It is not unusual to feel like it is hard to catch your breath for a minute or two, especially if you’re doing some hard work. When we exert ourselves in exercises, house cleaning, lifting heavy loads, the muscles need more energy than they usually need when we are at rest. Our heart starts working to meet this need.
However, difficulties at breathing for a minute or two or longer could result from underlying health issues. Sometimes breathing difficulty may require urgent medical attention. Institutions like Premier Medical do great good in cases like this. As often called by professionals, dyspnea may be a result of heart diseases, Obesity, allergies, etc.
Signs of breathing difficulties
Tiredness is different from shortness of breath. Short of breath is simply when you’re breathing as hard as you can and still can’t get air. Below are a few symptoms of dyspnea:
- Panic or anxiety
- Rapid breathing
- Gasping
- Increase heartbeat
It is important to note that if the victim cannot speak complete sentences comfortably, the shortness of breath needs urgent medical attention.
When is medical attention required?
- If you experience difficulties breathing for the first time.
- If it happens after activities that you do with ease before or worse than it usually was.
- If difficulty in breathing is accompanied by cough, high fever, swelling in feet or ankles.
- If it happens when lying down Or from sleep.
- If it regularly disrupts your daily living.
- If it is accompanied by pains across the chest, arm, jaw, or neck; Confusion or dizziness.
Causes of breathing difficulties
Breathing difficulties can always be traced to abnormalities or conditions in the lungs or the airways. Whether mild or severe, the following are the few causes of breathing difficulties:
- The Nasal Cavities
- The Bronchial Tubes
- The Mouth
- The Trachea
- Underlying Diseases
Let’s take a quick peek into underlying medical conditions which could cause breathing difficulties:
- Asthma is an inflammation that causes airways to spasm and reduce, making it harder to breathe fully.
- Heart Disease: this could cause the heart not to pump enough blood through the body, resulting in too little oxygen reaching the tissues, affecting proper breathing.
- COPD: This is a difficulty pushing air out of the lungs.
- Obesity: This condition can weaken the heart and muscles, causing defects in proper breathing.
- Pneumonia: This lung infection can cause inflammation in the respiratory airway, resulting in difficulty in air transfer in the lungs and other respiratory problems.
- Allergies: As humans, we react differently to food and drugs. Some allergies cause immune system responses that swell the airways.
- Anemia: This is the shortage of iron in the body system. Hemoglobin is an essential part of the blood that carries oxygen through the body. Iron is needed to produce this required hemoglobin.
- Anxiety: this is a condition that makes you breathe very quickly, But too quickly that you don’t let enough air out and get a deep breath.
- Cancer Tumors: Cancer tumors in the respiratory organs of the body can cause breathing irregularities.
- Cold and Flu: This virus infection can cause inflammations in the nasal cavities, reducing airflow. COVID-19 Is another virus that can cause breathlessness.
- Diabetes: a severe stage of diabetes can also cause shortness of breath due to the body producing a high blood acid level.
- Sleep Apnea: This condition causes you to have difficulties breathing at night. In extreme cases of this condition, one might wake up suddenly from sleep gasping for air.
Treatment for breathing difficulties
Since breathing difficulties are usually caused by an underlying health condition, it is generally advisable to consult a medical professional when handling such cases. So ensure to visit a medical institution today.