| Breathlessness - Dyspnea
The average healthy person breathes in and out 10 to 15 times a minute without any conscious effort. This normal breathing supplies every cell in the body with essential oxygen, and even a few minutes of not breathing results in death. During a cold, the nasal and breathing passages may be swollen or clogged, resulting in temporary difficulty in breathing. This usually is not serious, but there are a number of other problems that cause difficulty breathing.
Causes of breathlessness
Asthma
Wheezing or a feeling of breathlessness is the most common sign of an asthma attack. Allergies, stress, odors, cold air, exercise, and many other factors trigger asthma attacks.
Blood disorders
Hemoglobin, a pigment in red blood cells, carries oxygen to all body cells. Anemia and leukemia can cause feelings of breathlessness due to a lack of oxygen.
Cancer
Increasingly difficult and painful breathing, usually accompanied by a chronic cough and perhaps spitting up blood-flecked phlegm, is a possible sign of lung cancer, especially among smokers.
Collapsed lung
A collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, occurs when air gets into the space separating the pleural membranes — the sac-like structures around the lungs. A sharp pain in the chest, followed by shortness of breath and pain when inhaling, suggests a collapsed lung.
Emphysema
In emphysema, the lung's tiny air sacs (alveoli) gradually lose their elasticity. Exhaling becomes increasingly difficult, and as stale air becomes trapped in the lungs, taking in fresh air also becomes harder. Emphysema cannot be cured, but there are a number of treatments that help halt its progression or minimize symptoms. These range from special breathing techniques to oxygen therapy.
Foreign objects in windpipe
If food or any other foreign object is "swallowed the wrong way," or inhaled into the windpipe, it results in choking, pneumonia, and possible death.
Heart disease
If the heart is unable to pump enough blood to supply needed oxygen, it can cause shortness of breath. Shortness of breath accompanied by severe chest pain suggests a possible heart attack. Waking at night with shortness of breath may be a sign of congestive heart failure.
Hyperventilation
Anxiety, panic attacks, or stress can result in over-breathing, or hyperventilation, which results in a feeling of suffocation.
Occupational lung disorders
This category includes a broad range of diseases, all related to exposure to chemicals, dusts, molds, asbestos, or other job-related materials. Farmers, miners, construction workers, or others who are frequently exposed to these materials are at special risk.
Pleurisy and pleural effusion
Pleurisy involves irritation and inflammation of the pleura, the double-layered membrane or sac enclosing the lung. It can be caused by pneumonia, infection, or cancer. Pleural effusion is a seepage of fluid into the space between the two pleural layers. In addition to breathlessness, both conditions cause sharp pain when taking a deep breath.
Pneumonia
Difficult or painful breathing, accompanied by fever and coughing up thick greenish or rusty colored phlegm, suggests possible pneumonia. This infection and inflammation of lung tissue can be due to bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Sometimes pneumonia develops when vomit or another foreign substance is inhaled.
Upper respiratory infections
A bad cold, tonsillitis, sinus infections, and bronchitis can cause congestion and swelling in the nasal passages, throat, and breathing passages. Most upper respiratory infections are harmless, but a swelling that blocks the windpipe can be life threatening.
Advice about shortness of breath
- Know what to do in case of a choking emergency. The American Red Cross and American Heart Association provide courses in the Heimlich maneuver and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Seek immediate medical help for shortness of breath accompanied by chest pains, coughing up yellowish or blood-tinged phlegm, fainting, or loss of consciousness.
- If you suffer from chronic shortness of breath due to emphysema or other disease, DO NOT SMOKE and avoid second-hand smoke as much as possible.
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