Toddler choking on saliva while sleeping (baby, parent, boy, adult)
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Lord the child is 2-1/2! You can't "lay him on his stomach" You're lucky if you can keep the kid in the bed! Maybe you can build a sleep fort with pillows that would encourage him to lay on his side.
Okay, I just looked it up (Google is a wonderful thing) and it can be cause by allergies, medication, having food or drink (candy?) when going to bed, the inability to swallow, the over production of saliva... And all the answers said get checked out.
I'd be scared to pieces, too, and would probably let him sleep with me. The suffocation thing is so scary that's why he gets all upset probably. I did a sleep apnea thing one time and thought I was very close to dying. My heart was racing. Poor kiddo!
While it doesn't occur often, our 2.5yr old has massive choking issues at night about once a month. He'll suddenly wake coughing and choking on his own saliva. By itself, pretty normal, but then it escalates... He then will start crying hysterically and becomes unconsolable to the point where he dry heaves and vomits, then continues to choke, but there isn't seemingly anything in there. Like massive dry heaves where his face turns purple.
Needless to say it's scary as hell and there's nothing you can do but watch and try and console him. He eventually comes out of it and we immediately go for a shower/bath while he calms down. Then he's back to sleep like it never happened. His vomit is nothing but liquid generally so he's seemingly choking on nothing, but it really scares me. It's almost like he's in a trance, or disoriented, when it's going on, then he shakes it off and goes back to sleep.
We've had him in our bed after this has happened a few times because I'm scared to let him sleep alone. What could it be?
The way you describe this, with him being in a trance and choking, sounds like a seizure. Take him to the ER the next time it happens.
Lord the child is 2-1/2! You can't "lay him on his stomach" You're lucky if you can keep the kid in the bed! Maybe you can build a sleep fort with pillows that would encourage him to lay on his side.
Okay, I just looked it up (Google is a wonderful thing) and it can be cause by allergies, medication, having food or drink (candy?) when going to bed, the inability to swallow, the over production of saliva... And all the answers said get checked out.
I'd be scared to pieces, too, and would probably let him sleep with me. The suffocation thing is so scary that's why he gets all upset probably. I did a sleep apnea thing one time and thought I was very close to dying. My heart was racing. Poor kiddo!
Indeed, currently he's in our bed just to keep an eye on him, I've very paranoid. When he chooses to lay on his side or stomach, he has no issues at all, but again, hes 2 1/2 and he's all over the place all night long. We have introduced a hard pillow to elevate him a bit. In the past, he absolutely refused to use a pillow, all our kids dont use pillows, it's strange. Head elevated as much as we can and rolling him on to his side seems to work. It really stinks for our sleep, but until I'm confident everything's OK, he's in there with us.
We did take him to his pediatrician and they seem relatively unconcerned about it. "Keep an eye on it", but until it starts happening more frequently, it's hard to concretely diagnose it. CYA to me, but I'm not a fan of doctors in general, so who knows.
Something worth noting is that he chokes on his food on the regular for whatever reason. Twice to the point of needing serious and immediate assistance, also very scary. I dont think it's related, more due to stuffing too much in your mouth at once. We have two other kids with no issues like this, he's the middle kid.
I have a couple of long body pillows. I stacked them up behind my daughter so she was either on her side or would roll to her stomach. Have you taken your son to an ENT? I took mine for allergy testing last year and my son's nasal passages were completely blocked. He had surgery and is doing much better. For years, he would not even attempt to blow his nose and it was because he wasn't getting enough air behind it to blow out. It doesn't hurt to rule out anything physical that may be constricting his throat or air flow.
I hope you find some answers. I think all my gray hair came from when one of my kiddies has been not feeling well.
Indeed, currently he's in our bed just to keep an eye on him, I've very paranoid. When he chooses to lay on his side or stomach, he has no issues at all, but again, hes 2 1/2 and he's all over the place all night long. We have introduced a hard pillow to elevate him a bit. In the past, he absolutely refused to use a pillow, all our kids dont use pillows, it's strange. Head elevated as much as we can and rolling him on to his side seems to work. It really stinks for our sleep, but until I'm confident everything's OK, he's in there with us.
We did take him to his pediatrician and they seem relatively unconcerned about it. "Keep an eye on it", but until it starts happening more frequently, it's hard to concretely diagnose it. CYA to me, but I'm not a fan of doctors in general, so who knows.
Something worth noting is that he chokes on his food on the regular for whatever reason. Twice to the point of needing serious and immediate assistance, also very scary. I dont think it's related, more due to stuffing too much in your mouth at once. We have two other kids with no issues like this, he's the middle kid.
Your son has, in your words, "massive" choking problems but you're not a fan of doctors. Do you expect a diagnosis from strangers on the internet? Really?
The fact that he's also choking on his food regularly means this child has a serious problem. I cannot urge you strongly enough to have him seen by a doctor ASAP. It doesn't matter that your other children have no issues. This child has a HUGE issue. We're I told by a doctor to "keep an eye on it", and my child continued to choke and gag and have the dry heaves.... I'd find a better doctor.
Indeed, currently he's in our bed just to keep an eye on him, I've very paranoid. When he chooses to lay on his side or stomach, he has no issues at all, but again, hes 2 1/2 and he's all over the place all night long. We have introduced a hard pillow to elevate him a bit. In the past, he absolutely refused to use a pillow, all our kids dont use pillows, it's strange. Head elevated as much as we can and rolling him on to his side seems to work. It really stinks for our sleep, but until I'm confident everything's OK, he's in there with us.
We did take him to his pediatrician and they seem relatively unconcerned about it. "Keep an eye on it", but until it starts happening more frequently, it's hard to concretely diagnose it. CYA to me, but I'm not a fan of doctors in general, so who knows.
Something worth noting is that he chokes on his food on the regular for whatever reason. Twice to the point of needing serious and immediate assistance, also very scary. I dont think it's related, more due to stuffing too much in your mouth at once. We have two other kids with no issues like this, he's the middle kid.
You need to advocate for your child....even if you don't like doctors!
Did you truely tell the doctor the extent of all of what he's going through, or did you just say, "Oh, he wakes up coughing sometimes." Just in a few posts, the level of his symptoms have changed even here...when you can stop and think about your words. It's hard when speaking off the cuff...especially since you don't like doctors for some reason.
Make, and keep updated, a list of all occurrences, with details, that concern you. Make an appointment with the ped. Bring the list with you and let the doctor see the list.
Your son has, in your words, "massive" choking problems but you're not a fan of doctors. Do you expect a diagnosis from strangers on the internet? Really?
The fact that he's also choking on his food regularly means this child has a serious problem. I cannot urge you strongly enough to have him seen by a doctor ASAP. It doesn't matter that your other children have no issues. This child has a HUGE issue. We're I told by a doctor to "keep an eye on it", and my child continued to choke and gag and have the dry heaves.... I'd find a better doctor.
No, I'm not, I'm looking from advice/suggestions from people who have had a similar experience so we can share in that and somehow feel better about expressing our feelings on an anonymous Internet forum.
I certainly not expecting to get heavy-handed scolding from strangers who don't even have any experience with the same thing and have determined from a couple vague paragraphs that my child has a "serious problem". Since you took the time to disect my every word and make a definitive judgement of me and my child, you would know that I did take him to a doctor. And while I left out approximately 59 minutes of detail of my 60 minute discussion with the doctor, that you have deduced I hate more than words, the general feeling was to keep an eye on it, and if it worsens, lets explore it further. Which seems reasonable to me at this point.
Thank you to those with helpful, objective words based on previous experience.
We did take him to his pediatrician and they seem relatively unconcerned about it. "Keep an eye on it", but until it starts happening more frequently, it's hard to concretely diagnose it. CYA to me, but I'm not a fan of doctors in general, so who knows.
This is the child with a congenital heart defect, correct? What is the status on that?
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You're lucky if you can keep the kid in the bed! Maybe you can build a sleep fort with pillows that would encourage him to lay on his side. 
