suffocation

suffocation

 [suf″ŏ-ka´shun]

the stoppage of breathing; called also asphyxiation. If it is complete (no air at all reaches the lungs), the lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood will cause almost immediate loss of consciousness. Though the heart continues to beat briefly, death will follow in a matter of minutes unless emergency measures are taken to get breathing started again. Suffocation can be caused by drowning, electric shock, gas or smoke poisoning, strangulation, or choking on a foreign body in the trachea. Once the cause of suffocation has been removed, the most important first aid measure is artificial respiration.

risk for suffocation a nursing diagnosis accepted by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as a state in which an individual has an accentuated risk of suffocation.

suf·fo·ca·tion

(sŭf'ŏ-kā'shŭn),

The act or condition of suffocating or of asphyxiation.

suffocation

/suf·fo·ca·tion/ (suf″ah-ka´shun)

1. asphyxiation.

2. the asphyxia that results from stoppage of respiration.suf´focative

suffocation

[suf′əkā′shən]

Etymology: L, suffocare, to choke

an interruption in breathing with oxygen deprivation, usually caused by an obstruction in the airways. The condition may be accidental or intentional or may result from disease or inadequate levels of respirable gases in the atmosphere.

suf·fo·ca·tion

(sŭf'ŏ-kā'shŭn)

The act or condition of suffocating or of asphyxiation.

suffocation

Oxygen deprivation by mechanical obstruction to the passage of air into the lungs, usually at the level of the nose, mouth, LARYNX or TRACHEA.

suf·fo·ca·tion

(sŭf'ŏ-kā'shŭn)

The act or condition of suffocating or of asphyxiation.

suffocation

the stoppage of breathing, or the asphyxia that results from it. If suffocation is complete—that is, no air at all reaches the lungs—the lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood will cause almost immediate loss of consciousness. Though the heart continues to beat briefly, death will follow in a matter of minutes unless emergency measures are taken to get breathing started again.

Suffocation can be caused by drowning, electric shock, gas or smoke poisoning, strangulation, or choking on a foreign body in the trachea. That suffocation is occurring in an animal may not be obvious. Signs that suggest obstruction to the air passage, e.g. in acute pulmonary edema, are gasping dyspnea with mouth breathing, frantic demented activity including aggression, especially in horses, terminally violent convulsions and asphyxial respiratory failure.