hyperventilating?

[mrs.t]

My 9.5 mo DS will sometimes get a stuffy nose from our forced air heat. Last night, I went to take a shower after he fell asleep, and DH was nearby in case he woke up. I came out of the shower to my DS hyperventilating. Apparently his nose got stuffy while he was sleeping, and he couldn't breathe through it, so he panicked. Usually when his nose gets stuffy I nurse him so he kind of forces himself to breathe through his nose and he calms down. I nursed him after he took a few deep breaths and he was fine. He has never exhibited any breathing problems or anything, I seriously think this was more like a panic attack. Now I'm terrified to leave him when he's asleep. Has anyone been through this? What helps to calm your DC down? My husband seemed to have it under control since he was trying to distract him by looking out the window, but it was really scary while it was happening. He wasn't turning blue or anything like that, he just couldn't catch his breath. He was still trying to breathe through his stuffed nose, which obviously wasn't helping. How bad is hyperventilating?