Suffocation

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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If suffocated, the victim dies due to a lack of oxygen. This can happen, for example, if the inhaled air contains too little oxygen or a foreign body blocks the airways. Read here how to recognize a person suffering from shortness of breath and what first aid you should give in the event of impending suffocation.

Brief overview

Signs: coughing, gasping for air, wheezing or even breathing stopped, pale skin, blue-violet coloration of the face and lips
First aid: Call an emergency doctor, calm the patient, check breathing, if necessary clear the airways (e.g. remove foreign bodies from the mouth), assist with coughing, if necessary knock on the back and use the Heimlich grip, if breathing has stopped: resuscitation
Treatment: removal of foreign bodies, administration of oxygen, artificial respiration, suction of fluids, possibly antidotes, medication for stabilization

Caution!

Brain cells cannot survive long without oxygen. That is why quick first aid is extremely important when there is a risk of suffocation.
In the event of severe or unclear breathlessness, you must call the emergency doctor immediately!

How to recognize suffocation

Possible signs that someone is getting too little air include:

Shortness of breath, gasping for air
whistling sound of breath
strong urge to cough
Cough with frothy or bloody sputum
Pale blue-purple color of face and lips
Loss of consciousness and cessation of breathing

Difficulty breathing due to poisoning (e.g. carbon monoxide poisoning) can also cause headaches, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat and weakness.

The correct way to provide first aid if there is a risk of suffocation depends on the cause of the shortness of breath. Below is how to respond correctly to the most common choking hazards.

First aid for inhaled foreign bodies (aspiration)

This emergency occurs especially in young children when they inhale a peanut, a bunch of grapes, or a small toy. Elderly people also often choke. Especially in people with swallowing disorders (such as after a stroke), a bite of food accidentally lands in the windpipe. Then, under certain circumstances, there is a risk of death from suffocation.

Remove foreign bodies by hand

The object is visibly in the mouth or throat? Gently pull it out with your fingers. But be careful not to accidentally push it in any deeper!

Back pounding

The object is in the larynx or in the windpipe? Help the sufferer cough it up. Back blows help. For older children and adults, do the following:

To do this, the person concerned bends forward.
Support his chest with one hand and hit him hard between the shoulder blades with the other (hit with the flat of your hand).
Repeat the strokes up to five times.
In between, check whether the object has come loose and slipped up into your mouth.

If a toddler is affected, lay them face down on your lap for the maneuver.

If a baby has inhaled a foreign body, place it on its stomach on your outstretched forearm for the back blows.The small head should be supported so that the neck is not constricted.

The baby's head must not be thrown around by the blows in the back, otherwise it can easily lead to a shaking trauma!

Heimlich grip

If the coughing and back beating are unsuccessful, use the Heimlich grip. To do this, you hold the suffocating person with both arms from behind at the height of his upper abdomen. Clench one hand into a fist and place it below his sternum. Clasp your fist with the other hand. Then pull backwards and upwards with a jerk.

You can read more detailed information on this rescue maneuver in the event of impending suffocation in the article Heimlich-Griff.

The Heimlich grip should not be used on children under one year of age!

First aid for blocked airways

An insect bite in the throat or a severe allergic reaction can cause the airways to swell. The victim threatens to suffocate. You can provide first aid in the following ways:

If the person can still swallow, give them ice cream or ice cubes to suck.
Make decongestant cold compresses around the neck (e.g. with a cooling compress or ice cubes wrapped in a cloth).
In the event of an allergic reaction, you should - if available - give the person affected an emergency injection!

First aid for drowning victims

Call the emergency doctor - even if someone was taken out of the water in time, is conscious, breathing independently and quickly recovers. Water and germs in the lungs can cause life-threatening shortness of breath with a delay.

If a drowning victim is passed out and is no longer breathing, start resuscitation immediately.

You can read more about this in the text Drowning Accident.

First aid for smoke / gas poisoning

Alert the ambulance (fire brigade, emergency doctor).
If possible, take the patient outdoors or provide fresh air.
If the victim is conscious, calm him down.
If necessary, clear his airway.
Store him with your torso elevated.
If the patient is unconscious but is breathing independently, place them on their side in a stable position. Until the emergency doctor arrives, check the patient's heartbeat and breathing regularly.
In the event of respiratory or cardiac arrest, you must immediately resuscitate the person affected (in any case with chest compressions, ideally alternating with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation).

Keep an eye on your own safety! Do not attempt a rescue without respiratory protection!

First aid if there is a risk of suffocation from medication or drugs

Medicines and drugs can cause unconsciousness in the event of an overdose and paralyze the respiratory center in the brain. If the person vomits, vomit can get into the windpipe and block it. The tongue can also obstruct the airways: If someone passes out, the tongue goes slack. In the supine position, it can then fall backwards and prevent the flow of air.

In such cases of danger of suffocation, you should give first aid according to the ABC rule:

A for clearing the airway: remove vomit from your mouth with your fingers. If your tongue falls back and blocks your airway, bring your tongue forward. While doing all of this, hold the victim's lower jaw with one hand. This is how you protect yourself from a bite injury should the person suddenly have a seizure.
B for ventilation: Give the person concerned mouth-to-nose or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, provided that you are confident in this first aid measure.
C for Circulation: stimulate the heart and circulation of the person concerned with a chest compressions. It may be sufficient even without ventilation to ensure the patient's survival for a while.

If possible, you should give the leftover medication or drug to the emergency team that has arrived. Knowing the exact cause of the poisoning is very important for medical treatment.

What does the doctor?

The actions the doctor takes will depend on the type of breathing problem.

Inhaled foreign body

If a foreign body stretches in the upper area of the larynx, the doctor can often pull it out with the help of special forceps.

If this is not possible, the foreign body can be removed in the hospital as part of a bronchoscopy or laryngoscopy. Surgical intervention such as a tracheal incision is rarely necessary.

Smoke or gas poisoning

The greatest danger in a fire is the resulting carbon monoxide (CO). The gas binds to the red blood cells better than oxygen. The patient then receives too little oxygen even though he is breathing.

In the case of such CO poisoning, the patient is supplied with pure oxygen - either using a breathing mask or a ventilation tube inserted into the windpipe (intubation). The oxygen supplied then gradually displaces the carbon monoxide again.

In severe cases of poisoning, patients receive oxygen therapy in a pressure chamber (hyperbaric oxygen therapy).

If highly toxic cyanide was inhaled in a fire, the doctor must give an antidote as soon as possible. Cyanides (salts of hydrocyanic acid) block the respiratory chain in the body cells - the person affected can suffocate internally within a short time.

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