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Breathing problems may be characterized by shortness of breath, difficulty getting a breath in, or pain when breathing, and it can be a sign of a serious medical condition.
If you have breathing problems, it’s important to see a doctor to diagnose the cause and receive proper treatment. Some causes of breathing problems can be life-threatening.
Signs of breathing problems include:
- Shortness of breath
- Pain when breathing
- Wheezing
- Rapid, shallow breathing
- Feeling as if you cannot inhale deeply/properly
- Increased effort to breathe
- Heavy breathing
- “Air hunger”
- Feeling of suffocation
Symptoms that may accompany breathing problems include:
- Cough
- Stuffy nose
- Chest pain/tightness
- Sputum production
- Sweating
- Blue lips or nails
- Pale skin
- Swelling of extremities
- Raynaud’s phenomenon (cool blue extremities)
- Joint swelling
- Muscle weakness
When It's an Emergency
When it’s hard to breathe, see a doctor immediately or call 911 if you have breathing problems and:
- Symptoms have a sudden onset
- Pain or pressure in the chest
- Fever
- Swelling in your feet and ankles
- Trouble breathing when you lie flat
- Chills
- Cough
- Wheezing
- Is associated with itching, hives, or facial/lip swelling
- Feeling like your throat is swollen
- Shortness of breath becomes more severe
- Palpitations
- Lightheadedness or feeling faint
- Is accompanied by severe confusion, chest or jaw pain, or pain down your arm
What Causes Breathing Problems?
Common causes of chronic breathing problems include:
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Interstitial lung disease
- Heart problems
- Obesity/deconditioning
Causes of breathing problems that are medical emergencies include:
- Acute chest syndrome
- Acute coronary syndrome
- Acute decompensated heart failure
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- Anemia
- Angioedema
- Anxiety
- Arrhythmia
- Ascites
- Asthma exacerbation
- Bleeding (hemorrhage)
- Blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism, or PE)
- Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning
- Cardiac tamponade
- Cardiomyopathy
- Collapsed lung (pneumothorax)
- COVID-19
- Deep neck infections
- Diabetic ketoacidosis
- Flail chest
- Flash pulmonary edema
- Foreign body in airway (choking)
- High output failure
- Hyperventilation
- Lung infection
- Lung tumor
- Neck trauma
- Neuromuscular disease
- Organophosphate poisoning
- Pleural effusion
- Pneumomediastinum
- Pregnancy (not a cause of breathing problems but may worsen them)
- Pulmonary contusion or other lung injury
- Rib fractures
- Salicylate poisoning
- Sepsis
- Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
- Stroke
- Throat infections
- Toxic ingestion
- Valvular dysfunction
How Are Breathing Problems Diagnosed?
It is important to diagnose the underlying cause of breathing problems to determine treatment. In addition to a physical examination, tests may include:
- Chest X-ray
- Ultrasound
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Blood tests
- Carbon dioxide monitoring
- Chest computerized tomography scan (CT)
- Pulmonary ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan
- Negative inspiratory force (NIF)
- Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scan of the chest
- Peak flow and pulmonary function tests (PFTs)
What Is the Treatment for Breathing Problems?
Treatment for acute breathing problems in an emergency setting usually includes:
- Oxygen
- Determining if the patient needs emergency airway management and ventilatory support
- Establishing the most likely causes of the difficulty breathing and initiating treatment
Treatment for chronic breathing problems varies widely depending on the cause. For example:
- Breathing problems caused by asthma may be treated with medications such as bronchodilators or inhaled steroids
- Breathing problems caused by a blood clot (pulmonary embolism) may require blood thinners
- Breathing problems caused by fluid in the lungs may necessitate that the fluid be drained
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https://www.uptodate.com/contents/evaluation-of-the-adult-with-dyspnea-in-the-emergency-department?search=difficulty%20breathing&topicRef=1436&source=see_link
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/shortness-of-breath.html