Shortness Of Breath? Here's How You Can Cope With It

Dyspnea is a feeling of tightness in your chest, which causes difficulty in breathing. It refers to the inability of an individual to breathe easily. It can be caused due to various reasons such as inflammation and narrowing of the airways. It can be one of the main symptoms of deteriorating respiratory as well as other health conditions, often indicating the presence of an underlying ailment.

What Are The Main Causes Of Breathlessness?

The 4 major reasons why an individual can experience shortness of breath are as follows:

1. Lung Conditions

Lung conditions such as these result in breathlessness:

1. Asthma
2. COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
3. Bronchiectasis
4. Lung infection
5. Collapsed lung
6. Tuberculosis
7. Interstitial Lung Disease
8. Pulmonary Fibrosis

2. Heart Conditions

An individual can experience difficulty breathing due to cardiovascular diseases. Heart conditions like arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, heart attack, or failure may lead to breathlessness. The reasons behind this may include:

• If the heart does not pump enough oxygen-containing blood into your body, you may experience breathlessness.
• The presence of fluid in the lungs is often caused by a malfunctioning heart, making breathing difficult.

3. Fitness Levels

Fitness can play an essential role in the ease with which one may breathe. Working out and staying fit will help you breathe easier. If you happen to be underweight, your ability to breathe may be affected by how your muscles push air out of the body, making it feel like you can't catch your breath. On the other hand, excess weight on specific areas of the body can restrict lung motion, making breathing more difficult or even painful.

4. Anxiety

People tend to have trouble breathing when they feel anxious or get stressed. This is a normal reaction in response to a stressful situation wherein the breathing muscles get tensed, causing them to experience breathlessness.

How To Deal With Shortness Of Breath?

1. Consult A Doctor

Visiting the doctor should be the first on the priority list. The breathlessness that the individual experiences could signify the worsening of the condition or the onset of another condition.

2. Breathing Exercises

Various breathing exercises have proven highly effective when alleviating the condition. Individuals should try exercises like pursed-lip breathing and diaphragmatic breathing in order to deal with the condition.

3. Medication

As breathlessness is often an underlying symptom of a medical condition, taking medication on time could go a long way in alleviating the breathing problem. It is advised to keep rescue inhalers handy in case of known pulmonary conditions.

Experiencing trouble breathing or other breathing difficulties can feel overwhelming. People often assume symptoms affecting their breathing are caused by physical problems. Your mental health affects your physical health in many ways. It is recommended to bring it to your health care professional's attention immediately if you have any of these symptoms or if they worsen. If you’re looking for more information on asthma, check out Asthma for Non- Asthmatics.

References:

• https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/breathless
• https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/breathlessness/causes
• https://www.medicinenet.com/shortness_of_breath/symptoms.htm
• https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2019&q=respiratory+conditions+with+br eathlessness+as+symptom&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5
• https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-18944-0_2
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1357303920300153
• https://thorax.bmj.com/content/74/Suppl_2/A26.2.abstract
• https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7TKyDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA23 2&dq=respiratory+conditions+with+breathlessness+as+symptom&ots=KBsyMqFkMU &sig=l2pq- 9FvvR7LrVUjtSVePQFvWGg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=respiratory%20conditions% 20with%20breathlessness%20as%20symptom&f=false
• https://cdn.journals.lww.com/anesthesia- analgesia/Citation/2020/04000/Integrated_Palliative_Care_of_Respiratory_Disease,.42. aspx

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