Suffocation Health Dictionary

The medical term for suffocation.

Asphyxia may be caused by the obstruction of a large airway, usually by a foreign body (see choking), by insufficient oxygen in the surrounding air (as occurs when a closed plastic bag is put over the head), or by poisoning with a gas such as carbon monoxide that interferes with the uptake of oxygen into the blood.

First-aid treatment is by artificial respiration after clearing the airway of obstruction.

Untreated asphyxia leads to death within a few minutes.... asphyxia

Usually epithelioma with burning. Lesion may extend upwards into the base of the skull. Thickening of nasal membranes may cause deafness by compressing Eustachian tubes.

Anyone over 40 who has recurrent sore throat for more than six weeks should visit his family doctor. Symptoms. Pain, headache, paralysis of eye muscles.

Of possible value. Alternatives:– Teas. Violet leaves, Red Clover flowers, Plantain. 1-2 teaspoons to each cup boiling water; infuse 5-15 minutes. Drink freely.

Decoction. Combination. Goldenseal 1; Poke root 1; Yellow Dock 3; Marshmallow root 3. Place half an ounce (15g) in 1 pint (500ml) water simmered gently 20 minutes. Half a cup or more, as freely as tolerated.

Formula. Echinacea 2; Goldenseal 1; Poke root half; Thuja quarter; Liquorice half. Mix. Dose: Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 2 teaspoons. Three or more times daily as tolerated.

Case of Lady Margaret Marsham, Maidstone. Cured of cancer of the throat by Violet leaf tea. Boiling water was poured on fresh Violet leaves (wild, not cultivated) and allowed to stand 12 hours. Compresses were moistened and applied externally to the throat and covered with oil silk. Relief was immediate. Difficult swallowing, sense of suffocation and the visible swelling disappeared within one week, the growth on the tonsil within a fortnight.

Treatment by a general medical practitioner or hospital oncologist. Diet. See: DIET – CANCER. ... cancer – nose and throat

Condition with no specific organic lesion present, but one in which palpitation or cardiac distress may be precipitated by nervous or emotional stimuli.

Alternatives. Neuralgia of the Heart: Lobelia.

Palpitation with sense of suffocation: Pulsatilla.

From physical exhaustion: Ginseng.

With rapid heart beat: Lily of the Valley, Gelsemium.

Tea. Equal parts, Valerian, Motherwort, Lime flowers. Mix. 1-2 teaspoons to each cup boiling water allowed to cool. Drink cold 1 teacup 2 or 3 times daily.

Decoction. Equal parts, Valerian, Hawthorn, Mistletoe. Mix. 1 heaped teaspoon to each cup water simmered gently for 20 minutes. 1 teacup 2 or 3 times daily.

Tablets/capsules. Hawthorn, Mistletoe, Motherwort. Valerian. Passion flower. Lobelia.

Formula. Equal parts: Hawthorn, Lily of the Valley, Mistletoe. Dose: Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures 2 teaspoons. Thrice daily.

Practitioner. Formula. Tincture Hawthorn 2; Tincture Gelsemium 1. Dose: 15-30 drops 2-3 times daily. Alternative formula. Tincture Valerian 2; Strophanthus 1. Dose: 15-30 drops thrice daily.

Diet. Oats (oatmeal porridge), low fat, low salt, high fibre. See also: DIET – HEART AND CIRCULATION. ... heart – nervous

An awareness of the heartbeat. Increase in the normal rate of sudden onset or lasting a few hours, with or without vertigo or fainting. Temporary acceleration may be common, often entirely innocent. Where the beat reaches 100 to 140 per minute it is likely to be due to sinus tachycardia, but higher rates, 180 plus, of sudden onset and offset are due to paroxysmal tachycardia from an abnormal focus of rhythm in atrium or ventricle.

May be caused by anxiety, exercise, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, anaemia, thyroid disorder, a specific fever or presence of a ‘coronary’. Extra-systoles may be felt as a thumping in the chest. May also be caused by excessive digitalis therapy.

Treatment. Where due to shock (Passion flower), overstrain (Ginseng), flatulence (Chamomile), sense of oppression in the chest (Hawthorn), suffocation (Aconite), worse lying on the left side (Cactus), highly sensitive women (Pulsatilla), mental depression (Cactus), congestion of the lungs (Lobelia).

Tea. Combine equal parts – Motherwort and Passion flower. 1-2 teaspoons to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes; 1 cup as necessary.

Tablets/capsules. Chamomile, Hawthorn, Lobelia, Mistletoe, Motherwort, Pulsatilla, Passion flower (Passiflora), Valerian.

Formula. Equal parts: Lily of the Valley, Passion flower. Dose: Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 2 teaspoons. Thrice daily in water or honey. Practitioner. Tincture Aconite, BPC 1949. Dose: 0.12 to 0.3ml (2 to 5 drops). OR:– Spartiol (Broom) 20 drops thrice daily. (Klein).

Diet. See: DIET – HEART AND CIRCULATION.

Vitamin E. One 400iu capsule (or tablet) daily.

Minerals. Magnesium 300mg daily. ... palpitation

n. a sense of suffocation or suffocating pain. See angina pectoris; Ludwig’s angina.... angina

A type of reaction caused by allergy. Angioedema is characterized by large, well-defined swellings, of sudden onset, in the skin, larynx (voicebox), and other areas.

The most common cause is a sudden allergic reaction to a food. Less commonly, it results from allergy to a drug (such as penicillin), a reaction to an insect bite or sting, or from infection, emotional stress, or exposure to animals, moulds, pollens, or cold conditions. There is also a hereditary form of the disease.

Angioedema may cause sudden difficulty in breathing, swallowing, and speaking, accompanied by swelling of the lips, face, and neck, depending on the area of the body affected. Angioedema that affects the throat and the larynx is potentially life-threatening because the swelling can block the airway, causing asphyxia.

Severe cases are treated with injections of adrenaline (epinephrine) and may require intubation (passage of a breathing tube via the mouth into the windpipe) or tracheostomy (surgical creation of a hole in the windpipe) to prevent suffocation. Corticosteroid drugs may also be given. In less severe cases, antihistamine drugs may relieve symptoms.... angioedema

Partial or complete inability to breathe due to an obstruction of the airways. Choking is often due to food or drink entering the trachea and bronchi instead of passing from the pharynx into the oesophagus. Coughing normally dislodges the food or drink. An obstruction that partially blocks the airway and cannot be dislodged by coughing is more serious. If the airway is completely blocked, total suffocation will result if the blockage is not removed. If an obstruction cannot be cleared by first aid techniques, such as the Heimlich manoeuvre or removed manually, an emergency tracheostomy may be performed to restore the airway before removal of the obstruction with instruments.... choking

Death caused by suffocation and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) associated with immersion in a fluid. Most often, the person inhales liquid into the lungs; sometimes, no liquid enters the lungs, a condition called dry drowning (see drowning, dry). People who are resuscitated after prolonged immersion are said to be victims of “near drowning”.

Initially, automatic contraction of a muscle at the entrance to the windpipe, a mechanism called the laryngeal reflex, prevents water from entering the lungs; instead it enters the oesophagus and stomach.

However, the laryngeal reflex impairs breathing and can quickly lead to hypoxia and to loss of consciousness.

If the person is buoyant at this point and floats face-up, his or her chances of survival are reasonable because the laryngeal reflex begins to relax and normal breathing may resume.

An ambulance should be called and the person’s medical condition assessed.

If breathing and/or the pulse is absent, resuscitative measures should be started (see artificial respiration; cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and continued until an ambulance or doctor arrives.

Victims can sometimes be resuscitated, despite a long period immersed in very cold water (which reduces the body’s oxygen needs) and the initial appearance of being dead.

In all cases of successful resuscitation, the person should be sent to a hospital.... drowning

An unpleasant, vivid dream, sometimes accompanied by a sense of suffocation. Nightmares occur during (rapid eye movement) sleep in the middle and later parts of the night, and they are often clearly remembered if the dreamer awakens completely.

Nightmares are especially common in children aged between 8 and 10, and are particularly likely to occur when the child is unwell or anxious. In adults, nightmares may be a side effect of certain drugs, including beta-blocker drugs and benzodiazepine drugs. Repeated nightmares may be associated with traumatic experiences.

Nightmares should not be confused with hypnagogic hallucinations, which occur while falling asleep, nor with night terror, which occurs in (nonrapid eye movement) sleep and is not remembered the next day.... nightmare