Why do children often hold their breath?

Many children often suffer from breath holding when they are young, especially when the children are crying, the phenomenon is more serious. Many parents are very worried about this, so much so that some parents dare not criticize their children even when they do something wrong, for fear that their children will suffer from breath holding. So why do children often hold their breath? How to prevent it?

Breath-holding in infants and young children, commonly known as "big breath-holding", is a common paroxysmal neurosis in infancy and young children, with an incidence rate of 46%. It mostly occurs within 2 years of age, and the number of attacks gradually decreases after 3-4 years of age.

It is rare before 6 months and after 6 years old, and is most common in 2 to 3 years old. Whenever the baby is exposed to physical factors (such as pain) or stimulation (such as fear, anger or frustration), he will cry, and after hyperventilation, he will hold his breath, apnea, purple lips, and rigid limbs. In severe cases, he may lose consciousness for a short period of time and have muscle clonic twitching in the limbs. The whole process takes about 1 minute; then the muscles of the whole body relax, breathing begins, most children become conscious, and some fall asleep immediately. In addition to emotional factors, the cause of breath-holding attack is also related to iron deficiency in the body; a considerable number of children who suffer from the disease also have iron deficiency anemia. The number of attacks is variable, and in severe cases, it can occur several times a day (as long as there are stimuli that can trigger it). The frequency of attacks decreases with age. The attacks usually stop at the age of 5 to 6 years. About 30% have a family history.

prevention

In normal times, parents should not over-indulge their children, pay attention to the arrangement of their living environment, eliminate factors that cause mental stress and conflict, and try to avoid sudden and unexpected stimulation.

treat

1. The key to correction lies in correct education. Family members should be kind to children so that they can feel the warmth of family, and should also be patient in educating them so that they will consciously and strictly demand themselves. If we overemphasize not to dampen their emotions and satisfy children's desires without principles, it may cause personality abnormalities. On the contrary, if you make overly strict requirements without considering the characteristics of the disease, it will easily lead to frequent breath-holding attacks, which is detrimental to your health. If you have iron deficiency anemia, you should take iron supplements immediately.

2. This disease generally does not require drug treatment, and parents do not need to panic. Children can recover from the attack. If the breath-holding attack lasts too long, it will cause brain hypoxia. You can pinch the Ren Zhong, Yin Tang, He Gu and other acupoints to help the patient recover as soon as possible.

For children with frequent attacks, atropine can be used for treatment under the guidance of a doctor.

After reading the above introduction, we can know that when the breath-holding phenomenon occurs in most children, this phenomenon will disappear automatically when they grow up, and most of them do not need treatment. However, if the child's breath-holding phenomenon occurs frequently, it is best to take the child to the hospital for examination. Certain measures can be taken for treatment under the guidance of a doctor.