This is not uncommon in infants and toddlers. Episodes are characterised by the child suddenly stopping breathing in the midst of a bout of crying provoked by pain, emotional upset or loss of temper, and sometimes for no obvious reason. The breath may be held so long that the child goes blue in the face or even faints. The attack is never fatal and the condition usually disappears spontaneously after the age of 3–5 years, but once a child has acquired the habit it may recur quite often.

It is important for a paediatrician to determine that such events are not actually epileptic (see EPILEPSY). Generally they require no treatment other than reassurance, as recovery is spontaneous and rapid – although a small number of severely affected children, who become very pale, whose heart rate slows dramatically and may even have a convulsion have been offered treatment with medication and, rarely, with a PACEMAKER.