What should you know about respiratory depression symptoms?

Respiratory depression is a breathing emergency, not another name for the mental health condition depression. A person may take unusually small breaths, pause between breaths, make snoring or gurgling sounds, or be difficult to wake. Medicines that slow the nervous system, alcohol, drug poisoning, head injury, and some medical illnesses can contribute. Sleepiness, fatigue, or difficulty concentrating alone do not establish respiratory depression; the breathing pattern and level of alertness matter.

If someone may have respiratory depression, call emergency services immediately. Stay with them, remove obvious hazards, and check whether they respond and breathe normally. If they are unresponsive but breathing, place them on their side and keep the airway clear. If they are not breathing normally, follow the emergency dispatcher’s instructions for resuscitation. Do not give food, drink, or more medicine, and do not leave them alone to sleep it off.

Treat slow, shallow, irregular, or stopped breathing, blue or grey lips, severe confusion, collapse, or inability to wake as an emergency. Seek urgent assessment even if the person becomes more alert, because the cause may continue affecting breathing. If symptoms are milder but new after a medicine change, contact a clinician promptly for a medication review.

Ask which medicines, combinations, or substances could slow breathing; what warning signs your household should watch for; and whether a sleep or breathing assessment is appropriate. Bring the names and doses of prescribed, over-the-counter, and recreational substances.