7 seconds, then breathe out (short) and repeat that frequently. He does this when he's awake, but probably not conscious of what he's doing, like when he's watching TV. At night, when he's asleep, he doesn't hold his breath at all, he breathes normally, though his breathing seems a little short. Could this be related to asthma? We're scheduled to take him in to a breathing specialist to get it checked out in the next few weeks, but I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this before.

Answer
I'm the original poster. Nobody gave an answer that covers what turned out to be the actual cause, so I'm posting this answer to bring closure to this question. Hopefully this will be useful to anybody who is experiencing the same issue with their child.

It turns out that the cause of the breath holding was due to swollen tonsils and adenoids. The enlarged tissues around the airway was causing our son to not be able to get enough air, which caused him to constantly take short breaths and hold them as a way to compensate. It was also causing him to have sleep apnea. (Note: In the original question, I said there were no breathing issues at night when he was asleep. I was wrong. We just weren't observing long enough and at the right times.)

We took him to an ENT specialist / surgeon who said that the best option was just to remove them, because they were so swollen. After having his tonsils and adenoids removed, his breath-holding and sleep apnea went away, almost immediately.

[CombatMedicDoc]

I may have found an answer. My son is a little over three and has this too. Seems like the best answer I can find in not trusting in a primary care Dr. and requesting a referral to an ENT (please read below someone got an this diagnosed). I am also in the medical field and there is nothing more dangerous then airway complication. For Everyone looking for an answer this is the best that I have found. My question is how is you child's sleep patterns. My son wakes frequently during the night and yells for Mom or Dad. This may be linked to him waking himself while having a little trouble breathing or sleep apnea. Hope it helps.

Question

My 3 yo holds his breath throughout the day. He'll breathe in (short), hold it for 3-7 seconds, then breathe out (short) and repeat that frequently. He does this when he's awake, but probably not conscious of what he's doing, like when he's watching TV. At night, when he's asleep, he doesn't hold his breath at all, he breathes normally, though his breathing seems a little short. Could this be related to asthma? We're scheduled to take him in to a breathing specialist to get it checked out in the next few weeks, but I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this before.

Answer
I'm the original poster. Nobody gave an answer that covers what turned out to be the actual cause, so I'm posting this answer to bring closure to this question. Hopefully this will be useful to anybody who is experiencing the same issue with their child.

It turns out that the cause of the breath holding was due to swollen tonsils and adenoids. The enlarged tissues around the airway was causing our son to not be able to get enough air, which caused him to constantly take short breaths and hold them as a way to compensate. It was also causing him to have sleep apnea. (Note: In the original question, I said there were no breathing issues at night when he was asleep. I was wrong. We just weren't observing long enough and at the right times.)

We took him to an ENT specialist / surgeon who said that the best option was just to remove them, because they were so swollen. After having his tonsils and adenoids removed, his breath-holding and sleep apnea went away, almost immediately.

[ElizabethLeJ]

My 2.5 year  daughter does this and also gets nose bleeds a bit. I know you posted this a couple of years ago and was just wondering if you got any new information on this. Thanks!

[Sidababy13]

My 10 year old has been doing this for about a year we were thinking she may be doing the breath holds and gasp for air to get attention when we tell her to stop she starts crying saying she can't I know her mom smoked the whole time she was pregnant and I had her with breathing machine for asthma when she was little and she keeps ear infection I wonder do any of your kids have any problems with ears or asthma just trying to make connection

[mmmvn5]

Hi!  I posted here two years ago and googled it again, and I'm back!  My son is now 9 and still doing this.  Right next to me now and it drives me nuts that I can't explain it to him.... he doesn't understand that his breathing is different.  It's when he reads and watches TV, relaxed.  Holds his breath, big exhale, and repeats.   He still has signs of some OCD but not as much.  He is in the gifted program at school... was tested and has a very high IQ.  Not sure if it's some sort of mental thing.  Reads a lot.  To the person who's doctor had a sleep study done... thank you.  That is very interesting.  I wonder if he is doing it in his sleep and has sleep apnea, or will be more likely to have sleep apnea when he is older.  My brother has sleep apnea and sleeps with a machine at night.  I will try and check on him during the night and see if he does it while he sleeps.

[lkinbc]

My son is 7 and has done this for years. Tonight I was finally at my wits end irritated by it and decided to google. After reading all the above posts a few things come to mind in similarity. My son is a bit over active. Good at school though but sometimes trouble focusing. He has shown some anxiety at times over the past 7 years. His birth was traumatic and he suffered from GERD from 2 months old and was medicated for that for a few years. He also had a misshapen epiglottis (shown to us on a camera down his nose at Children's Hospital) that caused very noisy breathing and snoring up until about age 5. He also had mild sleep apnea as well- I think just a reflexive resting from the snoring... They said he would grow out of it as he got older and he did at about the age they predicted. Perhaps breathing anomalies are just his "thing." He doesn't have asthma but may have some seasonal allergies. He only does it when reading or watching TV shows that he is really concentrating on. He doesn't notice that he is doing it. Anyway, based on what I read I am not all that concerned. He is active but seizes each day with a passion I just don't see in most other children. No way do I want to crush that and his teachers seem to like him so I am not going to worry about ADHD. It has to make concentrating for a long time difficult though so I am going to try a period of nagging him to be mindful of his breathing and see if it gets better or worse- will try to post about that. I don't want to create anxiety so may drop off if nagging bothers him. He says his breathing is fine and he doesn't have trouble. He can't explain the breath holding and resulting grunting. I also noticed one comment about post nasal drip and swallowing. This is a huge issue for him with colds and could be something to do with ongoing seasonal allergies? Will take him to have those tested but don't really want to medicate that anyway. I also have issues with it and find myself holding my breath and swallowing when it gets bad. He has had tons of invasive checking of his sinus passages at Children's hospital between ages 2 and 4 and nothing was wrong there... He plays soccer and floor hockey 4 times a week and thrives on the exercise so doesn't appear to be something that really affects air or oxygen intake. Anyway, good luck to all! Glad to have company. After reading the above I will just try not to let it bug me as much and try to help him be mindful of his breathing while reading and doing quiet work.

[MahaRahim]

Omg that sounds exactly like my 5 year old. Did you eventually find out the cause?

[MahaRahim]

Omg that sounds exactly like my 5 year old. Did you eventually find out the cause?

[guest1337]

i do this in my sleep and i HATE it cause it hurts so bad :( but i cant control my breathing

[TheMrsS]

Both my sons have done this 3.5 yr old still doing it, 7 year old seems to have grown out of it now).
My eldest has some hyperactivity and there is a lot of history in both sides of our family for both hyper / depressive characters (me included!!)
I think it's just a little kind of 'tic' - a coping mechanism for an abundance of energy without an outlet...?
It should just go of its own accord, although it can be very annoying for some time (my hubby absolutely hates it!!!!)
;)

[daddyNeph]

My one and a half year old daughter has identical characteristics of breathing , I actually set up an appointment for her to be seen By her pediatrician this Friday. Upon my "google research" there are a lot of potential growth and developmental issue
s that can be caused by this habit. This worries me because even as I type my daughter is watching her Disney movie breathing through her mouth holding her breathe in between. It almost sounds like a small short gasp for air in between her breathing. She appears to not inhale and only sounds like she's exhaling through her mouth. Have you gotten any more insight on this issue with your son? Please let me know thanks.

[kristi254]

Well I am 19 years old and I do the same thing but I also cough really hard  as well.

[sillysallygirl]

When i watched my grandson i noticed him doing the same thing. we are a close family and always togeather so i would watch him and try to figure it out.Not sue when he stared this but maybe around 4 yrs old! now he is 11 yrs and still does it .I have noticed when he falls asleep he goes back to breathing normal untill he wakes up in the morning. He was playing baseball and football last season and i wondered how he could do this if he was holding his breath off & on so i tested him and had him run around the house,when he came back in he was out of breath alittle from running but was breathing normal again, but whent right back to holding his breath. He has gone to the dr in the past but they couldent find anything wrong when they checked him. He is not a hyper kid so i dont think its ADHD!  but his mom is going to take him to another dr for their opinion

[2Mum2]

I wrote in 6 months ago, my son is still doing this but more often. I took him back to the Drs and gave him the iPhone to play so the Dr could observe him doing it. He said its an irregular breathing pattern where he just forgets to breath whenever he is concentrating on something else then his brain kicks in making him exhale. He said he may grow out of it or may do it for life. Also it is no concern to his health. I just wish there was more information on this.

[chamberlas]

My son is 14 almost 15 now and has done this all of his life.

Reading the comments above I think there are a few different issues, so I will explain my sons the best I can.

The best way I can think to describe this is almost as if he forgets to exhale until it comes out as a load exhale (almost as if he had hickups and was holding his breath). He is not exhaling so much that he recognises it himself, but enough that as stated above can be an annoyance to others. As others have stated, this seems to happen when watching TV etc, in other words when completely relaxed. As my son is older, I do not notice it as much as he spends more time doing his own thing rather than sitting with me 24/7. At the moment the kids are off school for the Easter Break. Consequently he is allowed to stay up later at night and is sat with myself and my wife watching TV until later than he would normally.

I must stress that aside from the annoyance that this causes to those sat close to my son, it has never caused a problem.

If you are worried about your child I would suggest taking them to you doctor. But as my child is quite old compared with some posting here and it has never been anything other than delayed exhalation I would not make myself Ill with worrying.

To add a little extra information. My son does suffer with hay fever and has needed an inhaler at stages of his life. Also although he is very intelligent he does have problems putting his thoughts down on paper. Even though he has been tested, he has never been diagnosed is dyslexic.

I suppose the reason I have posted here is to try and reassure some parents that so far there have been no Ill effects.