Breathing difficulties - first aid - Overview

Alternative Names

Difficulty breathing - first aid; Dyspnea - first aid; Shortness of breath - first aid

Definition of Breathing difficulties - first aid:

Breathing difficulties can range from being short of breath, unable to take a deep breath, gasping for air, or feel like you are not getting enough air.

This article discusses first aid for someone who is having breathing problems.

Considerations:

Breathing difficulty is almost always a medical emergency (other than feeling slightly winded from normal activity such as exercise).

Causes:

There are many different causes for breathing problems. Common causes include:

Asthma
Being at a high altitude
Blood clot in the lung
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Collapsed lung
Heart attack
Heart disease or heart failure
Injury to the neck, chest wall, or lungs
Life-threatening allergic reaction
Respiratory nfections, including pneumonia, acute bronchitis, whooping cough, croup, and others

Collapsed lung, pneumothorax

Epiglottis

Breathing

Reviewed last on: 7/16/2011
Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Manno M. Pediatric respiratory emergencies: upper airway obstruction and infections. In: Marx J, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009: chap 166.

Thomas SH, Brown DFM. Foreign bodies. In: Marx J, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009: chap 57.

Wippold FJ II. Diagnostic imaging of the larynx. In: Cummings CW, Flint PW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2010:chap 106.

Heimlich maneuver

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