Asphyxiation (suffocation)

Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition arising when the body is deprived of oxygen, causing unconsciousness or death; suffocation; a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from abnormal breathing.

• Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs.
• There are many circumstances that can induce asphyxia, all of which are characterized by an inability of an individual to acquire sufficient oxygen through breathing for an extended period of time.
• Asphyxiation also comes under the category of strangulation which is the process of blocking an individual's airways until they stop breathing.
• Asphyxia can cause coma or death.

In 2015 about 9.8 million cases of unintentional suffocation occurred which resulted in 35,600 deaths.

Causes:

• Situations that can cause asphyxia include but are not limited to: the constriction or obstruction of airways, such as from asthma, laryngospasm, or simple blockage from the presence of foreign materials; from being in environments where oxygen is not readily accessible: such as underwater, in a low oxygen atmosphere, or in a vacuum; environments where sufficiently oxygenated air is present, but cannot be adequately breathed because of air contamination such as excessive smoke. Other causes of oxygen deficiency include but are not limited to:
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• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (see also Respiratory Conditions)
• Autoerotic asphyxiation accidents
• Carbon monoxide poisoning, such as that from a car exhaust and the smoke's emission from a lighted cigarette
  • Carbon monoxide has a higher affinity than oxygen to the hemoglobin in the blood's red blood corpuscles, bonding with it tenaciously, and, in the process, displacing oxygen and preventing the blood from transporting oxygen around the body
• Contact with certain chemicals, including pulmonary agents (such as phosgene) and blood agents (such as hydrogen cyanide)
• Drowned
• (Drug overdose; Combined drug intoxication, accidental);
• Exposure to extreme low pressure or vacuum from spacesuit damage (see space exposure)
• Hanging, whether suspension or short drop hanging
• Self-induced hypocapnia by hyperventilation, as in shallow water or deep water blackout and choking games
• Inert gas asphyxiation
• Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, or primary alveolar hypoventilation, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system in which a patient must consciously breathe; although it is often said that persons with this disease will die if they fall asleep, this is not usually the case
• Respiratory diseases (see: Respiratory Conditions for possibilities)
• Sleep apnea
• A seizure which stops breathing activity
• Strangling
• Breaking the wind pipe
• Prolonged exposure to chlorine gas

Smothering:

Smothering is the mechanical obstruction of the flow of air from the environment into the mouth and/or nostrils, for instance, by covering the mouth and nose with a hand, pillow, or a plastic bag.

• Smothering can be either partial or complete, where partial indicates that the person being smothered is able to inhale some air, although less than required. In a normal situation, smothering requires at least partial obstruction of both the nasal cavities and the mouth to lead to asphyxia.
• Smothering with the hands or chest is used in some combat sports to distract the opponent, and create openings for transitions, as the opponent is forced to react to the smothering.
• In some cases, when performing certain routines, smothering is combined with simultaneous compressive asphyxia. One example is overlay, in which an adult accidentally rolls over onto an infant during co-sleeping, an accident that often goes unnoticed and is mistakenly thought to be sudden infant death syndrome (see Infant Deaths).
• Other accidents involving a similar mechanism are cave-ins or when an individual is buried in sand or grain.
• In homicidal cases, the term burking is often ascribed to a killing method that involves simultaneous smothering and compression of the torso.
  • The term "burking" comes from the method William Burke and William Hare used to kill their victims during the West Port murders. They killed the usually intoxicated victims by sitting on their chests and suffocating them by putting a hand over their nose and mouth, while using the other hand to push the victim's jaw up. The corpses had no visible injuries, and were supplied to medical schools for money.

Compressive asphyxia:

• Compressive asphyxia (also called chest compression) is mechanically limiting expansion of the lungs & occurs when the chest or abdomen is compressed hence interfering with breathing.
• “Traumatic asphyxia” or "crush asphyxia" usually refers to compressive asphyxia resulting from being crushed or pinned under a large weight or force.
  • An example of traumatic asphyxia includes cases where an individual has been using a car-jack to repair a car from below, and is crushed under the weight of the vehicle.
  • Pressing is a form of torture or execution that works through asphyxia e.g. burking.
    • Death by crushing or pressing is a method of execution that has a history during which the techniques used varied greatly from place to place, generally involving the placement of intense weight upon a person with the intent to kill. (Wikipedia - Crushing (execution))
    • Burking - to murder, as by suffocation, so as to leave no or few marks of violence. to suppress or get rid of by some indirect maneuver.
  • Pythons, anacondas, and other constrictor snakes kill through compressive asphyxia.
  • In cases of co-sleeping ("overlay"), the weight of an adult or large child may compress an infant's chest, preventing proper expansion of the chest. Risk factors include large or obese adults, parental fatigue or impairment (sedation by drugs or alcohol) of the co-sleeping adult and a small shared sleeping space (for example, both adult and infant sharing a couch).
• In fatal crowd disasters, compressive asphyxia from being crushed against the crowd causes the large part of the deaths, rather than blunt trauma from trampling.
  • This is what occurred at the Ibrox disaster in 1971, where 66 Rangers fans died; the 1979 The Who concert disaster where 11 died; the Luzhniki disaster in 1982, when 66 FC Spartak Moscow fans died; and at the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death in an overcrowded terrace, 95 of the 96 victims died from compressive asphyxia, with 93 dying directly from it and 2 others dying from related complications.
• "Positional" or "restraint" asphyxia is when a person is restrained and left alone prone, such as in a police vehicle, and is unable to reposition himself or herself in order to breathe.
  • The death can be in the vehicle, or following loss of consciousness to be followed by death while in a coma, having presented with anoxic brain damage.
  • The asphyxia can be caused by facial compression, neck compression, or chest compression. This occurs mostly during restraint and handcuffing situations by law enforcement, including psychiatric incidents. The weight of the restraint(s) doing the compression may contribute to what is attributed to positional asphyxia. Therefore, passive deaths following custody restraint that are presumed to be the result of positional asphyxia may actually be examples of asphyxia occurring during the restraint process.
• Chest compression is also featured in various grappling combat sports, where it is sometimes called wringing.
  • Such techniques are used either to tire the opponent or as complementary or distractive moves in combination with pinning holds, or sometimes even as submission holds.
  • Examples of chest compression include the knee-on-stomach position; or techniques such as leg scissors (also referred to as body scissors and in budō referred to as do-jime, "trunk strangle" or "body triangle") where a participant wraps his or her legs around the opponent's midsection and squeezes them together.
• Perinatal asphyxia
  • Perinatal asphyxia is the medical condition resulting from deprivation of oxygen (hypoxia) to a newborn infant long enough to cause apparent harm. It results most commonly from a drop in maternal blood pressure or interference during delivery with blood flow to the infant's brain. This can occur as a result of inadequate circulation or perfusion, impaired respiratory effort, or inadequate ventilation.

Notables who died of Asphyxiation:

1. Ranker - Famous People Who Died of Asphyxiation (26 people listed)

• Robin Williams (1951-2014) - American actor & comedian; The final autopsy report, released in November 2014, concluded that he "died of 'asphyxia due to hanging'" 
• René Le Bègue (1914-1946) - French race car driver; asphyxiation by gas leaking from a defective water heater in his bathroom (see also: Wikipedia - René Le Bègue)
• Takeshi Kimura (1912 – 1988) - Japanese screenwriter; throat obstruction (see: Wikipedia - Takeshi Kimura)
• Jesse Dirkhising (1986-1999) American teenager; murdered & death hastened apparently as the result of positional asphyxia. (See: Wikipedia - Murder of Jesse Dirkhising)
• Lindsay Hawker (1984-2007) - British teacher; murdered by smothering to prevent screaming while being raped. (See: Wikipedia - Murder of Lindsay Hawker)
• Nancy Benoit (1964-2007) American professional wrestling valet & model; murdered by asphyxiation (See: Wikipedia - Nancy Benoit)

Resources & Additional reading

• Wikipedia - Asphyxia
• Explore Forensics - Asphyxiation
• MedicineNet - The Highest Price for Pleasure

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