A man died when he choked on his own saliva after falling asleep in his truck, apparently after he had been drinking alcohol. An unfortunate event occurred in the municipality of Mayorazgo, in the state of Puebla, in Mexico.
Neighbors on west 83rd street and south 13B street in the Mexican city noticed that a red Jeep truck had been parked for several hours without anyone moving it. As they approached the car they noticed that there was an unconscious man.
Concerned neighbors immediately called the authorities. A police patrol and paramedics arrived at the scene, but there was nothing to do anymore. The man would have died from bronchial aspiration. As the authorities explained when they arrived at the scene, he had fluids from his nose and mouth.
Authorities found bottles of alcoholic beverages inside the car, so the theory is that the man fell asleep or lost consciousness and choked on his own saliva. The Puebla Legal Medicine Office is carrying out the autopsy work.
Meanwhile, the authorities are conducting investigations into the case to determine who the man is, since neither his identity nor his age are known.
What is bronchial aspiration?
Aspiration is a pathology that occurs when solid or liquid substances pass from the pharynx to the trachea, and can reach the bronchi. This can occur when the glottis closure reflexes do not work properly, allowing stomach contents to pass into the bronchial tree. Aspiration is a condition that affects more than 75% of older people and can also occur in infants or young children. If not treated in time, it can be deadly.
What to do in cases of bronchial aspiration?
In case of bronchial aspiration, it is important to act quickly. If the person is conscious, coughing should be encouraged to try to expel the foreign object. If you cannot cough, the Heimlich maneuver should be performed.
But if the person loses consciousness, emergency services should be called immediately. To prevent aspiration, measures can be taken such as sleeping on your side, raising the head of the bed, controlling swallowing and the underlying disease, and taking care of oral hygiene. In case of suspected aspiration pneumonia, immediate medical attention should be sought.
