A child suddenly becomes distressed and cannot speak. Which condition should you suspect?

• A. Seizure
• B. Foreign body aspiration
• C. Anaphylaxis
• D. Asthma attack

Answer: (B)

A sudden distress with the inability to speak in a child points to acute airway obstruction from a foreign body. When something blocks the airway completely, air can’t pass through, so speech stops and the child can become cyanotic quickly. This scenario is an emergency and demands immediate help and airway clearance maneuvers appropriate for the child’s age. If the obstruction is only partial, the child may still speak or cough, but with increasing difficulty as the blockage worsens.

This differs from other possibilities: a seizure usually involves uncontrolled movements or loss of consciousness rather than a sudden inability to articulate due to choking; anaphylaxis would include facial swelling, throat swelling, hives, and possible drops in blood pressure, not just sudden speech loss from blockage; an asthma attack typically presents with wheezing, shortness of breath, and use of accessory muscles, not an abrupt, complete inability to speak from a blocked airway.