Cry until you forget to breathe. Black lips? It turns out that the baby is suffocating syndrome! The baby suddenly cried, forgot to breathe, was temporarily deprived of oxygen, and his lips were black. His parents looked at it and were at a loss. I didn't know it was "breath holding syndrome" until I saw a doctor. Usually, the symptoms will disappear naturally after 1 and 2 years old, but other physical diseases should still be ruled out! Hold your breath? Common in infants under 6 months. Some babies face injections or other situations that make them cry, even if they just defecate in the toilet too hard, they may temporarily hold their breath and have the symptoms of "breath-holding syndrome" with black lips. Hong Yili, a pediatrician at Guotai Hospital, explained that this is different from the "neonatal apnea" where there is no breathing for 20 seconds or even less, but it is accompanied by clinical symptoms such as decreased heartbeat, decreased oxygen concentration in blood, and black lips.

95% of "neonatal apnea" occurs in premature infants. Dr. Hong Yili explained that premature babies born less than 34 weeks ago, the brain respiratory center system is not mature enough, and sometimes the baby sleeps too soundly, and there will be apnea. If it is not premature, there is usually a reason. Common causes include respiratory and urinary tract infections or bacteremia; Hypoglycemia, unstable body temperature and even central nervous system problems, such as neonatal spasm or other brain diseases (such as encephalitis), may lead to apnea.

As for the theme of this topic-"breath-holding syndrome" is not a disease, but the excessive excitement of the baby's sympathetic nerves, which is the most common among babies under 6 months, and some children will last until 1 year. Most children will recover by themselves around 1 ~ 2 years old. But Dr. Hong Yili once met a 2-year-old child with symptoms of holding his breath. However, usually after the age of 2, he is unlikely to cover his lips black.

Prepare an oxygen tank to help you breathe smoothly.

Breathholding syndrome is quite common, but the severity is different. Most babies with breath-holding syndrome will not have serious symptoms. They just need a little comfort from their parents to make their babies breathe smoothly. However, some babies will suppress their lips until they are black. At this time, simply comforting them may not be enough. It is also necessary to use an oxygen bucket to inhale a small amount of oxygen.

Cry until you forget to breathe. Black lips? It turns out that the baby is suffocating syndrome! Does breath-holding syndrome need special treatment? Breathholding syndrome is just a physiological process. Dr. Hong Yili pointed out that the baby's physical coordination is not enough. When he is in an excited state, the sympathetic nerve is excessively excited, which inhibits the respiratory center. When the mood is stable, you can breathe smoothly without special medication.

Ask a doctor to check and rule out other diseases.

After the onset of breath-holding syndrome, it is best to ask a pediatrician to check whether the baby is holding his breath until his lips are black, or whether there are other breathing problems. Even if the baby's respiratory tract is congenital abnormal, it may be more likely to have black lips when crying than ordinary children. In addition, ask the doctor to confirm whether it is a heart problem. Dr. Hong Yili explained that because some babies with congenital heart disease cry and the pulmonary artery contracts, blood can't reach the pulmonary artery for proper gas exchange, and their lips will turn black.

Avoid excessive * * * frequently.

After eliminating the brain, respiratory tract and heart problems, it is confirmed that the baby is simply holding his breath syndrome, that is, waiting for the old age to stop naturally. Babies with severe symptoms need at most one oxygen bottle to carry with them. However, infants with severe breath-holding syndrome may also suffer from brain hypoxia. If the baby keeps holding its breath and no one pays attention to him, it will be like a cyanotic child. After a long time, his eyes may fall off and there will be hypoxia spasm.

Therefore, parents need to help their children breathe smoothly, for example, knowing that certain situations will induce their children to have an attack, they should be prepared in advance. At present, it is effective to appease most people who hold their breath. Dr. Hong Yili said that although suffocation can't be prevented, what parents can do is to avoid things that will make their baby too angry.

Li Hongyi

Current position: Attending physician in pediatrics of Guotai Hospital, attending physician in pediatrics of National Taiwan University Hospital, director of Taiwan Province Neonatal Medical Association, and lecturer at Fu Jen Catholic University.

Education: Master, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taiwan Province University.

Experience: resident, chief physician, newborn researcher, director of pediatrics and adolescent medicine department of Taoyuan Minsheng Hospital, and concurrently attending physician.