It often happens that there is not enough air when breathing. In medical practice, the state of air shortage is called disapnea (otherwise - shortness of breath). Dyspnea must be distinguished from suffocation - an acute attack of lack of air (extreme degree of dyspnea).
It is rather difficult to determine independently the reason for the lack of air during breathing, because the number of diseases and even normal physiological conditions causing difficulty in breathing is very large.
Not enough air: causes
There can be many reasons for the lack of air, some of them are serious diseases of the respiratory system, and others are natural borderline physiological conditions.
The list of diseases characterized by similar symptoms is great:
• Bronchial asthma.
• Oncological tumors of the bronchi and lungs.
• Bronchiectasis.
• CHD (Ischemic Heart Disease).
• Congenital and acquired heart defects.
• Hypertonic disease.
• Emphysema.
• Endocarditis.
• Ventricular failure (as a rule, we are talking about lesions of the left ventricle).
• Infectious lesions of the bronchi and lungs (pneumonia, bronchitis, etc.).
• Pulmonary edema.
• Respiratory block.
• Rheumatism.
• Angina pectoris (angina pectoris).
• Hypodynamia and, as its consequence, obesity.
• Psychosomatic causes.
Only the most common causes are listed. Also we can talk about thermal lesions of the lungs and bronchi (burn), mechanical and chemical damage, but in everyday conditions they occur quite rarely.
Bronchial asthma
Dangerous disease affecting the bronchial tree. As a rule, the cause of the disease lies in the acute immune response to endogenous or exogenous irritant (allergic asthma) or infectious agent (infectious asthma). It appears paroxysmally. The intensity and nature of the attacks depend on the severity of the disease and can range from mild shortness of breath (for example, from fast walking) to rapidly developing asphyxiation. Regardless, the mechanism is quite simple. The ciliated epithelium that lines the inner surface of the bronchi swells, as a result of edema, stenosis (narrowing) of the bronchial lumen occurs and, as a result, increasing asphyxiation.
Bronchial asthma is an insidious disease and it is rather difficult to distinguish it, and since the degree of mortality of the pathology is high, at the first manifestations, when it seems that there is not enough air, you should immediately contact a specialist and undergo a full examination.
Oncological neoplasms of the bronchi and lungs
According to statistics, lung neoplasms are almost on the first lines in terms of frequency of development. In the risk group are, in the first place, heavy smokers (including passive ones, which means all of us, because you cannot hide from cigarette smoke), as well as people with weighted heredity. It is quite simple to suspect oncology if there are a number of specific signs:
• Asphyxiation (shortness of breath) occurs repeatedly, periodically.
• Observed weight loss, weakness, fatigue.
• There is hemoptysis.
To distinguish oncology from tuberculosis in the early stages can only be a doctor. In addition, in the early stages, there may be only a slight lack of air.
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is a pathological degenerative formation in the structure of the bronchi. The bronchi and bronchioles (with which the bronchial tree ends) expand and take the form of bag-like formations filled with liquid or pus.
The exact causes of the disease are unknown, a certain role is played by previous lung diseases. It is extremely often formed in smokers (along with emphysema).
As ectases develop, functional tissues are replaced by cicatricial and the affected area is “turned off” from the breathing process. The result is persistent, uninterrupted dyspnea, the cause of which is a decrease in the quality of breathing. The patient has difficulty breathing, not enough air.
Heart disease
Cause a decrease in the functionality of the body and, as a result, a decrease in blood flow to the lungs. As a result of this, a vicious circle is formed: the heart lacks oxygen, because it cannot provide the lungs with the optimal amount of blood for enrichment. Blood not adequately enriched with oxygen returns to the heart, but is not able to provide the heart muscle with the right amount of nutrients.
The heart, as a response, begins to increase blood pressure, and beats more often. There is a false feeling of lack of air. Thus, the autonomic nervous system is trying to increase the intensity of the lungs, in order to somehow fill the lack of oxygen in the blood and to avoid tissue ischemia. According to this scheme, almost all serious diseases of the heart and cardiovascular system proceed: angina pectoris, ischemic heart disease, heart defects, hypertension (without adequate therapy), etc.
Emphysema
Its symptoms are similar to bronchiectasis. Similarly, bubbles form in the structure of the bronchi, but they are not filled with liquid or pus. Pathological expansions are empty, and over time they burst, forming cavities. As a result, the vital capacity of the lungs decreases and a painful shortness of breath sets in.
A person breathing heavily does not have enough air even with the slightest physical exertion, and sometimes even in a calm state. Emphysema is also considered a disease of smokers, although it can also occur among staunch advocates of a healthy lifestyle.
Psychosomatic causes
Spasm of the bronchi can occur with emotional upheaval and stress. Scientists have noticed that such manifestations are characteristic of people with a special type of character accentuation (dystyms, hysteroids).
Obesity
No matter how trite it sounds, for people with obesity, shortness of breath is almost always characteristic. As an analogy, just imagine a person carrying a bag of potatoes. At the end of the work - he gets tired, breathes heavily and "sweat profusely" from intense physical exertion. Obese people carry their "bag of potatoes" all the time.
Thus, answering the question why there is not enough air, the reasons can be different. But almost always they involve harm to health and a threat to life.
Not enough air: symptoms
There can be no symptoms of shortness of breath, as shortness of breath and asphyxiation are symptoms themselves. The difference is that in various diseases they are included in different symptomatic complexes. Conventionally, all complexes can be divided into infectious, cardiac, directly pulmonary.
With infectionsbesides the sensation itself, as if there is not enough air, the symptoms of general intoxication of the body are observed:
• Headache.
• Hyperthermia (from 37.2 to 40 and more, depending on the type of agent and the severity of the lesion).
• Pain in bones and joints.
• Weakness and high fatigue combined with drowsiness.
In addition, there may be chest pain, aggravated by breathing. Rattling and whistling at the entrance or exhale.
With heart disease a number of concomitant symptoms are almost always characteristic:
• Burning in the chest.
• Arrhythmia.
• Tachycardia (palpitations).
• Increased sweating.
All this can be observed even in a calm state.
Typically pulmonary pathologies and pathological processes Symptoms are much more difficult to recognize because special knowledge is needed. Only a doctor can make the correct diagnosis. However, it is still possible to suspect one or another disease in oneself.
So, with oncological lesions, the symptoms appear on the rise and include:
• Dyspnea, increasing over time. It appears periodically, then constantly.
• Weight loss (dramatic weight loss in the absence of a diet).
• Hemoptysis (caused by damage to the capillaries of the bronchi).
• Sternum pain when breathing (both during inhalation and exhalation).
Oncology is the most difficult to recognize. Without special instrumental methods, this is completely impossible.
Malignant tumors are easily confused with tuberculosis and even bronchiectasis.
However, bronchiectasis is characterized by expectoration of brown sputum (usually in the morning). In the structure of sputum there are streaks of multi-layered pus (necrosis of bronchial structures in the areas of lesion leads to mass cell death) with blood impurities. This is a very formidable symptom.
With emphysema, the main symptom is a growing feeling of lack of air. Answering the question why there is not enough air in this case, it should be said about the formation of air cavities in the bronchi themselves.
Bronchial asthma is recognized relatively easily. It proceeds paroxysmally. The attack is accompanied by pronounced suffocation (or shortness of breath). If it does not stop immediately, whistles, wheezing during breathing and expectoration of colorless (transparent) sputum are added. As a rule, the trigger of an attack is contact with an allergen (or a transferred infectious disease, if we are talking about an infectious form). The most common etiology of asthma is allergic.
It is even easier to recognize shortness of breath of psychosomatic origin. It is provoked by situations involving increased emotional and mental stress. More prone to a similar "ailment" of a woman.
Not enough air: diagnostics
It is necessary to diagnose not a symptom, but a disease that provokes it.
Diagnostic measures include:
• Primary history taking at face-to-face admission and examination of the patient.
• Laboratory tests (general blood test, biochemical blood test).
• Instrumental examinations (Computed tomography, radiography).
Since there are many diseases that are accompanied by the fact that it is difficult to breathe, there is not enough air, the attending specialists can be different: pulmonologist, cardiologist, neurologist, infectious diseases specialist and therapist.
First of all, it makes sense to go to an appointment with a pulmonologist, since it is he who specializes in pathologies of the respiratory system.
During the initial inspection the doctor determines the nature of the symptoms, its intensity, duration. When collecting an anamnesis, close attention is paid to the following aspects:
• Heredity. What diseases were relatives? Oncological diseases, cardiovascular pathologies, and diseases associated with allergies are also prone to hereditary transmission.
• The nature of the work, contact in the past or present with harmful chemicals or other aggressive substances.
At the reception, the doctor "listens" to the lungs and determines the nature of the breath. This will help the specialist determine by eye the probable source of the problem and draw up a diagnostic strategy.
Lab tests, primarily blood tests, are designed to identify:
• Inflammatory process (characteristic of infectious diseases and, even, some heart).
• Eosinophilia (indicative of allergies and, presumably, the presence of asthma).
• Oncomarkers (indicators of the oncological process).
• A high concentration of basophils (mast cells are also markers of allergy).
Instrumental methods very diverse. They include:
• Bronchoscopy. Endoscopic examination of the bronchi. It is extremely informative and allows you to identify most diseases of the lungs and bronchi. However, in case of bronchial asthma and heart diseases it is contraindicated and uninformative, and therefore the doctor prescribes this examination only by excluding asthma and cardiovascular pathology.
• Cardiography, Echo KG - designed to identify pathologies of the heart.
• CT scan. MRI is intended, to a greater extent, to assess the condition of the bones and the musculoskeletal system in general. When it comes to soft tissue, CT is much more informative.
• Biopsy. If there is a suspicion of the oncological origin of lack of air.
• Allergic tests, stress tests - aimed at identifying sensitivity to a particular allergenic substance.
If, based on the results of surveys, no organic reasons have been identified, it makes sense to turn to a neuropathologist, since the lack of air, as has been said, may be related to psychosomatic factors.
Lack of air: treatment
It is clear that it is not the lack of air that needs to be treated, but the disease itself. It is impossible to determine the treatment on your own, besides self-medication is very dangerous. If it is difficult for a person to breathe, there is not enough air, you should consult a doctor so that he prescribes a treatment.
Each of the diseases requires its own approach.
Therefore, it makes sense to talk only about ways to relieve such an unpleasant condition as shortness of breath and choking.
If dyspnea (asphyxiation) is associated with heart disease, it is necessary to stop any physical activity. If the condition lasts for more than 10 minutes even in the absence of activity, it is necessary to take a drug that lowers the heart rate. Better yet, call an ambulance.
Dyspnea associated with emphysema, tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, as a rule, is not removed by almost anything. The main recommendation is to stop physical activity.
Attacks of bronchial asthma are stopped by non-hormonal bronchodilator drugs: Salbutamol, Berotek, Berodual, etc. Continuous therapy involves taking corticosteroid drugs in the form of inhalers. Specific names and dosage should be selected by a specialist and only a specialist.
Air Shortage: Prevention
Prevention measures include several general recommendations:
• If possible, elect an ecologically clean area as a residence.
• Refuse bad habits, primarily smoking. If there was at least one person in the family who was diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the lungs, quitting smoking is vital. To exclude cardiovascular diseases - the rejection of alcohol is important.
• Optimize the diet. Refuse fatty, excessive salt intake.
• Maintain a high level of physical activity.
Thus, respiratory disorders can be a consequence of the development of a variety of pathologies. In general, this is a very formidable symptom that requires an immediate response. Postpone a visit to the doctor should not be, as well as engage in self-medication. Only a specialist can choose the right treatment. On the part of the patient, a large share of prudence and consciousness is required, since most diseases can be avoided by adhering to a faithful lifestyle.
