Airway

When BVM ventilation gets harder

Rising resistance during bag-valve-mask ventilation usually means the airway path has slipped—head position drifted, the mask seal leaked, or the adjunct shifted—not that the patient suddenly needs more oxygen flow.

Restart the airway sequence from the beginning : reposition with a fresh head-tilt/chin-lift (or jaw-thrust if trauma), reseat the OPA, remake the seal, then ventilate again. Suction only if you hear or see fluid; do not treat stiff bagging with flow-rate alone.