Asphyxia in adults

Translated from Greek, “asphyxia” literally means “lack of pulse.” With suffocation, oxygen starvation of the body occurs, and carbon dioxide accumulates in the tissues and blood. The body cannot stay in this state for a long time – the nervous system, in particular the brain, immediately suffers. After prolonged asphyxia, there is a risk of severe disability.

Asphyxia occurs due to the cessation of oxygen access: with pulmonary edema, suffocation. Causes asphyxia and drops in the level of oxygen in the inhaled air, with a decrease in atmospheric pressure or pressure on the artificial respiration apparatus.

The risk of asphyxia is at any age. People with lung diseases, allergies and asthma are predisposed to this. But regardless of the causes of suffocation, this condition requires emergency measures.

If no action is taken, the person may die within minutes. Even if you manage to restore breathing, there is a risk of severe complications, hemorrhages in the lungs and rupture of lung tissue. Up to dementia, because brain cells die without oxygen.

What is asphyxia

With asphyxia, the body is deprived of oxygen. The most famous example is mechanical asphyxia due to a piece of food getting stuck in the throat. First, respiratory movements increase, the lungs expand excessively, which can lead to tissue rupture. Further, the pressure rises, hemorrhages occur, the attempt to exhale intensifies. If the cause of asphyxia is not eliminated, breathing stops, blood pressure drops sharply.

Due to the lack of oxygen, the acid-base balance of the blood will change. The blood is oxidized, it accumulates decay products, carbon dioxide. Cells are very sensitive to changes in pH, and gradually begin to die. There is a paralysis of nerve cells that are located in the respiratory center of the brain, and breathing stops irrevocably.

Causes of asphyxia in adults

There are many reasons for asphyxia. It can be divided into several types.

Non-violent asphyxia. It occurs precisely as a result of the disease – swelling of the larynx due to allergies, asthma, etc.

Violent asphyxia. It is of three types:

• obstructive – when the airways are blocked due to drowning, ingestion of pieces of food;
• strangulation – suffocation due to compression of the neck with a rope, hands, through hanging;
• compression – due to compression of the chest and abdomen by weights, for example, after the collapse of buildings.

Violent asphyxia is much more likely to cause death by suffocation than the first option.

Symptoms of asphyxia in adults

If asphyxia develops gradually, and breathing is not completely blocked, a person can be in a state of oxygen starvation for several hours or even days. He involuntarily leans forward, stretches his neck, opens his mouth and catches air. The skin is pale, and the lips and nails are bluish. Often victims stick out their tongues. If hypoxia is prolonged, rather fast stages of asphyxia follow.

Due to the lack of oxygen, the activity of breaths increases as a compensation. At this moment, the person behaves restlessly, he is frightened, feels dizzy. His pulse quickens, blood pressure rises, his skin may become cyanotic. The person may try to cough.

Then the victim tries to exhale, the skin turns blue even more, and the pressure and pulse decrease. In the third stage, short episodes of respiratory arrest can be noticed, the person loses consciousness and falls into a coma. If nothing is done, the last stage sets in, convulsions, agony, it is impossible to feel the pulse or determine the pressure. At this point, death occurs.

Treatment of asphyxia in adults

In treatment, prompt first aid is very important. It is necessary to restore the supply of oxygen as soon as possible. Often it is necessary to do this when the victim is already unconscious. First of all, you should call an ambulance. While she is driving, if you have the skills, you can help.

If a person is conscious, but experiencing suffocation, it is necessary to free him from tight clothing, bring him into the air. If the cause is known, such as asthma, the person should be given the drug they usually take. When the victim cannot breathe due to stuck food, it can be removed by standing behind him and, clasping his hands in the lock, compress the person’s diaphragm with jerks.

An unconscious person is first examined, their pulse is checked. They lay it on the back, open the mouth and remove foreign objects from the oral cavity, free from the rope, remove water or a piece of food, etc. – depending on the cause of asphyxia. That is, the first step is to remove what blocks the access of air. Usually after this, breathing is restored on its own.

The heart can beat for up to 10 to 15 minutes even after breathing has stopped. Therefore, artificial respiration is done – air is forcibly blown through the mouth, but only if it is known for sure that the object that blocked the access of oxygen has been removed. Otherwise, it can be “driven” even deeper and aggravate the situation. If there is no pulse, then an indirect heart massage is performed so that the blood moves through the vessels and provides the brain with a minimum amount of oxygen.

Diagnostics

Asphyxia is determined on the basis of examination of the victim, his complaints. Pulse oximetry is also performed – the device determines the pulse and the degree of blood oxygen saturation. There can be no more diagnostics at this stage, since the condition of a person with asphyxia is rapidly deteriorating and can be critical.

After first aid, especially if asphyxia occurs not for the first time, a thorough diagnosis is carried out. The opinion of an allergist, pulmonologist, and other doctors is usually required. Blood tests are taken, sometimes x-rays are needed.

Modern treatments

In severe cases of asphyxia, it is not enough to remove a foreign object that blocked breathing. Sometimes the swelling of the larynx is so strong that even artificial respiration is impossible – the air simply will not pass.

In this case, specialists administer fast-acting medications, and oxygen supply can be restored using a tracheotomy. This operation allows the supply of air directly through the trachea. To do this, it is dissected, and a stoma is applied – an artificial opening.

It is also possible to place the victim on a ventilator – artificial lung ventilation. In this case, the apparatus makes the breaths for the person, it also controls the saturation of the blood with oxygen and the removal of carbon dioxide.

Prevention of asphyxia in adults at home

If asphyxia develops gradually, there is a lot of time to help and the risk of serious consequences is lower. In acute asphyxia, there is a high probability of not having time to provide assistance. After an episode of asphyxia, the victim usually needs care, sometimes he will not be able to fully recover.

It is important to monitor the state of your health, to know about your features. For example, if you are prone to allergies or asthma, always carry the necessary drugs and inhalers with you.

You should also avoid eating while walking or talking. It can be helpful to learn what to do if someone chokes on food or water. Such knowledge will help not to get confused and save someone’s life.

Popular questions and answers

Asphyxia is a life-threatening condition of suffocation. But there are also such types of asphyxia that almost all people regularly experience, and this should not be feared. Will tell you more about it therapist Yulia Tkachenko.