Difficulty breathing when inhaling causes

Breathing is a natural process of human physiology.
This work activity continues constantly, and many do not pay attention to the work of the respiratory system while it works without failures. The feeling of having difficulty breathing occurs in different situations, and every person knows how you feel when there is a temporary lack of air.

There are physiological causes of shortness of breath - after climbing stairs to a high floor, breathing hard after a marathon run, or after a fast run.

There is also not enough air when breathing during periods of strong excitement or a stressful situation.

The human body, which does not have pathological changes in organs and systems, is able to quickly adjust the feeling of lack of air, and after a short rest, breathing returns to normal.

Signs of a pathological condition when it is difficult to breathe

If temporary shortness of breath after physical exertion does not cause anxiety and panic, then a sudden attack when I cannot breathe air leads a person to nervous excitement, which aggravates breathing problems.

If you have difficulty breathing, then this may be a signal of the development of pathologies in the body. We need to understand how the breathing process occurs in the body and why we need air.

The respiratory process provides all cells of the organs and systems of the body with oxygen, which contributes to their functionality, regeneration and vitality.

To fill the body with oxygen, not only the respiratory system is involved, although it has a primary role.

Also involved in the process of oxygen synthesis by the body are:

• Diaphragm frame;
• Muscles of the chest;
• Heart organ;
• Blood vessel system;
• Brain cells;
• Blood composition;
• Emotionality and mental structure;
• Human hormonal background;
• Activation of all central nervous system centers.

The body constantly adapts to the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body, and if there is more gas and it is difficult to breathe, then the respiratory system increases breathing, and the oxygen deficiency is eliminated.

The development of the pathology of acidosis in the body, which accompanies many diseases associated with infection in the body, fever and neoplasms, frequent deep breaths allow the excess of carbon dioxide to be expelled from the body.

These are physiological mechanisms that are launched independently, but there are pathologies in which these mechanisms become pathological.

When difficulty breathing or lack of air occurs constantly, or at frequent intervals, then it is necessary to contact the clinic to determine the ethology of poor breathing.
Why do I choke when I inhale? The reason and what to do when my breath stops in my chest? The doctor will answer all these patient questions and prescribe medication after a thorough diagnosis and identification of the root cause of difficulty breathing.

Therapy of a pathological condition

Treatment of expiratory dyspnea always begins with a quality diagnosis, which cannot be avoided. It is important to understand one simple thing - without knowing the cause of the lack of air, it will not be possible to get rid of it, so if you want to organize therapy, the problem of visiting the clinic cannot be avoided.

After a comprehensive diagnosis, the patient is prescribed appropriate therapy

As a rule, the examination takes place at the internist or cardiologist, including:

• Examination of the patient to identify the primary signs and severity of shortness of breath.
• Auscultation is necessary to determine asthmatic disorders by listening to the respiratory system.
• Electrocardiography (ECG), prescribed for suspected cardiovascular diseases.
• A radiograph that occurs in absolutely all clinical cases with shortness of breath.

Typically, therapy is medicinal in nature, although the need for surgical intervention should not be ruled out. Most often used to eliminate shortness of breath:

1. antispasmodics, also called bronchodilators (for spasmodic causes of breathing problems)
2. inhalers with salbutamol or Eufillin intravenously (for the development of bronchial asthma)
3. antihistamines (for allergies and accompanying pathologies of the respiratory system)

In addition to taking prescribed medications, in the process of getting rid of shortness of breath you should:

• Do at least the simplest breathing exercises.
• Use symptomatic therapy methods.
• Organize a sleeping schedule and a normal lifestyle.
• Apply traditional medicine methods that fall under the specifics of the disease manifested - the cause of shortness of breath.
• As prescribed - carry out inhalation procedures, take hormonal, antibiotic or immunostimulating drugs.

In general, the treatment of difficult exhalation is always complex and is aimed both at eliminating unpleasant symptoms (including shortness of breath) and at combating the root cause of lack of air. It is unrealistic to organize high-quality treatment of this kind without contacting a doctor, so if you want to get rid of a pathological condition with little effort and as quickly as possible, we strongly recommend visiting a clinic. Otherwise, treatment for shortness of breath will be carried out only by luck.

You can learn more about the causes of shortness of breath from the video:

Why does whistling in the lungs occur and why is it dangerous?

Many will agree that preventing the development of any problem with the body is much easier than treating it later. Expiratory shortness of breath is no exception in this regard, therefore, if there is an increased risk of its initial or recurrent development, simple prevention should be followed.

Often the list of preventive measures to neutralize pathology includes:

1. Quitting bad habits (especially smoking in any form).
2. Organization of systematic physical activity (naturally, without fanaticism).
3. Weight stabilization.
4. Periodic and high-quality examinations by ENT and general doctors.
5. Complete and timely disposal of any pathologies of the body.
6. Increasing frequency of walks in the fresh air (it is especially useful to walk in coniferous groves, forests, and parks).
7. Avoidance of psycho-emotional stress.
8. Carrying out the simplest breathing exercises.

As you can see, preventing difficult exhalation is not so difficult. The main thing in this matter is the systematic and high-quality organization of appropriate prevention, nothing more. Perhaps that’s all on this note on the topic of today’s article. We hope that the material presented was useful to you and provided answers to your questions. Good health to you!

Types of pathology

Difficult breathing is divided into two types:

• The first type is when you want to breathe harder, but you can’t take a deep breath. In this type of difficult breathing process, air is inhaled superficially and only the airways of the upper part of the respiratory system are involved;
• The second type of breathing difficulty is difficulty exhaling. With this pathology, a very long exhalation occurs, and there is a feeling when the chest collapses and does not completely free it from carbon dioxide. This phenomenon occurs in asthma.

But most often, mixed types occur with pathologies, when it is difficult to breathe deeply and when it becomes difficult to exhale.

Breathing becomes intermittent, gets confused and you can’t catch your breath.

Pathological causes of difficulty breathing

Pathology during breathing can occur at any time; lack of oxygen can cause a foreign body to enter the respiratory tract. Quite often this happens in children when suddenly it becomes difficult for the child to inhale air.

Choking also occurs due to swelling in the larynx, Quincke's edema and many other pathologies of the respiratory system. Difficulty with breathing can also occur not only from improper functioning of the respiratory tract, but also from pathologies that are not associated with this human system.

The main causes of air shortage occur due to:

• Pulmonary shortness of breath due to pathologies in the respiratory system;
• The cardiac cause of the condition “hard to breathe” comes from the pathology of the heart organ and the blood vessel system;
• Disturbance in the functioning of the nervous system regulator, which is responsible for the breathing process - shortness of breath - a disorder in the central nervous system;
• A deviation in the composition of the blood due to the large presence of carbon dioxide gases in it is a hematogenous condition of suffocation in the chest area.

Heart reasons

Diseases of the heart organ are the most common cause of difficulty breathing even at rest. During a heart attack, it is impossible to breathe fully through the chest, because the chest is compressed and the skin becomes blue.

When shortness of breath occurs constantly, a person becomes quickly fatigued, and swelling in the limbs also appears.

With heart disease, breathing is difficult when inhaling, but exhaling is easy. Heavy breathing is getting worse and many patients have complained that when I go to bed, there is not enough air to inhale.

Diseases that make it difficult to breathe:

• Ischemia of the cardiac organ;
• Cardiac failure;
• Cardiac arrhythmia;
• Cardiomyopathy disease;
• Myocardial dystrophy;
• Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia);
• Congenital defects are manifested by heavy breathing in children immediately after birth;
• Inflammation of the myocardial muscles - myocarditis;
• The disease pericarditis is inflammatory processes in the pericardium;
• Disruption of the heart valves causes pathology when it is difficult to breathe.

Heart failure
Among heart diseases, the most common form of hypoxia is heart failure.

With this pathology, poor functioning of the cardiac chambers occurs at the time of systole and there is insufficient release of blood into the bloodstream system, or stagnation of biological fluid occurs in the small cardiac circle and stagnation of blood occurs in the cells of the lung - cardiac-type asthma develops.

Not only does the patient have heavy and rapid breathing with heart pathologies, but there is also a dry cough, which is aggravated by lying on the back.

When coughing, a person tries to draw more air into the lungs, but difficulty breathing prevents him from doing this. Many patients even try to sleep while sitting.

In addition to coughing, symptoms of heart problems may include:

• Painful sensations in the area of ​​the heart muscle;
• Pain behind the sternum and a feeling of tightness;
• Swelling of the lower extremities;
• Cardiopalmus;
• Cyanosis of the skin - this may be due to developing hypoxia.

Pulmonary causes

Pathology of lung cells is the second reason that provokes the condition of heavy breathing. If there are disturbances in the lungs, the breathing person often sighs, but breathing becomes shallow and difficult. With pulmonary etiology, difficulty occurs both during inhalation and exhalation.

Pathologies that make it difficult to breathe:

• Disease bronchitis;

• 
  Asthma of bronchial type;

• Pneumosclerosis disease;
• The disease is pneumoconiosis;
• Pathology: pulmonary emphysema;
• Pneumonia disease;
• Pathology pulmonary tuberculosis;
• Diseases pneumothorax, as well as hydrothorax;
• Oncological neoplasms in lung cells;
• PE - thromboembolism of the branches of the pulmonary artery.

Symptoms of lung pathologies that make it difficult to breathe:

• With the development of pulmonary pathologies, a cough with sputum appears;
• Hemoptysis when coughing;
• Body temperature rises;
• The veins in the neck are dilated;
• The vessels in the peripheral part are also dilated - in the arms and legs;
• The right side of the heart organ is dilated, and this can be determined by percussion of the heart organ;
• The chest becomes barrel-shaped;
• The distance from one rib to another rib is increased.

With the development of pulmonary diseases and inflammatory processes in this organ, shortness of breath develops gradually, initially during physical exertion. After the progression of pulmonary pathologies, shortness of breath occurs in both directions of the breathing process and even at rest.

Difficult breathing of pulmonary etiology is aggravated by alcohol and nicotine addiction. When your lungs hurt and you can’t breathe, smoking only increases the process of sclerosis of the lung parenchyma.

In this condition, the pathology can move to that stage of disease development when irreversible consequences begin in the destruction of organs and the entire body.

With pulmonary etiology, there is a disturbance in the gas exchange of the body and the composition of the blood, a deficiency of oxygen molecules in the blood appears, which is associated with the occurrence of hypoxia of the organs and blood flow system.

The first to suffer from hypoxia are the brain cells and the nerve fibers of the head - the disease is called encephalopathy.

Pathology in children that makes it difficult to breathe

Most often, children have difficulty breathing due to foreign bodies entering the respiratory tract. Sometimes young children insert small objects into their noses, and also try to swallow objects that block the passage of air through the body.

It is necessary to carefully and constantly monitor children's games, because when the airway is suddenly blocked, suffocation occurs, and if help is not provided in a timely manner, death can occur within a few minutes.

The second reason why it is difficult for a child to breathe is angioedema of the larynx, or croup. This pathology develops from swelling of the larynx along with stenosis. Inflammation in the body, associated not only with diseases of the respiratory system, can provoke croup.

When a child is choking and cannot take a deep breath, you must immediately call an ambulance. Because croup can lead to asphyxia, which is fatal.

Quincke's edema is also accompanied by laryngeal stenosis.

The cause of this swelling may be an allergy in the child, which must be stopped immediately, because it can also cause asphyxia.

Causes of cerebral heavy breathing

Quite often it is difficult to breathe in pathologies that are caused by damage to brain cells and cerebral vessels. The head contains all the main centers of the nervous system, which regulate and control the functionality of internal organs, as well as the vascular system.

It is difficult to breathe when brain cells are damaged when the following diseases develop in the brain:

• Head injury;
• Malignant neoplasms that develop in brain cells;
• Cerebral hemorrhage - stroke;
• Swelling of brain cells;
• The disease is encephalitis;
• Atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels;
• Hypoxia of brain cells.

The symptoms of a condition where it is difficult to breathe due to problems in the brain are different:

• Suddenly the person begins to choke;
• Constantly sigh while breathing;
• Or the person rarely sighs;
• Noise appears during breathing;
• Violation of its rhythm.

In patients with severe brain diseases, the lungs cannot independently cope with the respiratory function and are transferred to an artificial process of ventilation of the lungs.

When acidification occurs inside the body, microbes decompose, which provokes a toxic effect on brain cells and aggravates the process of hypoxia.
At the moment, the patient is breathing very loudly and pushing out excess carbon dioxide from the body to fill the cells with oxygen molecules.

It is difficult to breathe in cases of impaired brain function, as well as dysfunction of the peripheral nervous system:

• Dysfunction of the autonomic system;
• Neurosis disease;
• Mental illness hysteria.

In this case, difficulty breathing occurs due to nervousness and is immediately noticeable to the doctor during examination.

Together with shortness of breath, the following signs of the disorder appear:

• The patient has difficulty breathing while crying;
• The patient begins to scream and wave his arms;
• The patient tries to demonstrate severe shortness of breath.

With such partially simulated symptoms, disturbances are visible not only in the nervous system, but also a disturbance in the person’s mental state.

It’s hard to breathe with hematogenous pathology

The hematogenous cause of shortness of breath manifests itself when the chemical and biological composition of the blood changes. This pathology occurs because the concentration of carbon dioxide in the biological fluid increases, which provokes the development of the disease acidosis.

Acidosis develops in an acidified internal environment.

This pathology develops:

• 
  For all types of anemia;

• For neoplasms of a malignant oncological nature;
• When cancer cells metastasize into biological fluid or into the bloodstream;
• In coma caused by diabetes mellitus;
• Severe intoxication of the body.

An adult patient develops a feeling of lack of air, but the process of inhalation and exhalation occurs normally and rhythmically. The organs that are responsible for proper blood flow and oxygen supply to the blood (heart organ and lungs) are without pathological changes.

The reason that a person suffocates is disruptions in the gas state of the blood composition, as well as failures in the electrolyte function of the blood composition.

To treat this type of pathology, it is necessary to treat the root cause of the condition in which it is difficult to breathe - anemia:

• The use of drugs containing iron molecules;
• Use of vitamin complexes in therapy (B vitamins - B1, B6, B12);
• In case of severe pathology, hemodialysis is used;
• Infusion-type therapy is carried out;
• Detoxification treatment with medications.

Difficulty breathing due to musculoskeletal disorders

Many people, during a sudden attack of shortness of breath, when it is difficult to breathe, think about a heart attack or myocardial infarction. But the cause of such compression of the chest may be diseases that are associated with damage to the musculoskeletal system.

Such diseases may be:

• Osteochondrosis;
• Hernias between the vertebrae;
• Neuralgia of intercostal type;
• Myelopathy.

With the development of these pathologies, the patient experiences the following symptoms:

• Compression of the chest;
• It’s hard to sigh because with every breath there’s a stabbing pain in the ribs;
• Painful sensations in the cervical and thoracic back;
• Pain throughout the spine.

Such difficulty breathing is quite difficult to distinguish from a heart attack and from pulmonary pathologies. Only a diagnostic study can accurately determine the cause of shortness of breath and the location of the source of the disease.

To relieve painful symptoms and treat diseases of the musculoskeletal system, the following methods are used:

• Drug therapy with analgesics and to relieve inflammation;
• Physiotherapeutic treatment using magnetotherapy and electrophoresis;
• Therapeutic type of physical gymnastics;
• Massage method.

Musculoskeletal massage

Difficulty breathing during pregnancy

When carrying a child, many pregnant women feel that it is difficult for them to breathe. The higher the period of intrauterine development of the baby, the more difficult breathing becomes.

Heavy breathing during pregnancy is a physiological phenomenon, and if a pregnant woman does not have pathologies of the heart and vascular system, then heavy breathing during this period is within normal limits.

At the moment of intrauterine formation of the fetus, the uterus grows and expands, and the unborn child rises and puts pressure on the pregnant woman’s diaphragm. Shortness of breath is accompanied by hormonal changes, and when the placenta is formed, the woman’s breathing rate increases.

After all, during this period a woman has to provide oxygen to not one, but two organisms.

But during pregnancy, it is necessary to strictly monitor any symptoms in the body and go to the doctor in a timely manner so as not to miss the moment of development of pathological shortness of breath.

Symptoms of pathological shortness of breath may include the following diseases in a pregnant woman:

• Disease of the blood composition - anemia;
• Acquired heart defect;
• Thrombosis of arteries;
• Cardiac ischemia;
• Tachycardia;
• Arrhythmia;
• PE (pulmonary embolism);
• Heart failure.

The most dangerous disease that can cause pregnancy in a woman is BODY. Breathing with this pathology becomes frequent and intermittent.

Only timely, qualified medical assistance can save a woman from asphyxia and death.

Possible causes of expiratory dyspnea

Difficulty breathing may be a sign of a serious illness

Shortness of breath, a feeling of lack of air, is widespread among people. During physical exertion or a pathological condition, the respiratory rhythm is naturally disrupted, since the body tissues do not have enough oxygen and this deficiency must be compensated.

Depending on what factors and how shortness of breath manifests itself, it is classified into a number of types and subtypes. The lack of air that occurs during exhalation is called expiratory. Next we’ll talk about it in detail.

First of all, we note that expiratory shortness of breath develops for two groups of reasons:

1. Due to physiological disorders of the respiratory rhythm, which are usually caused by physical or psycho-emotional stress on the body. Less commonly, physiological shortness of breath occurs when the respiratory system adapts to new conditions (for example, a decrease in atmospheric pressure when climbing a mountain).
2. Due to a pathological condition that occurs both within the respiratory system itself and in other nodes of the body (most often in the heart). In this case, shortness of breath is a symptom of pathology.

Most often, lack of air is caused by such ailments as:

• Bronchitis of various forms.
• Asthma.
• Emphysema.
• Tumor pathologies of the respiratory system.
• Oncology.

In addition, expiratory shortness of breath may occur due to the entry of a foreign body into the respiratory tract or poisoning by gases or poisons. Clinically, expiratory dyspnea manifests itself in different ways. In any case, it is characterized by normal breathing when inhaling and difficulty breathing to varying degrees when exhaling.

In modern medicine, there are objective, subjective and mixed forms of pathology.

The differences between them lie in the nature of the manifestation of shortness of breath. Thus, with an objective lack of air, disturbances are recorded by medical examinations, with a subjective one - they are felt only by a person (occurs in mental illness), with a mixed one - they are confirmed both by diagnostic procedures and by the patient’s sensations.

When should you see a doctor?

If shortness of breath occurs during exhalation, it is called expiratory!

Difficulty exhaling is a rather dangerous manifestation, which often indicates serious pathologies of the body. To prevent expiratory shortness of breath and the reasons for its development from causing serious damage, even at the first manifestations of the disease, you should consult a doctor for help. Don’t forget that we are talking about health, and “joking” with it is simply unacceptable.

By postponing a visit to the clinic, and taking risks, a person with difficulty breathing must determine the severity of the pathology.

By the way, among them are:

1. Mild shortness of breath, usually occurring during long walking or gentle running and not causing significant discomfort.
2. Moderate shortness of breath, which manifests itself in similar circumstances, but is more pronounced and requires stopping physical activity to normalize breathing.
3. Severe shortness of breath, which has even more pronounced symptoms and is characterized by heavy, noisy breathing, as well as the need for a long stop to stabilize respiratory function.
4. Very severe shortness of breath, in which breathing problems are observed even at rest.

In principle, it is acceptable not to seek help for mild to moderate air shortages. But is it worth risking your health? Everyone will decide for themselves.

Our resource strongly recommends not to ignore visiting a specialist even with mild manifestations of difficulty breathing, especially if they are accompanied by other disorders in the body (dizziness, chest pain, cough, etc.).

Risk of complications

Symptom may indicate COPD or emphysema

As it became clear, difficulty breathing is not an independent illness, but a symptom indicating the development of one or another pathology of the body. Expiratory shortness of breath itself is not dangerous and usually goes away when certain conditions are created for the patient.

However, the cause of lack of air is dangerous. It is important to understand that any ailment of the body can develop and manifest itself more aggressively, as a result of which it is unacceptable to ignore shortness of breath.

Over time, both the pathology that caused shortness of breath and the symptom itself will develop and, accordingly, intensify. The result of this can be irreversible processes in the respiratory system, which can even cause suffocation of the patient.

Of course, asphyxia is an uncommon complication, usually occurring in the absence of competent therapy for a long time.

Most often, the presence of shortness of breath provokes:

• cyanosis of lips
• acrocyanosis
• general pallor of the skin
• extraneous noises in the respiratory system
• pathological condition of the sternum due to increased pressure in it
• increased chronic diseases of the body due to a stable lack of oxygen

It is definitely not worth allowing even minor complications of difficult exhalation, since their consequences may already be irreversible. Let's repeat, it's unacceptable to risk your health.

Diagnostics

When studying the symptom of heavy breathing, it is necessary not to examine the symptoms, but to identify the cause of this condition. First of all, at the appointment, the doctor examines the patient and collects anamnesis.

Also, for further study of the condition, he prescribes a study using clinical laboratory tests and instrumental research techniques.

When collecting anamnesis, the doctor specifies the following data:

• Genetic hereditary diseases in related family members - vascular pathologies, diseases in the brain, allergic pathologies, blood diseases, as well as pathologies of the heart organ can be inherited;
• The patient's place of work. This is very important if the patient quite often encounters chemicals, toxic fumes, or substances that can provoke an allergic reaction in the body.

Laboratory clinical studies:

• General analysis of blood composition;
• General urine analysis;
• Blood glucose index;
• Biochemical study for blood cholesterol index;
• Method of studying blood - coagulogram;
• Analysis for tumor markers;
• Blood test for eosinophilia - determines allergens in the body.

Instrumental examination when the patient has difficulty breathing:

• Bronchoscopy technique. This method can identify many pathologies in the bronchi and lungs when the patient has difficulty breathing. This study is not effective for heart diseases;
• ECG - electrocardiography;
• ECHO-cardiography reveals heart disease when the patient has difficulty breathing;
• X-rays can reveal pathologies of the musculoskeletal system;
• CT (computed tomography) reveals diseases of the heart organ, blood flow system, and lung pathologies;
• Fluorography is the primary method for identifying pathologies of the lung and bronchi;
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of internal organs, as well as the brain and musculoskeletal system;
• Biopsy of cerebrospinal fluid to detect stroke;
• A biopsy of spinal cord cells will help identify tumors in the body that make it difficult to breathe.

To make an accurate diagnosis, consultation with specialized specialists is necessary:

• General practitioner;
• Cardiologist;
• Pulmonologist;
• Neurologist;
• Endocrinologist;
• Allergist;
• Psychotherapist.

Consultation with a therapist

Causes of hard breathing in adults

Causes of hard breathing
The most common cause is previous respiratory diseases. If a person feels well after an illness, his breathing is normal without any extraneous sounds or wheezing, there is no fever, there is nothing to worry about. But there are many other reasons:

1. Hard breathing in an adult may indicate that a large amount of mucus has accumulated in the lungs and bronchi, which must be removed, otherwise inflammation may develop. The reason may be an insufficient amount of fluid to drink or low humidity in the room. Access to fresh air and plenty of warm fluids is necessary. This will help remove mucus and make breathing easier.
2. If there is harsh breathing in the lungs with a cough and fever, and purulent sputum is released, pneumonia can be confidently diagnosed. This is a bacterial disease and requires medical treatment with antibiotics.
3. In allergy sufferers, hard breathing can cause pulmonary fibrosis. This occurs due to the replacement of tissue by connective cells. The same reason is typical for asthmatics. Fibrosis of the lung tissue can be caused by therapy with certain medications and treatment of oncology. In this case, there are distinctive symptoms - a dry cough with shortness of breath, pale skin and blue discoloration of the nasolabial triangle.
4. With adenoids and various nasal injuries, there can also be hard breathing. To solve this problem, you need to consult an otolaryngologist.
5. With bronchitis, especially the obstructive form, breathing can also be impaired, in this case there is a dry cough, wheezing, and the temperature may rise. An examination by a doctor is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis.
6. If shortness of breath and an attack of suffocation occur during hard breathing, especially during physical exertion, we can talk about bronchial asthma.
7. With weakened immunity, pathogenic microflora, entering the respiratory system, begins to actively multiply and cause inflammation. This can cause swelling in the bronchi and increase secretion production.
8. Another reason could be a sudden change in air temperature or chemical effects on the respiratory system.

In addition, other infectious lung diseases (tuberculosis) can cause hard breathing.

Treatment of the condition when it is difficult to breathe

A pathological condition where it is difficult to breathe must be treated with the help of medical recommendations and prescriptions from specialized doctors. Self-medication of this problem is not allowed, because it can only aggravate the condition and lead the body to asphyxia with a fatal outcome.

It is not the condition of shortness of breath that needs to be treated, but its root cause. There are quite a few causes of heavy breathing, and each disease requires a specific approach and methods of therapy.

Only a doctor, after a comprehensive diagnosis, can understand what is causing this condition of heavy breathing and will prescribe a full course of medication. If the patient's condition is very serious, then treatment is carried out in a hospital setting.

When it’s hard to breathe, and this condition is temporary and is associated with stress on the body, then to relieve the symptoms of shortness of breath, you need to calm down, stop activity, and this physiological process will pass in a few minutes.

In case of heavy breathing due to cardiac pathologies, you must lie down quietly and call for medical help.

Treatment of dyspnea of ​​cardiac etiology

In case of a heart attack, you need to take a Nitroglycerin tablet.

Therapy for heart disease is based on the following medicinal groups of drugs:

• Diuretics - the drug Furosemide, the drug Veroshpiron;
• The group of ACE inhibitors includes Enalapril and Lisinopril;
• Beta calcium channel blockers;
• Cardiac glycosides;
• Drugs to restore heart rhythm.

Enalapril

For children who have difficulty breathing from birth due to a heart defect, surgical treatment may be prescribed.

Treatment of dyspnea of ​​pulmonary etiology

When treating the pulmonary etiology of shortness of breath, the following medications are used:

• Antihistamines - to relieve allergic reactions;
• Glucocorticoid-type hormones;
• Adrenaline drug;
• Antibacterial drugs for pneumonia and inflammatory processes in the respiratory system;
• Analgesics to relieve pain in the chest.

Difficulty breathing due to bronchial asthma is relieved by:

• Drugs of the adrenergic agonists group - Salbutamol;
• A group of anticholinergic drugs - Ipratropium bromide;
• The methylxanthines group is the drug Eufillin;
• A group of glucocorticosteroid medications - Prednisolone.

Prednisolone remedy

In severe cases of tumors in the respiratory tract, surgical treatment will be prescribed.

For colds, when it is difficult to breathe due to nasal congestion, you can use inhalation at home and rinse your nose with a water-salt solution.

Why is it hard to breathe: causes of heavy breathing and ways to eliminate pathology in an adult

Having difficulty breathing is a problem that many people face. Moreover, often there is not just not enough air, but also symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweaty extremities, cold and fever, and dizziness. I personally, the author of the article, had to feel all this more than once.

Sometimes the dizziness due to lack of air was so severe that in the last attempts to inhale a little more oxygen, tachycardia appeared and the pressure rose. I never lost consciousness, but I experienced a strong fear of death.

I can’t breathe - this is how you can briefly describe the symptom of a problem when there is not enough air to breathe hard. I will describe the possible reasons for this phenomenon below.

First of all, I would like to say that I do not have a medical education, I have no knowledge in this area. However, I have experience in how to deal with this phenomenon and have made some conclusions. It took a long time for me to somehow begin to understand and connect the problems of lack of air. In this article you will learn exactly my experience, and not boilerplate information about possible causes.

In no case do I ask you to take this article as a call or as an instruction. I am only sharing my experience, based on which you can draw conclusions.

Perhaps this information will help you in some way.

I say again, I do not have a medical education and can only draw conclusions based on my experience.

By the way, we are talking specifically about the difficulty of breathing, while asthmatics have difficulty exhaling.

Further, if you have shortness of breath when walking and lack of air (by the way, it would be more correct to say shortness of breath), the information below is unlikely to be useful to you. If I were you, I would consult a doctor with this problem.

• 3 My diary of lack of air: 3.1 Upd. January 7, 2020:

Dangerous symptoms

Sometimes difficulty breathing occurs for physiological reasons, which are quite easily remedied. But if you constantly feel like yawning and taking deep breaths, this could be a symptom of a serious illness.

It’s even worse when, against this background, shortness of breath (dyspnea) often occurs, appearing even with minimal physical exertion. This is already a reason to worry and see a doctor.

You should go to the hospital immediately if difficulty breathing is accompanied by:

• pain in the chest area;
• changes in skin color;
• nausea and dizziness;
• severe coughing attacks;
• increased body temperature;
• swelling and cramps of the limbs;
• feeling of fear and internal tension.

These symptoms usually clearly signal pathologies in the body, which need to be identified and eliminated as soon as possible.

Symptoms

The presence of symptoms of shortness of breath is indicated in cases where a person exhibits the following clinical signs:

• pain and pressure in the chest area;
• presence of breathing problems at rest or in a horizontal position;
• inability to sleep lying down - you can only fall asleep in a sitting or reclining position;
• the occurrence of characteristic wheezing or whistling during respiratory movements;
• violation of the swallowing process;
• sensation of a lump or foreign object in the throat;
• slight increase in temperature;
• inhibition in communication;
• impaired concentration;
• high blood pressure;
• severe shortness of breath;
• breathing with loosely compressed or pursed lips;
• cough and sore throat;
• frequent yawning;
• an unreasonable feeling of fear and anxiety.

If there is a lack of air during sleep, a person wakes up from a sudden attack of shortness of breath in the middle of the night, i.e., a sharp awakening occurs against the background of a severe lack of oxygen. To alleviate his condition, the victim needs to get out of bed or take a sitting position.

Patients need to take into account that the above signs are only the basis of the clinical picture, which will be supplemented by the symptoms of the disease or disorder that was the source of the main problem.

For example, lack of air during VSD will be accompanied by numbness in the fingers, attacks of suffocation and fear of tight spaces. Allergies include itchy nose, frequent sneezing and increased tearing.

In cases of a feeling of lack of air during osteochondrosis, the symptoms will include ringing in the ears, decreased visual acuity, fainting and numbness of the extremities.

In any case, if such an alarming symptom occurs, it is necessary to seek qualified help from a pulmonologist as soon as possible.

Causes of lack of air

All the reasons why a person may go to the doctor with the complaint: “I can’t breathe fully and I’m constantly yawning” can be roughly divided into psychological, physiological and pathological. Conditionally - because everything in our body is closely interconnected, and the failure of one system entails disruption of the normal functioning of other organs.

Thus, prolonged stress, which is attributed to psychological reasons, can provoke hormonal imbalance and cardiovascular problems.

Physiological

The most harmless are physiological reasons that can cause difficulty breathing:

1. Lack of oxygen. It is strongly felt in the mountains, where the air is thin. So if you've recently changed your geographic location and are now significantly above sea level, it's normal to find it difficult to breathe at first. Well, ventilate the apartment more often.
2. Stuffy room. Two factors play a role here - a lack of oxygen and an excess of carbon dioxide, especially if there are many people in the room.
3. Tight clothes. Many people don’t even think about it, but in pursuit of beauty, sacrificing convenience, they deprive themselves of a significant portion of oxygen. Clothes that strongly compress the chest and diaphragm are especially dangerous: corsets, tight bras, tight bodysuits.
4. Poor physical shape. Lack of air and shortness of breath at the slightest exertion are experienced by those who lead a sedentary lifestyle or have spent a lot of time in bed due to illness.
5. Overweight. It causes a whole bunch of problems, in which yawning and shortness of breath are not the most serious. But be careful - if you significantly exceed normal weight, heart pathologies quickly develop.

It is difficult to breathe in the heat, especially if you are severely dehydrated. The blood becomes thicker, and it is harder for the heart to push it through the vessels. As a result, the body does not receive enough oxygen. The person begins to yawn and try to breathe deeper.

Medical

Shortness of breath, yawning and a regularly felt lack of air can cause serious illnesses. Moreover, often these signs are the first symptoms that allow diagnosing the disease at an early stage.

Therefore, if you constantly have difficulty breathing, be sure to go to the doctor. The most common possible diagnoses are:

• VSD – vegetative-vascular dystonia. This disease is the scourge of our time, and it is usually triggered by severe or chronic nervous overstrain. A person feels constant anxiety, fears, panic attacks develop, and fear of enclosed spaces arises. Difficulty breathing and yawning are warning signs of such attacks.
• Anemia. Acute iron deficiency in the body. It is necessary to carry oxygen. When there is not enough of it, even with normal breathing it seems that there is not enough air. The person begins to constantly yawn and take deep breaths.
• Bronchopulmonary diseases: bronchial asthma, pleurisy, pneumonia, acute and chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis. All of them, in one way or another, lead to the fact that it becomes almost impossible to take a full breath.
• Respiratory diseases, acute and chronic. Due to swelling and drying of the mucous membranes of the nose and larynx, it becomes difficult to breathe. Often the nose and throat are clogged with mucus. When yawning, the larynx opens as much as possible, so when we have the flu and ARVI, we not only cough, but also yawn.
• Heart diseases: ischemia, acute heart failure, cardiac asthma. They are difficult to diagnose early. Often shortness of breath, coupled with difficulty breathing and chest pain, is a sign of a heart attack. If this condition occurs suddenly, it is better to immediately call an ambulance.
• Pulmonary thromboembolism. People suffering from thrombophlebitis are at serious risk. A detached blood clot can block the pulmonary artery and cause part of the lung to die. But at first it becomes difficult to breathe, there is constant yawning and a feeling of acute lack of air.

As you can see, most diseases are not just serious - they pose a threat to the patient’s life. Therefore, if you often feel short of breath, then it is better not to delay your visit to the doctor.

Psychogenic

And again, we cannot help but recall stress, which is one of the main causes of the development of many diseases today.

Yawning under stress is an unconditioned reflex inherent in us by nature. If you observe animals, you will notice that when they are nervous, they yawn constantly. And in this sense, we are no different from them.

Source: https://hospitalvv.ru/kardio/chuvstvo-nehvatki-vozduha.html

Prevention

Preventive measures include general recommendations:

• If shortness of breath is caused by poor ecology, change your place of residence;
• Change your place of work if you have difficulty breathing due to constant contact with chemicals or toxic substances;
• Do not overeat, because the large amount of food eaten makes it difficult to breathe after eating;
• Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages;
• Get rid of nicotine addiction;
• Constantly monitor the index of cholesterol and glucose in the blood;
• For prevention, take B vitamins;
• Spend more time outdoors;
• Do not overload the body;
• Timely diagnose and treat pathologies that make it difficult to breathe;
• Follow a diet - do not eat large quantities of fatty and salty foods;
• Maintain water balance in the body;
• Engage in physical training and hardening.

Treatment for hard breathing in adults

Treatment for hard breathing
In the absence of additional symptoms, hard breathing is not treated with medications. Long walks in the fresh air, drinking plenty of fluids are recommended; the diet should contain vitamins, carbohydrates and proteins. The room must be ventilated daily, wet cleaning is necessary at least once a week.

If a patient exhibits allergy symptoms, he needs to consult an allergist. When determining pneumonia, the pulmonologist prescribes antimicrobial therapy. Antibiotics are taken after sputum analysis in a strict dosage prescribed by the doctor.

For viral etiology of hard breathing, antiviral drugs and antipyretics are prescribed (at temperatures above 37.80C)

If a specific pathogen is not identified, mixed therapy is carried out. Penicillin antibiotics, cephalosporins or macrolides are prescribed.

For pulmonary fibrosis, glucocorticosteroids, cytostatics, antifibrosis medications and oxygen cocktails are used.

Home Remedies

Treatment can be carried out at home in the absence of a bacterial infection:

• figs pre-boiled in milk make breathing easier;
• A pharmaceutical breast collection made from medicinal herbs is recommended; it has a mucolytic effect; to avoid allergic reactions, you must first consult a doctor;
• bronchodilators (Berodual, Atroventa, Salbutamol) and mucolytics (Bromhexine, ACC, Ambroxol) are taken as expectorants to treat cough;
• Among traditional medicine, medicinal herbs are popular, a decoction of which can be used to treat coughs (plantain, calendula, chamomile);
• mashed bananas with honey helps soften your breath;
• As an expectorant, it is recommended to drink warm milk before going to bed, adding a piece of butter and a teaspoon of baking soda;
• even for infectious diseases of the lungs, it is useful to use badger fat as a rub; it is usually rubbed into the chest and taken orally, washed down with warm milk;
• for severe pulmonary diseases, you can prepare a composition from aloe, cocoa, honey and any fat. It is used for a long time, at least 1.5 months, but the effect is amazing, it even helps cure tuberculosis;
• Breathing exercises are also a very effective therapy; there are a number of exercises that are used specifically for hard breathing.

Combinations of symptoms of diseases accompanied by shortness of breath

Does the child sleep well, clearly does not get tired, but yawns often? You need to urgently go to the pediatrician

Frequent accompaniments of shortness of breath are yawning, wheezing, wheezing, coughing, pain in the chest, dizziness, and darkening of the eyes. With dyspnea with cough, sputum may be produced, including blood, and with difficulty in inhaling, a sharp pain syndrome may occur in different parts of the chest and/or the heart rate may increase.

And this video popularly talks about how our breathing is regulated and the reasons that influence this process.

There are also the following types of shortness of breath, which have received their own names:

1. Tachypnea – breathing without difficulty, but shallow and too frequent. This type of shortness of breath is caused by fever, blood diseases, anemic conditions, neuroses or panic attacks, and is accompanied by an increase in pulse and heart rate.
2. Bradypnea is a significant and involuntary decrease in the number of respiratory cycles. The condition occurs due to a stroke, an attack of diabetic, renal or hepatic coma, certain infections in the acute period, meningitis, tumor or edema of the brain.
3. Apnea is the cessation of inhalation and exhalation. It may be a consequence of obesity, whooping cough, an attack of bronchial asthma, a too sharp and high jump in blood pressure, deliberate hyperventilation of the lungs before deep-sea diving when diving without scuba gear, an unreasonably long procedure for artificial ventilation of the lungs.
4. Sleep apnea is when breathing stops for 11 to 360 seconds. In total, they can occupy up to 60% of the total duration of the night's rest, and the rest of the time the person mostly snores heavily. The cause of sleep apnea is a narrowing of the upper respiratory tract and a decrease in nerve impulses in the fibers of the respiratory muscles.
5. Pathological periodic Cheyne-Stokes breathing - cyclical, “jerky” respiratory cycles with long pauses between them (see figure below). The causes of such a violation of the structure of respiratory acts can be heart failure, atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels, and head injuries. Depending on the rhythm of inhalations and exhalations, their depth and the duration of the apnea phase, the named disorders of Biot, Grocco and Kussmaul are also distinguished.

Cheyne-Stokes respiration spirogram

Important. Any type of sleep apnea is a pathology that cannot be ignored. It quickly leads to hypertension, coronary heart disease, pulmonary hypertension with right-sided ventricular failure. This pathology can cause a stroke, and in diabetics cause diabetic shock during sleep.

Etiology

Heavy breathing in a child and an adult can be caused by the development of various pathologies, for example, of an infectious nature. Also, the following etiological factors, or rather diseases, can be the cause of the manifestation of such a symptom:

• bronchial asthma;
• bronchiectasis;
• bronchus or lung cancer;
• congenital heart pathology;
• ischemic heart disease;
• emphysema;
• endocarditis;
• hypertension;
• pleurisy;
• violation of the structure of the respiratory tract;
• pneumonia;
• pulmonary edema;
• rheumatic heart disease.

A common cause of symptoms in adults and children is prolonged stay in the same body position.

The following etiological factors can also provoke difficulty breathing:

• sport;
• stress;
• constant fatigue;
• vascular spasms of the brain.

In addition to the pathological condition, such a symptom can also develop due to the physiological characteristics of the body. In this case, difficulty breathing manifests itself exclusively in childhood, when the baby is not yet one and a half years old. A sign is formed from the high elasticity of tissues in the respiratory tract. By 1.5 years, the structure of the cartilage of the larynx becomes denser, and breathing returns to normal.

In older children, symptoms may appear from various bacterial and viral infections:

• flu;
• measles;
• rubella;
• chickenpox;
• scarlet fever;
• diphtheria.

Scarlet fever is a possible cause of heavy breathing

In adult women, the cause of difficulty breathing also lies in pregnancy. During this period, there is a strong load on the entire body, especially on the respiratory system. The fetus grows and the uterus enlarges, which begins to put pressure on the diaphragm. After the birth of the child, breathing returns to normal, so during pregnancy there is no need to worry about the appearance of such a symptom.