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Conditions
Acute upper airway obstruction

Acute upper airway obstruction

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A condition in which partial or complete blockage of the airways makes it difficult or impossible to breath.

Dr. Geoffrey Rutledge reviewed this

39 year experience in Internal Medicine

How long it usually lasts:

Medium-term (lasts weeks to months)

How common it is:

Rare
Baby
0-2
Very common
Preteen
6-13
Very common
Teenager
14-18
Very common
Young adult
19-40
Very common
Middle-aged adult
41-60
Very common

Symptoms

Snoring
Confusion
Difficulty breathing after exercise
Wheezing
Loss of consciousness
Load more

Risk factors

Personal

Prolonged bed rest
Long plane rides
Asbestos exposure

Related questions

A 44-year old asked:

What is another name for an acute upper airway obstruction?

1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

A female asked:

neck pain headache,throat pain severe when lying down esp throat feels like obstruction. sudden onset of cold symptoms last wk symptoms worsen daily

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 45-year old asked:

Is chronic obstruction airways disease a progressive illness?

1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in

A 38-year old asked:

Are there other types of ways of dying from airway obstruction?

1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in

A 41-year old asked:

I have upper airway obstruction, what to do?

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 45-year old asked:

What are symptoms of airway obstruction in a toddler?

1 doctor answer • 4 doctors weighed in

A 21-year old female asked:

Minimal airway obstruction is present suggesting small airway disease..what is this?

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 45-year old asked:

When victim of foreign body airway obstruction becomes unresponsive what is the next step? Cpr?

1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

A 42-year old asked:

What is a chronic airways obstruction?

1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

A 42-year old asked:

What's the difference between COPD and chronic airway obstruction?

6 doctor answers • 16 doctors weighed in

A 35-year old asked:

What would be prescribed first for a patient with chronic airway obstruction?

1 doctor answer • 5 doctors weighed in

A 54-year old female asked:

If you had an obstruction in you bronchial tube or airway would your ixygen level be normal. Wouldn't you have labiref breathing?

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 46-year old asked:

Can et tube help if you have upper airway obstruction?

1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in

A 29-year old female asked:

My peak flow is always around 320. Just got diagnosed with a obstruction in the airways but they dont know the cause yet. Im very concerned.. 29 years, healthy, no smoker, healthy weight ?

1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

A 30-year old asked:

My mom was just been diagnosed with chronic airway obstruction. What does this mean?

1 doctor answer • 5 doctors weighed in

A 48-year old asked:

Why is it recommended to insert something into the mouth to prevent airway obstruction and biting?

1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

A 47-year old asked:

My mom has just been diagnosed with chronic airway obstruction. What is this from--smoking?

1 doctor answer • 4 doctors weighed in

A 33-year old male asked:

As I know the apnea's root cause is not only from the airway obstruction, but from my brain which does not send orders to breathe. Is that true?

2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in

A 27-year old male asked:

Airway obstruction from forward head posture, rounded shoulders, & musculoskeletal tension. How do I reverse this? Other symptoms are reflux & fatigue

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 33-year old female asked:

Just had a pft and was told that I have small airway disease showing obstructions in my small airways. What does that mean? I.E. Asthma or COPD or something else? Born at 27.5 weeks and on vent as baby.

4 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in

A 21-year old female asked:

If an unconscious person was lying on their side with their turned head resting in another's lap, would they be relatively safe from airway obstruction? At least, is there a chance the airway wouldn't get obstructed?

1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

A 29-year old female asked:

I have an obstruction in the airways. Is that asthma, copd, emphysema or what? Doctors still do not know whats that. They say it is not copd but how are they so sure? My peak flow meter is always 320. Im 29 years old NO smoker very healthy..

2 doctor answers • 6 doctors weighed in

A 34-year old asked:

Why does airway obstruction in chronic lung disease lead to hypercapnia?

2 doctor answers • 7 doctors weighed in

A 18-year old male asked:

Is it unsafe to get tonsil/adenoidectomy & septo/rhinoplasty at sametime only under local anesthesia? Airway obstruction/bleeding?

3 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in

A 39-year old female asked:

Can benign nodules and many calcified granulomas [seen on my new ct] create obstruction in airways and cause lung portions to collapse, ?

2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in

A 34-year old female asked:

Can early signs of air trapping and hyperinflation and small airway obstruction with normal FEV1/FVC and minimal symptoms be reversed or halted in someone in their 30s? Smoking history, less than 10 pack years but smoking or vaping 13 years total?

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 19-year old male asked:

Chicken bone stuck in throat. no airway obstruction but there was pain. bread pushed it down, 2 slices. can it cause internal problems?

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 40-year old female asked:

My post BD test showed small airway obstruction. My dr Rx Advair & treat it asthma. Only symptom is 6-month-long chronic dry cough. Could this be related to lung nodules previously found on CT instead of asthma?

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

A 46-year old asked:

What is the difference between chronic airway obstuction and copd?

2 doctor answers • 7 doctors weighed in

A 32-year old male asked:

How relevant is nasal obstruction to sleep-related breathing disorders? Most doctors seem solely focused on the pharynx.

2 doctor answers • 2 doctors weighed in

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