Seizure - does tongue turn blue?

[dwerten]

my demi just had an episode this morning where she vomitting bile then was doing hard reverse sneeze and licking over and over and her tongue was turning blue scared me to death - i held her and calmed her down as i did not know what to do and she started breathing better and i called the vet - she is eating and acting normal but it is almost like she vomitted and it went up nasal cavitiy and upset her so she kept reverse sneezing as any times she does this vomitting which is very rare she gets real stiff and just looks at me with a scared look - it has not happened in a long time but this time i noticed her tongue being blue which scared me - she is still once in a while doing a little reverse sneeze here and there after the vomitting but it was on and off for about 30 min. She is 5 years old and a maltese. I do not think it is heart related as vet said she has a strong heart and it is not coughing it is a strong reverse sneeze sound and the whole time she is licking her lips over and over. My gut is seizure but it is not like a petit mal or a grand mal It is almost like the vomit went in her nose and upset her breathing as usually after a seizure they vomit not before I think -help need some advice - she is acting fine now and waiting on vet to call me back

she just ate her food fine as i think she threw up bile maybe from empty stomach as i was making her food when she threw up and she pooped just fine

the blue tongue scared me

[ARCHIE]

What a scary thing to happen to her. It's good you were there. I would
think if she vomited and it went up her nose and she had reverse sneezing at the same time her oxygen may have been cut off for a few seconds, hence the tongue turning blue.
I am so relieved she is ok.

[cj125]

Oh wow - Deb I have no idea about what could cause the blue tongue and I am sad to hear about Demi - I hope the vet calls "soon"! My blk Lab had seizures and I don't ever remember him having a blue tongue - but that does not mean that it doesn't happen. Please let us know what the vet says.
Hugs...

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ARCHIE

What a scary thing to happen to her. It's good you were there. I would
think if she vomited and it went up her nose and she had reverse sneezing at the same time her oxygen may have been cut off for a few seconds, hence the tongue turning blue.
I am so relieved she is ok.

this is what i am thinking she gets so scared when she vomits as it rarely happens and this was a normal vomit not like the one two weeks ago where seems she had an upset tummy and has not happened again that projectile vomit. She gets so stiff and scared and is trying to breath so i pick her up and try to calm her down so she can breath - so sad

[jencar98]

Originally Posted by ARCHIE

What a scary thing to happen to her. It's good you were there. I would
think if she vomited and it went up her nose and she had reverse sneezing at the same time her oxygen may have been cut off for a few seconds, hence the tongue turning blue.
I am so relieved she is ok.

That was my thought too Carol, blue tongue was from lack of oxygen.

Deb, I'll bet you were scared out of your mind, bless your hearts. What a relief she is okay now - do keep us updated though.

[kjc]

As seizures are a result of inapropriate electrical impulses in the brain, and a blue tongue is indicative of a lack of oxygen, there are a few senarios.
Depending on the part of the brain that is affected by the seizure:

Has she stopped breathing? Look for chest movement. If none, the ability to breathe could be temporarily halted by the seizure. Be ready to give mouth to snout breathing.

Has her heart stopped? Begin chest compressions.

Is her airway clear? If no, use an infant nasal aspirator to clear nostrils.

Continue life support until seizure activity ceases.
Eventually the seizure will stop, and breathing and heartrate should return to normal. It wouldn't hurt to have a valium on hand, crushed, to rub on her gums if seizure activity gets worse (more body functions fail) or lasts too long.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by kjc

As seizures are a result of inapropriate electrical impulses in the brain, and a blue tongue is indicative of a lack of oxygen, there are a few senarios.
Depending on the part of the brain that is affected by the seizure:

Has she stopped breathing? Look for chest movement. If none, the ability to breathe could be temporarily halted by the seizure. Be ready to give mouth to snout breathing.

Has her heart stopped? Begin chest compressions.

Is her airway clear? If no, use an infant nasal aspirator to clear nostrils.

Continue life support until seizure activity ceases.
Eventually the seizure will stop, and breathing and heartrate should return to normal. It wouldn't hurt to have a valium on hand, crushed, to rub on her gums if seizure activity gets worse (more body functions fail) or lasts too long.

Sorry, read that wrong... sounds like the vomit blocked her nasal airway, causing her to reverse sneeze. Lack of oxygen can cause a seizure, or seizure-like behavior. Drooling can cause excessive licking which can accompany a seizure. Also, vomit may have caused a burning sensation which triggered rev sneeze and drooling.

She may not tolerate your interference when she has an episode. If you have to wait till she passes out, then aspirate her nares and start CPR.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by kjc

As seizures are a result of inapropriate electrical impulses in the brain, and a blue tongue is indicative of a lack of oxygen, there are a few senarios.
Depending on the part of the brain that is affected by the seizure:

Has she stopped breathing? Look for chest movement. If none, the ability to breathe could be temporarily halted by the seizure. Be ready to give mouth to snout breathing.

Has her heart stopped? Begin chest compressions.

Is her airway clear? If no, use an infant nasal aspirator to clear nostrils.

Continue life support until seizure activity ceases.
Eventually the seizure will stop, and breathing and heartrate should return to normal. It wouldn't hurt to have a valium on hand, crushed, to rub on her gums if seizure activity gets worse (more body functions fail) or lasts too long.

thanks guess i need to learn this cpr stuff just in case as i was freaking out when i saw her tongue blue just kept talking to her to calm her down as she was trying to breath as she relaxed when i held her the color returned pink - it was scary glad i was home as my little dee dee likes to attack her when she is sick

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by kjc

Sorry, read that wrong... sounds like the vomit blocked her nasal airway, causing her to reverse sneeze. Lack of oxygen can cause a seizure, or seizure-like behavior. Drooling can cause excessive licking which can accompany a seizure. Also, vomit may have caused a burning sensation which triggered rev sneeze and drooling.

She may not tolerate your interference when she has an episode. If you have to wait till she passes out, then aspirate her nares and start CPR.

she had no drooling so thinking maybe not a seizure just the vomit triggered reverse sneeze which in turn she could not breath and she gets real scared when she reverse sneezes unlike my yorks as it rarely happens to her so i think she freaks out It happens every time she has reverse sneeze or vomits she panics but this is the first time her tongue turned blue so it really scared me

[kjc]

Originally Posted by dwerten

she had no drooling so thinking maybe not a seizure just the vomit triggered reverse sneeze which in turn she could not breath and she gets real scared when she reverse sneezes unlike my yorks as it rarely happens to her so i think she freaks out It happens every time she has reverse sneeze or vomits she panics but this is the first time her tongue turned blue so it really scared me

Sorry, drooling is optional. I've seen licking during a seizure, and during rev sneezing.
One of my Yorkies gets totally stiff when she gets scared. Like a statue.

Either way, seizure or not, being calm and trying to interact with her is good and be reassuring too. I find with Peek a Boo that if I message his throat during Rev sneeze it sometimes helps.

When a dog comes out of a seizure, they may not know where they are, so if she ever has one, it's best to remain calm and talk in a calm voice as if everything is okay.

Also, one of the ladies said to stop Reverse Sneezing, cover the nostrils with a finger, it will force them to take a breath through their mouth.

[BonBon]

That sounds terrifying! I've never seen one have their tongue turn blue, I would probably freak out. What did the vet say about it when you took her in?

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by bonbon

That sounds terrifying! I've never seen one have their tongue turn blue, I would probably freak out. What did the vet say about it when you took her in?

i called vet and specialty hospital. Vet said probably allergy related lol i think she is confusing dee dee with demi she said to rub honey on gums to get her pre-occupied to get her to breath i guess lol -- i called specialty hospital as they are very sharp and ran the scenario by them and we were on the same page they think she threw up it went in her nasal cavity and caused her to reverse sneeze - she got scared and could not breath and thus blue tongue. They said next time to hold her up and do not let her lay down and with her not to cover nose like i do with my yorkies which i don't with her when she gets reverse sneeze as she gets scared unlike my yorks. They said do a sweep of mouth to make sure no vomit is stuck causing her not to breath. I should have ran her in the other room which i will do next time as dd tries to attack her and that upsets her more but i was in shock a little seeing her tongue blue. They said to watch her to make sure as precaution that she did not aspirate and watch for coughing so no pneumonia - I think she will be fine. she was running around barking and dh is staying home to work from home to keep an eye on her.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by kjc

Sorry, drooling is optional. I've seen licking during a seizure, and during rev sneezing.
One of my Yorkies gets totally stiff when she gets scared. Like a statue.

Either way, seizure or not, being calm and trying to interact with her is good and be reassuring too. I find with Peek a Boo that if I message his throat during Rev sneeze it sometimes helps.

When a dog comes out of a seizure, they may not know where they are, so if she ever has one, it's best to remain calm and talk in a calm voice as if everything is okay.

Also, one of the ladies said to stop Reverse Sneezing, cover the nostrils with a finger, it will force them to take a breath through their mouth.

yeah i usually cover the nose with my yorks but demi gets to scared. She gets stiff like statue like yours too - so wierd how they are so different - she wasn't acting spaced out after like she did from the rosemary chicken years ago after a petit mal I believe she had from the rosemary. I am just so glad she is doing better - I think the reverse sneezing and vomitting scares her and she spins out of control and cannot catch her breath. I just talk softly pet her and tell her it is ok so she calms down but then when she calms down and i set her down she started up again so i then held her for 40 min to make sure it was all gone - poor baby. She did this a couple times at night before but it has been a while so i think she gets acid reflux and vomits at night then it starts this behavior but her tongue has never gotten blue though

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by dwerten

i called vet and specialty hospital. Vet said probably allergy related lol i think she is confusing dee dee with demi she said to rub honey on gums to get her pre-occupied to get her to breath i guess lol -- i called specialty hospital as they are very sharp and ran the scenario by them and we were on the same page they think she threw up it went in her nasal cavity and caused her to reverse sneeze - she got scared and could not breath and thus blue tongue. They said next time to hold her up and do not let her lay down and with her not to cover nose like i do with my yorkies which i don't with her when she gets reverse sneeze as she gets scared unlike my yorks. They said do a sweep of mouth to make sure no vomit is stuck causing her not to breath. I should have ran her in the other room which i will do next time as dd tries to attack her and that upsets her more but i was in shock a little seeing her tongue blue. They said to watch her to make sure as precaution that she did not aspirate and watch for coughing so no pneumonia - I think she will be fine. she was running around barking and dh is staying home to work from home to keep an eye on her.

I'm glad to hear she seems to be feeling better.

[Nancy1999]

How scary was that? Wow, thanks for posting this, I think I would have a heart attack if I ever saw this happen. I guess the more we know, the more we can keep our wits in an emergency. Did you find out what caused the vomiting? Glad she's doing better.