Suffocating While Sleeping?

[FUNKMAN]

Horde,

The recent tragedy with Dan (Circus Boy) got me thinking about "why he didn't awaken when first beginning to choke or suffocate"

Was it the alcohol? If he was not intoxicated do you believe he would have awoken? Granted, he wouldn't have vomited if not for the alcohol but people vomit for other reasons such as stomach viruses or food poisoning.

Another reason i ask is because I've always had a phobia about this situation:

My daughters are in the backseat with their seatbelts with shoulder straps on and when they fall asleep sitting up their heads sometimes slouch over in what looks to be a very awkward position. It's a position that makes me think may hinder their breathing by possibly closing their windpipe. I asked someone about whether they would awaken if their breathing was cutoff and he said they defenitely would but i'm going after the second opinion.

Thanks!

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[DJEvelEd]

Jimi Hendrix died the same way. I think he was awake though but the ambulance drivers held him down.

I've also heard stories of people having strokes from sleeping with their neck against a hard surface, cutting off blood flow to the brain.

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[TooCute]

My understanding is that generally if you start suffocating while you ae asleep (eg like if you have sleep apnea), you will generally wake up. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, so it is likely that it is the alcohol that caused a slowness in reacting to the vomit in the trachea and eventually suffocation and death.

I've never heard of babies suffocating because their heads were slouched over (not that I'm a mom or anything so what do I really know), mostly you hear about babies suffocating because they were put to bed on something too soft (I used to enjoy reading parenting magazines when I went to my pediatrician).

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[HordeKing1]

I have sleep apnea, and before I began using the CPAP machine, I stopped breathing about 20 times a night for an average of 12 seconds each episode. It was accompanied by cardiac arryhtmia. Not only does it place stress on the heart, but it also can be (and inevitably is) fatal, if untreated.

After stopping breathing I gasp for air when I begin again. I do not wake up. I was only aware this was going on b/c my wife and massage therapist told me this happened every time I slept. I was tested in a sleep clinic, where I got the "chronic obstructive sleep apnea."

My doctor told me that eventually a person with sleep apnea will stop breathing and simply not resume. They do NOT always wake up. The heavier the person, the more likely they will die during a an episode of apnea. There is speculation that this is a factor of SIDS in babies as well.

Infants can and do choke if placed face down on certain soft materials. (Being that all my kids are over 10, I don't remember the specific details.)

Alcohol is a depressant (and as such worsens depression and plays a role in suicide). Alcohol slows all type of autonomic and voluntary nervous system responses. If taken in sufficient quanty a person can choke to death on their own vomit - like with an episode of apnea, the person isn't even aware of it. The vomiting is a response of the body to prevent more alcohol from being absorbed into the bloodstream.

Additionally, alcohol is fatal when it is taken in sufficient quantities to cause alcohol poisoning, (Akin to a drug overdose), and of course when drinking and driving.

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[FUNKMAN]

TooCute, Horde:

Thanks for the responses...

Funkman

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