Shortage of air during breathing: causes, treatment

Dyspnea, or shortness of breath, is an unpleasant symptom that can occur with serious ailments. Especially if this happens all the time. Therefore, it is important to know the causes of lack of air and the rules of treatment. This will be discussed in the article.

Types of Dyspnea

Only by description, doctors are able to suggest the presence of certain ailments. There are three types of shortness of breath:

1. Inspiratory. Her breathing is difficult. Usually this indicates a pathology of the heart, panic attacks.
2. Expiratory. In this case, a complex exhalation is observed, which appears with bronchial asthma.
3. Mixed. This type of shortness of breath involves difficult breathing with a difficult inhalation and exhalation. Diseases can be different.

The success of treatment depends on the relief of the underlying ailment. First you need to determine the cause, and then begin treatment.

Why does this phenomenon appear?

What are the causes of shortness of breath? This is manifested not only in the presence of pulmonary ailments and respiratory problems. Shortness of breath occurs due to strong physical exertion, after eating, with stress and psychosomatic disorders, during pregnancy and various ailments of the body.

Common causes of air shortage include:

1. Wrong way of life. This applies to smoking, drinking, being overweight.
2. Stress and emotional overload.
3. Inadequate ventilation in the room.
4. Diseases of different genesis.
5. Chest injury - bruises, rib fractures.

Conditionally, the causes of lack of air and shortness of breath are divided into normal and pathological. In any case, the condition negatively affects the overall well-being of a person, therefore it is necessary to be treated.

Probable ailments

Lack of air appears due to diseases of the lungs and heart, as well as due to the presence of psychosomatic diseases, anemia and problems with the spine. Depending on the ailment, there may be different symptoms:

1. Bronchial asthma. In this case, obstructive respiratory failure is observed . With an attack, the airways become narrower, due to which there will be less air at the entrance.
2. Pleurisy of the lungs. With this disease, there is a high temperature and restrictive respiratory failure. The volume of the lungs becomes smaller, because they are not able to completely straighten out when breathing. This is the reason for the lack of oxygen.
3. Heart failure. When the heart supplies an insufficient amount of blood to the organs, pulmonary edema appears: fluid accumulation is observed in them, and impaired gas exchange leads to this condition.
4. Hypertension. Active increase in pressure causes overload of the heart muscle. This serves as a violation of the functions of the heart, lowers the flow of blood to organs and causes a shortage of air. Discomfort and heaviness in the heart also appear.
5. Anemia. The main function of hemoglobin is the transfer of oxygen to the tissues, so when it decreases in the blood there is a lack of oxygen. Usually, this symptom manifests itself after physical activity, when the blood cannot deliver the necessary amount of oxygen.

Other diseases

Another lack of air is observed with the following ailments:

1. Laryngitis. In adults, the disease manifests itself in the form of a sore throat, hoarseness, severe cough. The child has swelling of the vocal cords.
2. Vegetative-vascular dystonia. The appearance of hyperventilation syndrome with this disease is associated with stress, emotional and physical overload, hormonal disorders. In this case, the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood decreases, and therefore oxygen slowly enters the tissue. Frequent palpitations and shortness of breath appear.
3. Diabetes. With the defeat of small vessels, oxygen will not enter the organs in the right amount, due to which oxygen starvation appears. Causes may be associated with diabetic nephropathy - kidney damage in which anemia appears.
4. Thyrotoxicosis. With this ailment, increased production of thyroid hormones occurs, and this becomes the reason for the acceleration of metabolic processes in the body. For their implementation, oxygen is needed, and its previous amount will be missed.
5. Thoracic and cervicothoracic osteochondrosis. After reducing the space between the vertebrae, pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots increases. With osteochondrosis of the thoracic region, functioning is also impaired. This leads to a lack of air.
6. Chest injury. A lack of oxygen appears due to severe chest pain from a fracture or bruise of the chest. An anesthetic is able to neutralize shortness of breath of this type.
7. Allergy. Shortness of breath can occur after penetration into the body of an allergen - a component that provokes the production of antibodies. This phenomenon leads to swelling of the mucous membrane and expiratory difficulty in breathing - a person feels cramping, and therefore it is difficult for him to breathe.

Other factors

Lack of air can be associated not only with diseases. Some factors of this phenomenon are considered “normal”: they appear not because of illnesses, but because of lifestyle, physiological characteristics and emotional state.

Shortness of breath and lack of air appears for the following reasons:

• Physical activity. Muscles need more oxygen at this time, and a person cannot take a deep breath. This is observed after a few minutes and occurs only in people who are constantly involved in sports.
• After eating food. During this period, there is an influx of blood to the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, so oxygen is supplied to other organs in smaller quantities. Overeating or chronic ailments can lead to shortness of breath.
• Pregnancy. Dyspnea appears in the 3rd trimester when the uterus is stretched and raised to the diaphragm. The level of dyspnea is determined by the weight of the fetus and the physiological characteristics of the woman.
• Obesity. Visceral fat, which envelops the lungs, reduces air volume. In addition, with excess weight, the heart and other organs function intensely, so they need more oxygen. As a result, there is a feeling of lack of air.
• Smoking. For the body, this is a bad habit, because with it there is a strong load on the lungs. Dyspnea in a smoker is especially noticeable during physical exertion.
• Alcohol consumption. Alcohol affects the heart, blood vessels, increasing the likelihood of heart disease. Most of these ailments provoke shortness of breath.
• Stress. With emotional stress and panic attacks, adrenaline is released into the blood. Therefore, tissues need more oxygen, and its deficiency causes a feeling of lack of air.
• Poor ventilation. If the room is not adequately ventilated, then a lot of carbon dioxide accumulates there. Oxygen cannot enter it, which leads to shortness of breath and frequent yawning, which serves as a signal of brain hypoxia.

For these reasons, treatment is not necessary. Usually you need to change your lifestyle. If there is poor ventilation in the room, then it will be enough to often air and be on the street. Then this symptom will disappear on its own.

Who to contact?

If often lack of air, what should I do? It is necessary to consult a doctor. If breathing is intermittent, then therapist's help is required. A specialist performs an inspection, tests are taken and studies are being conducted. Depending on the symptoms of the disease, the therapist is assigned a direction to:

1. Pulmonologist - with pulmonary ailments.
2. Cardiologist - with pathologies of the heart, blood vessels.
3. Hematologist - when anemia is detected.
4. Neurologist - if the reason lies in psychosomatics, osteochondrosis.
5. Psychologist - with neurosis and stress.
6. Endocrinologist - with diabetes, with thyrotoxicosis.
7. To the allergist - with allergies.

It will not work out independently to determine whom to contact. Symptoms of many diseases that lead to dyspnea are similar. Therefore, it is better to contact a therapist, and he will give direction to the right specialist.

First aid

Dyspnea occurs unexpectedly, so it is important to familiarize yourself with the recommendations that can help at first. Timely first aid will help prevent a person from dying. To eliminate shortness of breath, you must:

1. Call an ambulance.
2. Provide the patient peace and relaxation.
3. Create an influx of fresh air.
4. To help a person to take a sitting position.
5. Perform oxygen inhalation.
6. Give the patient a resorption tablet of nitroglycerin for 10 minutes.

Sometimes it is required to apply medium fixation tourniquets on the limbs. By pulling veins, you can reduce the strong flow of blood to the lungs. Before this, it is necessary to check whether the patient has varicose veins or thrombophlebitis. With attacks, you need an atmosphere of calm before the arrival of doctors who can help the person.

Diagnostics

To determine the causes of shortage of air during breathing, a specialist performs diagnostic measures. The research methods include:

1. Inspection and questioning of the patient.
2. Testing (blood for hormones, urine).
3. Research using ultrasound, X-ray, CT, ECG, spirometry.
4. Setting the reason, referral to a specialist of a certain profile.

To identify the causes, not all of these methods can be used. After questioning and examination by a specialist, some diagnoses may be excluded. A complete list of hardware procedures and analyzes will be less.

Treatment

How is air deficiency treated? The method is determined by reason. If this phenomenon occurs with diseases of the heart and blood vessels, then drugs are prescribed that improve the metabolism and functioning of the heart muscle. If it is difficult to breathe with inflammatory pulmonary diseases, mucolytic drugs are prescribed. When the reason lies in nervous disorders, psychological counseling is needed to eliminate stress and depression.

Medicines

With a lack of air (a consequence of any disease), drugs of various groups are used. The most popular include the following:

1. Antihistamines. Used for allergic reactions. This is Claritin, Fenistil, Citrine.
2. Inhaled glucocorticoids. Needed for the treatment of bronchial asthma. Appointed "Fluticasone", "Flunisolid."
3. Antibiotics. Effective in inflammatory diseases of the heart, blood vessels, respiratory system. Helps "Biseptolum", "Erythromycin".
4. Mucolytic. They are prescribed for inflammatory diseases of the lungs. This is Ambroxol, Lazolvan.
5. Vasodilators. Means are prescribed for ischemia of the heart, angina pectoris, heart attack. Such drugs as Molsidomin, Apressin are in demand.
6. Antiarrhythmics. They are required for tachycardia. This is Quinidine, Propranolol.
7. Diuretics. Medicines help with hypertension. These include "Furosemide", "Diacarb."
8. Nootropic. With vegetative-vascular dystonia, such drugs as Phenibut and Piracetam are needed.
9. Sedative. “Novopassit”, “Persen”, “Glycine” help to get rid of stresses, panic attacks, and heart pathologies.

Folk remedies

Natural remedies are effective. Using proven folk recipes, you can eliminate shortness of breath:

1. It will take honey (1/2 liter), lemon juice (5 fruits), garlic (5 chopped heads). A mixture is prepared from these products. Infusion is performed for a week, and then the remedy should be drunk for 4 tsp. in a day.
2. To alleviate the condition of the elderly, a remedy from garlic (150 g) and lemon juice (from 12 fruits) will help. The components must be mixed, placed in a vessel and covered with a napkin. Insisting is carried out day. Every day you need to take 1 tsp. means which are diluted in water (120 ml).
3. To reduce shortness of breath, you need a tincture of sunflower. Yellow petals (300 g) infused with vodka (1 liter) for 3 weeks. The daily norm is 40 drops.

Although these recipes are effective, it is advisable to consult a doctor before using them. This will eliminate negative health effects.

Useful Tips

To eliminate shortness of breath, as well as eliminate breathing problems that already exist, you must follow simple recommendations:

1. You often need to be outdoors, for a walk.
2. Useful medical gymnastics, active movements.
3. Do not overeat, you should arrange fasting days.
4. Airing should be done at least once a day.
5. It is necessary to correct the lifestyle, get rid of bad habits.
6. It is important to control the emotional state.
7. If you have unpleasant symptoms, you should contact a specialist.

Output

If you are constantly experiencing shortness of breath and lack of air, do not ignore this. The reason may not be serious, but consultation with the doctor is still required: he will determine the diagnosis and provide assistance, ensuring free and easy breathing.