Everyone experienced shortness of breath, sometimes several times a day. In principle, this is a reaction quite characteristic of the body to a sharp or significant increase in physical activity. There are situations when the cause of shortness of breath can be excitement or severe stress. The phenomenon considered in this article is difficult to define as a full-fledged disease, it is rather a symptom. Its presence on an ongoing basis indicates violations of the functioning of the body. Therefore, you should take this sign seriously, because your he alth is at stake.
Terminology
Before talking about the causes of shortness of breath, it is necessary to understand the definition of this phenomenon. Shortness of breath is a subjective feeling of lack of air, expressed by an increase in the rhythm of breathing, a feeling of heaviness in the chest, the inability to take a deep breath.
If a symptom occurs during exercise, do not worry. Here is an example of a standard run. At some point, it becomes difficult for you to breathe, the sign appears sharply and significantly, which leads to oxygen deficiency. In such a situation, it is enough to stop,take a breath and keep running. Usually just a few breaths are enough. If you are in poor physical shape, you need to give your body more time to rest. In the event of shortness of breath when walking, at rest or with very little exertion, measures must be taken. The best thing to do is to see a specialist.
Situations often arise when a patient does not make an appointment with a doctor, not considering this step necessary. Then all hope is on close relatives and friends who surround him. The symptom in question is easily noticeable from the outside, and if there is cause for concern, literally drag the patient to the doctor by force. Believe me, he will thank you later.
Classification
There are two most popular classifications, which we will talk about. According to the severity of shortness of breath, there are the following types:
- normal when a symptom bothers only with a fairly heavy load;
- mild degree, this is just the case of shortness of breath when lifting or walking fast;
- medium degree, when the phenomenon in question prevents a person from moving at the same speed as his he althy peers, he must make a lot of efforts to keep up, you have to stop periodically to restore breathing;
- severe degree, even when walking slowly, the patient needs to stop and take a breath every hundred meters;
- very severe degree, shortness of breath torments at rest, when performing ordinary household activities, because of this, the patient cannot leave the house, as it is difficult for himwalk.
If we consider shortness of breath from a physiological point of view, two main types can be distinguished: inspiratory and expiratory. The first case is characterized by difficulty in inhaling, this is a sign of overlapping of the respiratory tract in the area of the bronchi and trachea. An example would be shortness of breath due to asthma or pleurisy.
Expiratory type is distinguished by the difficulty of exhalation due to obstruction of the small bronchi. This type of shortness of breath directly indicates lung disease. Patients often present with a mixed symptom characterized by difficulty in both inhaling and exhaling. Then we will talk about diseases of the respiratory tract, coupled with cardiovascular pathologies and diseases of other internal organs.
Causes of shortness of breath
There are plenty of reasons for the occurrence of the phenomenon. If you try to systematize them, you can come to the allocation of three large groups. We will talk about each of them in more detail in this article. So, depending on the initial causes that led to respiratory failure, the following groups are distinguished:
- Heart disease. This is the most common cause of shortness of breath in the elderly. The heart eventually ceases to function normally, resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain and increased breathing.
- Pathologies of the lungs and bronchi. If the patient has narrowed bronchi, then we can conclude that there is insufficient oxygen penetration into the blood. In this case, the respiratory system begins to work in an accelerated mode, which leads to shortness of breath.
- Anemia of various types. The problem here is that the blood flow cannot carry oxygen to the tissues. The situation arises due to a lack of red blood cells and hemoglobin.
In order for the doctor to fully present the picture of the disease, it is necessary to answer honestly all the questions posed. After the disease indicated by shortness of breath is diagnosed, the doctor will prescribe treatment.
Heart problems
Heart failure is not a specific disease, but a malfunction of the heart in general. At the initial stage of the development of the disease, a feeling of lack of air appears only in the presence of physical exertion, but as the condition worsens, the situation changes. Shortness of breath in heart failure occurs at rest and even during sleep. Among other symptoms of diseases associated with the heart, one can distinguish such as:
- swelling in the legs, which manifests itself in the late afternoon;
- heart pain, palpitations;
- blood pressure jumps;
- general weakness of the body, malaise, fatigue;
- headache and dizziness, possible fainting;
- Bouts of dry cough.
The cardiologist deals with these problems. To determine a specific disease, the doctor prescribes a general and biochemical blood test, ultrasound of the heart, x-rays and other studies. It is worth noting that with such problems there is constant shortness of breath. To get rid of it, you need to cure the maindisease.
Respiratory failure
This disease represents the main block of causes of shortness of breath. After all, with any diseases of the lungs and bronchi, a person will feel a lack of air. It can be acute, as, for example, with pleurisy, and also be chronic. In the second case, the airways partially overlap and create an obstruction. If a patient is diagnosed with obstructive pulmonary disease, difficulty in breathing is noticed. If the symptoms are ignored and the correct treatment is not provided, the patient's condition only worsens.
When problems with exhalation are detected, asthma is usually diagnosed, which appears as a result of stress or the consumption of an allergen in food. Asthmatics need to always have an aerosol with them, as attacks can be very strong. In severe situations, deaths have been observed. If you do not have the right medication with you during an attack, you should call emergency medical help.
Shortness of breath with bronchitis is common. The inflammatory process creates a barrier, and less oxygen is supplied. The severity and severity of symptoms depends on the stage of the disease. With proper and effective treatment, all symptoms will be eliminated, and the patient will return to normal life. But if therapy is ignored, shortness of breath with bronchitis will be terrible due to the addition of other diseases, such as heart failure.
Lack of oxygen is also observed in the presence of tumor processes. When the neoplasm reaches a significant size and interferes with normalair circulation, the patient becomes short of breath. Other symptoms include severe coughing, bleeding, pallor, weakness, and weight loss.
There is a disease called pulmonary embolism. The bottom line is that due to clogging of the artery with blood clots, insufficient blood supply is observed. It turns out that only part of the lungs is involved in the process of breathing, which leads to shortness of breath. The disease appears as a result of neoplasms in the respiratory tract, cicatricial stenosis or an inflammatory process.
Toxic pulmonary edema, caused by ingestion of chemicals or infectious diseases, leads to shortness of breath. An important point: if detoxification is not available at the right time, the patient will die.
Psychological illnesses
Most patients in neurotic departments complain of lack of air. They are tormented by sudden shortness of breath, when attacks of suffocation come on sharply, which prevents them from breathing in deeply. Often these problems have nothing to do with physiological ailments and are purely emotional in nature. That is, it is enough just to calm the patient, and breathing will return to normal by itself.
No wonder they say that nerve cells do not regenerate. Emotional outburst, psychological trauma can have terrible consequences. Therefore, it is not surprising that stressful situations lead to lack of air. Unstable psyche, anxiety and excitability, fears have a negative impact on the body. Distinguishing neurotic shortness of breath is quite simple -the patient often not only breathes, but also groans, groans and sighs loudly.
Anemia
There can be many reasons for the decrease in hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood. For example, the presence of a congenital pathology or an acquired severe infection. Regardless of the reasons, the result is the same - the blood stream loses hemoglobin, so less oxygen reaches the brain. The body begins to defend itself with the help of the respiratory organs, the frequency and depth of breaths increase.
Consider the signs of anemia:
- the patient feels a breakdown, gets tired quickly, shortness of breath appears during physical exertion, even the slightest;
- pale skin, blood loses hemoglobin, which gives it color;
- oxygen starvation of the brain, resulting in headaches, dizziness, lack of concentration, attention and memory impairment;
- if the disease has reached the last stages, the development of heart failure is possible, which will only aggravate the condition.
Endocrine nature of shortness of breath
People suffering from diabetes and being overweight often complain of breathing problems. Some diseases of the endocrine system create an excess of thyroid hormones, as a result, the body's need for oxygen increases. As a protective function, more intensive breathing is observed.
Such an ailment as obesity leads to shortness of breath at rest. Due to excess weight, the work of the respiratory muscles is suspended, the functioning ofheart contractions, making it difficult to inhale fully. All this directly points to oxygen starvation, the eternal companion of which is shortness of breath. The disease of diabetes mellitus has a lot of negative consequences, including the appearance of pathologies of the cardiovascular system. It functions incompletely, resulting in an oxygen deficiency.
Child short of breath
Children of different ages also have similar problems. There is such an indicator as the number of respiratory movements per unit of time. If it exceeds the norm, then the child most likely has some kind of ailment. You can check this at home, but it is better to entrust the matter to a professional, meaning a doctor.
In the absence of a special device, you can approximately count the number of respiratory movements and draw a preliminary conclusion. It is recommended to try at the moment when the child is sleeping. Simply put your hand on your chest and count the number of breaths. Why during sleep? The fact is that emotional arousal, depression and other factors significantly distort the result. It is worth noting that the hand should be warm so as not to wake the baby and not frighten him.
If a child is found to be short of breath, seek immediate medical attention. As for the reasons, there is a similar situation with adults. Reasons can be diseases such as asthma, anemia, congenital heart defects, allergic reactions, inflammation, etc.
Diagnosis
Revealshortness of breath by analyzing the subjective sensations of the patient and objective research methods. For this, all necessary therapeutic measures are used. First you need to decide which specialist you should contact. If you are not able to diagnose the cause of the disease, it is better to make an appointment with a therapist. In the future, the doctor will conduct his research and refer you to other narrow specialists, such as a cardiologist, pulmonologist, oncologist, neurologist, etc.
Respiratory rate count at rest and after exercise is often used as a diagnostic measure. Plus, recently introduced special scales that assess shortness of breath in conditions of normal activity. To make a diagnosis, it is necessary to determine the cause of the symptom. In this case, it is difficult to overestimate the value of the anamnesis. The patient must tell the doctor everything he knows. This is done to determine the vector so that the specialist knows approximately where to look for the root of the problem. What to do for shortness of breath?
General Therapy
As already noted, effective treatment can only be offered if the cause is correctly identified. To do this, you need to undergo a complete medical examination, because it will be at least wrong to treat the symptom. Shortness of breath when walking, at rest is a serious reason to consult a doctor. The main objective of therapy is to ensure normal ventilation of the lungs. On the part of the patient, it is necessary to give up tobacco and other factors that prevent this.
Beach specific situation, the attending physician offers individual treatment. Quite effective methods are ultrasonic sanitation and immunotherapy. The general treatment plan for shortness of breath is:
- getting rid of foci of infection;
- normalizing the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, etc.;
- improving and strengthening immunity;
- energy activation of the body.
Medicated treatment
There are no universal medicines for shortness of breath, because it can be caused by various diseases. In no case should you choose medicines on your own, only the attending physician should do this. For example, if a patient has bronchitis, the doctor prescribes in most cases "Salbutamol" and "Fenoterol". In case of problems of the cardiovascular system, drugs are prescribed to eliminate the disease.
As for traditional medicine, their use in this case is a big question. Since the cause is often unknown, the situation can be significantly worsened. If you need to use alternative medicine, your doctor will tell you about it.
Gymnastics
Treatment of shortness of breath involves not only drug therapy, a huge contribution is achieved through breathing exercises. Moreover, the exercises are universal and greatly help to cope with the problem, regardless of the cause of its occurrence.
Let's consider two main tasks:
- First exhale through the mouth, then inhale through the nose, then forcefullyexhale again through the mouth and draw in the stomach. This exercise can be performed in any position. The main thing to remember is the sequence: exhale - inhale - exhale - hold your breath - exhale.
- This exercise is done standing or sitting, with elbows bent. Open your palms and clench them into fists while taking noisy breaths (7 times). Then rest for a few seconds and repeat the cycle again. It is recommended to do at least twenty sets.
There are other effective exercises that you can learn about from a therapeutic gymnastics instructor. By doing regular tasks, you can say goodbye to shortness of breath forever.
Prevention
There are many reasons for having difficulty breathing. To prevent all kinds of diseases, you need to reconsider your lifestyle. Follow certain rules and you will not suffer from shortness of breath:
- watch your psycho-emotional state, avoid stress, psychological trauma and depressive situations;
- quitting bad habits like alcohol, cigarettes and drugs;
- give regular physical activity to the body - morning exercises, hiking, swimming, etc. are perfect;
- it is very important to control your body during sleep, especially watch your head, which should lie on the pillow at an angle of forty degrees;
- if symptoms of lack of air appear, consult a doctor immediately to avoid negative consequences;
- do breathing exercises beforepreventive breathlessness.
Good he alth to you!
