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Types of ResourcesAn airway obstruction occurs when something keeps air from moving in and out of your lung's airways.
Symptoms
- Choking or gagging
- Sudden violent coughing.
- Vomiting
- Noisy breathing or wheezing
- Struggling to breathe
- Turning blue
Malignant Airway Obstructions
Approximately one-third of patients with lung cancer will develop airway obstruction and many cancers lead to airway obstruction through meta stasis (the development of secondary malignant growths at a distance from a primary site of cancer). Removal of airway obstruction is associated with improvement in symptoms, quality of life, and lung function
Benign Airway Obstruction
The most common causes of non-malignant central airway obstruction are:
- Post-intubation and post-tracheostomytracheal stenosis (narrowing of the airway)
- The presence of foreign bodies
- Benign endobronchial tumors
- Tracheobronchomalacia (an uncommon disease of the central airways resulting from softening or damage of the cartilaginous structures of the airway walls in the trachea and bronchi).