The airway kills faster than anything else in emergency care — complete obstruction causes hypoxic brain injury within minutes. Recognition costs nothing and needs no equipment: your eyes and ears.
- Snoring — the tongue has fallen back against the pharynx (the classic finding in the unconscious patient).
- Gurgling — liquid in the airway: blood, vomit, secretions. Reach for suction.
- Stridor — a high-pitched inspiratory noise from narrowing at or above the larynx: swelling from burns or anaphylaxis, infection, or a foreign body.
- Hoarseness or a changed voice — laryngeal swelling or injury; take it seriously, especially after burns.
A noisy airway is a partially obstructed airway. A silent patient who is struggling to breathe may be completely obstructed — silence is the emergency.