Recurrent breath holding spells with infantile colic.

Breath holding spells are stereotypical episodes of brief, involuntary cessations of breathing with cyanosis and hypoxia that may occur in children in response to stimuli such as anger, frustration, fear, or injury. Typically, they occur between 9 months to 3 years with a peak incidence at about 2 years(1). As the child matures and his understanding develops, these episodes decrease in frequency and ultimately disappear. We report the rare incidence of recurrent breath-holding spells in a one-month old child with severe infantile colic.