padded dash syndrome

padded dash(board) syndrome

A rare form of trauma, primarily affecting right front seat occupant–'passenger side' in many countries in an automobile accident when he/she is restrained by a lap-type safety belt; in an abrupt stop, the passenger's body is thrown forward at the waist and the hyperextended neck strikes the dashboard at the level of the thyroid cartilage Clinical Respiratory distress due to upper airway obstruction, due to a hematoma, fluid accumulation, aspiration of saliva, fluids, subcutaneous emphysema, fractures of cartilage, pain on swallowing