What is Reflex Syncope or Reflex Anoxic Seizures (RAS)?
RAS occurs mainly in young children. Any unexpected stimulus, such as pain, shock or a fright causes the heart and breathing to stop, the eyes to roll up into the head, complexion to become deathly white, the body to stiffen and the arms and legs to jerk. After 30 seconds the body relaxes and the heart starts beating, the sufferer is unconscious. One or two minutes later the person may regain consciousness but can appear to be unconscious for over an hour. Upon recovery the person may be very emotional and then fall into a deep sleep for two to three hours. RAS attacks may occur several times per day/week/month. There is no cure, but advances have been made with the use of a pacemaker where cardiac pacing, a treatment, has shown to improve the quality of life for some individuals. Safe effective drugs such as atropine and atropine sulfate have prevented most Reflex Anoxic Seizures (in the short term) for children having severe and frequent attacks.
Unfortunately, because of the symptoms, RAS is often misdiagnosed as temper tantrums, breath holding or as epilepsy. It is, therefore, one of the aims of STARS to bring about both professional and public awareness of RAS.
Living with RAS:
"I just wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and sit and play jigsaws all day, knowing that she was unlikely to have an attack if she didn't move". STARS member.
Such a response to caring for a child with RAS is natural. However parents need to balance the understandable need to protect their child from harm against the long term problems this can cause. Excluding children form everyday activities and risks can stunt their normal emotional and psychological development. Discipline and limit setting is particularly hard for families of these children but remain essential for the child's healthy development.
What to do in brief:
- Make sure the individual is lying flat in a safe environment ensuring nothing is blocking their airways.
- Talk reassuringly (it is know that the individual can sometimes hear but is unable to answer) and comfort upon recovery.
- Although it should not be necessary to call a doctor, if the person has had a particularly nasty bump it may be wise to seek medical advice.