Symptoms:

Many infants with pneumothorax do not have symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they can include:

• Bluish skin color (cyanosis)
• Fast breathing
• Flaring of the nostrils
• Grunting with breathing
• Irritability
• Restlessness
• Use of other chest and abdominal muscles to aid breathing (retractions)

Signs and tests:

The nurses and doctors may have difficulty hearing breath sounds when listening to the infant' s lungs with a stethoscope. The heart or lung sounds may seem as if they are coming from a different part of the chest than normal.

Tests for pneumothorax include:

• Chest x-ray
• Light probe placed against the baby' s chest, also known as "transillumination" (pockets of air will show up as lighter areas)