Airway management is a key pillar of emergency medicine. When performed correctly, it can save lives, improve surgical outcomes, and improve quality of life for terminally ill patients. However, airway management presents a number of complications and risks. Knowing the contraindications for airway management can help you better serve patients and reduce the risk of needless morbidity. 

It’s a dramatic plot twist in movies, medical dramas, and even the occasional sitcom: a character is choking or in respiratory distress and standard interventions like the Heimlich maneuver just aren’t cutting it. So a heroic bystander takes things into their own hands and jams a pen into the victim’s throat, much to everyone’s horror. But then, to everyone’s shock and relief, doing so clears the airway, allowing the survivor to breathe until help arrives. But can you really do this? 

Prehospital airway suctioning can treat aspiration, choking, obstructed airways, and other common emergencies. Yet many first responders spend little time thinking about, let alone practicing, this vital skill. Because all interventions, including suctioning, carry some risks, this lack of experience may make providers reluctant to suction patients. Training EMS teams on prehospital airway suctioning can counteract this reluctance and empower teams to provide prompt, efficient, effective care in a wide variety of emergency settings. 

Respiratory issues are common in children. Choking remains a leading cause of childhood injury and death. About 1 percent of newborns experience respiratory distress, and respiratory issues are the leading cause of death among premature infants. Drowning and aspiration are relatively common. An injured or sick child is always a crisis, and caregivers may be panicking as you tend to their beloved little one. The following tips can help you masterfully treat children in a way that saves their lives, protects their dignity, and reassures their caregivers. 

Advanced airway management goes beyond simple airway management techniques you might learn in a single class. Advanced airway techniques fall into three broad categories, each with a wide variety of techniques and skills a practitioner must master. 

Allergies, a minor cold, and the flu can all cause airway discomfort. But complications from these usually minor conditions can be dangerous, especially to vulnerable people such as elders and children. Serious conditions such as aspiration, partial obstructions, pneumonia, and other disorders may also trigger airway discomfort. So when is airway discomfort a sign of a serious problem, and when is it just a passing symptom? First responders must know the difference. 

Airway obstructions are common and may even be underreported. The prevalence and type of airway obstruction varies with age. Children younger than 4, for example, are more vulnerable to choking-related upper airway obstructions, and adults commonly experience airway obstruction caused by complications from smoking. First responders will inevitably encounter a wide variety of airway obstructions and must be prepared to promptly respond to each with appropriate medical care. Here are the most common causes of upper airway obstruction.