EmergencyEmergency Guide
Stridor: Red Flags & Emergency Signs
Stridor is a high-pitched inspiratory or biphasic noise indicating partial upper airway obstruction — it can progress to complete airway loss within minutes.
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If you have this symptom right now
Call 999 (UK) / 112 (EU) / 911 (US) immediately if any emergency warning signs are present. Do not drive yourself. Do not wait to see if it improves.
🚨 Call 999 / 112 Immediately
- ⚠Any stridor in an adult — emergency airway management, call 999
- ⚠Stridor with drooling and 'tripod position' — epiglottitis (do not attempt throat examination)
- ⚠Stridor following food, medication, or insect sting — anaphylaxis
- ⚠Stridor in a child with barking cough and low-grade fever — croup (usually manageable but can worsen)
- ⚠Stridor with cyanosis — imminent complete airway obstruction
⚡ See a Doctor Today
- •Stridor in a child worsening despite humidification
- •Stridor with progressive hoarseness and dysphagia — bilateral vocal cord palsy (malignancy, thyroid disease)
High-Risk Combinations
When stridor occurs together with any of these symptoms, urgency increases significantly:
Conditions to Rule Out Urgently
Anaphylaxisemergency
IM adrenaline 0.5mg; O₂; 999
Epiglottitisemergency
Never examine throat; IV ceftriaxone; ENT + anaesthetics + ITU
Foreign Body Aspirationemergency
Heimlich manoeuvre; rigid bronchoscopy
Condition Authority Pages
Differential diagnosis analyses:
When to Call Emergency Services
- →Any stridor — this is always an emergency
- →Stridor with drooling, inability to swallow, or sitting upright and leaning forward