Acute Airway Obstruction

Treatments

An acute airway obstruction should be treated quickly so your child’s breathing is not inhibited for a long period of time.

Treatment of an acute airway obstruction depends on its cause. Possible treatments include:

• Abdominal thrust. This emergency technique, also called the Heimlich maneuver, may help a person who is choking. This maneuver uses abdominal thrusts in an attempt to dislodge the foreign object.
• Endotracheal or nasotracheal tube. The doctor inserts a breathing tube into the airway to help get oxygen through swollen airways.
• Tracheostomy or cricothyrotomy. The doctor makes a small incision on the front of the throat, through the tough cartilage rings and into the trachea in order to bypass an obstruction. This could be done if there is a large object blocking the airway, your child has been unable to breathe on his or her own for a period of time and efforts to remove the foreign body have been unsuccessful.
• Epinephrine. Administered via a simple injection, this medicine can be used to treat airway swelling due to an allergic reaction.
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Involving a combination of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing, CPR can be used to help someone who is not breathing. Even someone who is not certified in CPR can administer chest compressions (at a rate of 100 per minute) to a child who is not breathing until paramedics arrive.