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Breathing difficulties - first aid

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Definition:

Breathing difficulties can be described in several different ways. You may be short of breath, unable to take a deep breath, gasping for air, or feel like you are not getting enough air.

See also: Choking

Alternative Names:

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

Considerations:

If you are having difficulty breathing, it is almost always a medical emergency (other than feeling slightly winded from normal activity like exercise or climbing a hill).

Causes:

Difficulty breathing has many potential causes. Some of the most common are:

• Sudden illness or infections like pneumonia , acute bronchitis , whooping cough , croup , or epiglottitis
• Heart disease , asthma , emphysema , chronic bronchitis , or heart failure
• Heart attack
• Injury to the neck, chest wall, or lungs
• Collapsed lung , which can happen if you have emphysema or asthma, but may also happen spontaneously in young, healthy people
• High altitudes, which can be a problem even in young people
• Cigarette smoking or breathing secondhand smoke
• Pulmonary embolism , or a blood clot in the lung, which can cause very abrupt and severe difficulty breathing
• Life-threatening allergic reaction

• Review Date: 1/16/2007
• Reviewed By: Eric Perez, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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