Help ensure that the Global Internet services
of the SIDS Network continue to grow!

Donate directly to the SIDS Network securely with PayPal

Or through Network for Good

Other ways to help can be found here.

Pinkish Froth and SIDS

Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999

When our daughter was found dead 9 1/2 years ago there was a slight amount of pinkish froth around her nose. My wife and I tried to recall whether we noticed it before or after I attempted CPR (its hard remember with a lot of clarity). We had also been told it was not uncommon to find pinkish froth with SIDS victims.

You describe what I have heard very often from parents of SIDS victims, that is, "frothy fluid", "froth", "mucus", "like a runny nose", and often "pink" fluid was on my baby's nose or mouth. We have all seen cuts on our skin or bloody noses. Blood looks different and is described differently in all cultures and countries in my experience talking with people. SIDS parents have not described "blood" on the noses and mouths of their babies before any sort of intervention (and that is also a critical piece of this story, i.e., no intervention such as CPR to cause the local bleeding, at least to me). The "blood" arises locally while the froth and every other such description arises from the lung. It is the action of ventilation or breathing and the mixing of fluid, blood and air in the distal airspaces of the lung that creates the froth and the failure of the hear which brings it from the lung to the nose and mouth.

Hope this helps.

Henry Krous 
hkrous@health.ucsd.edu
 

Help ensure that the Global Internet services
of the SIDS Network continue to grow!

Donate directly to the SIDS Network securely with PayPal

Or through Network for Good

Other ways to help can be found here.

new.gif (112 bytes) Now you can translate SIDS Network Web Site pages to/from English, Spanish, French, German, Italian & Portuguese

©1995-2024, SIDS Network, Inc. <http://sids-network.org>
All rights reserved. Permission to use, copy, and distribute this document, in whole or in part, for non-commercial use and without fee,
is hereby granted, provided that this copyright, permission notice, and appropriate credit to the SIDS Network, Inc. be included in all copies.

The opinions and information provided here are not necessarily those of the author and are presented for educational purposes only.
The author accepts no responsibility for content, accuracy or use.

Privacy Policy

Please report any web site problems to sidsnet1-at-sids-network-dot-org
Web Design and maintenance by
CAM Consulting