"That asthma attack she had, scared me half to death."

Partially restricted airways can be as frightening for the rescuer as they are for the patient.

Respiratory distress is the result of a partially restricted airway.  An airway can be restricted by swollen anatomy, by muscle spasm, or by a foreign body.

In the case of a foreign body, if the person is unable to cough up the restriction but is still breathing, you're only intervention should be to keep the patient calm, encourage them to continue breathing and continue coughing, and wait for the ambulance.  A foreign body obstruction that has completely blocked the airway will be discussed in the next section.

Respiratory distress secondary to swollen anatomical parts can be the result of allergic reaction or some type of medical condition.

Allergic reaction causes a "collection" of fluid in the lining of the airway which leads to a partial restriction.  The medical conditions (which include asthma, bronchitis, croup [in children] and epiglottitis [in children]) may cause either a build up of fluid or a muscle spasm that leads to the same partial restriction.  It is not so important that you know the cause of the restriction, but more important to understand that at the first aid level there isn't much that can be done to alleviate the problem.  You need to keep the person calm and monitor their breathing.  If they stop breathing, initiate rescue breathing (part of a CPR course.)

There is one other concern that needs to be addressed under the heading of respiratory distress.  It's a condition referred to as "sleep apnea."  This is not necessarily an emergent condition.  It is one that usually develops over a long period of time, is more likely to affect males than females, and left untreated can lead to other more life threatening conditions.  "Sleep apnea" (pronounced ap'-knee-ah,) in simple terms is a condition where the patient stops breathing during sleep.  The change in blood chemistry, caused by the increase of carbon dioxide and the decrease in oxygen sets of series of reactions in motion (see: Hypoxia in Obstructed Airway.)  Patients (especially males) who snore excessively, are over weight, and/or have high blood pressure are prone to sleep apnea.  If your sleeping partner tells you that you are snoring excessively (usually expressed as, "If you don't stop snoring, I'm going to smother you with your pillow,") you should consult with your doctor and determine if the problem is anatomical or medical.

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