Q: My 16 year old son woke up hyperventilating. He said that it was like something was over his throat, when I heard him, I jumped out of bed and called his name, by that time he was standing up, I just rubbed his back and talked to him, he was able to catch his breath. He went back to bed, seems ok, no more problems. Should I set a doctors appointment, he didn't know why it started. It scared him really bad,he was afraid someone wouldn't hear him, because he couldn't talk.
A: If it happened that one time only, I would just keep an eye and ear out for him in the future. More than likely, he had an anxiety attack. Does he snore? If he does, it can be due to sleep apnea, where he would of temporarily stopped breathing, woken up and caught his breathe, and hyperventalated. His body was simply fighting for air when it thought it was turning off. Any case, watch for it again, if it happens, I would take him to the pediatrician. You sound like a good mom.