The term breathing difficulty may be defined as the discomfort that you may feel while breathing or you may also feel like you are not getting the required air into your body. This problem can develop either gradually or suddenly. In the instance that you are having breathing difficulty, you may feel that you are struggling to get air into the body. With such problems, you may feel breathless after the slightest bit of exercising. Most breathing problems are long term such as chronic allergies and asthma.
Symptoms of Breathing Difficulties
If you have any doubt about your breathing problem, then you can be sure about it by knowing some common symptoms of breathing difficulties, which are given below:
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- Cough and wheezing
- Labored breathing
- Shallow breathing
- Blue mouth and fingernails
- Nasal congestion
- Chest congestion
- Runny nose
- Head sweat
- Itchy or watery eyes
If you are facing any of the above listed symptoms, then you must ask your doctor for proper diagnosis of the problem.
Causes of Breathing Difficulties
The major causes of breathing difficulties are lung and heart diseases, but these can be caused by some simple health issues, some of them are listed below:
- Allergies from dust and pollen
- Stress and anxiety
- Nasal passage inflammation
- Obesity
- Panic attacks
Breathing Difficulties Due to Lung Conditions:
Many lung conditions may cause such problems, some are given below:
- Asthma
- Pneumonia
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Pulmonary embolism
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Croup
- Epiglottitis
- Hiatal hernia
Breathing Difficulties Due to Heart Conditions:
The heart pumps blood with oxygen to the brain, muscles and all other parts of your body. If it is unable to do so, then your body parts will not get enough oxygen and you may feel breathless. Many heart conditions may cause such problems, which include:
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Arrhythmias
- Congenital heart disease
- Coronary artery disease (CAD)
Treatment of Breathing Difficulties
Treatment of any breathing difficulty is to know the cause of the problem and then find possible ways to control it. Breathing difficulty occurs because of lung and heart disease that should be cured with proper medication. For example asthma patients may get relieved from airway obstruction by using some oral drugs prescribed by their doctor.
If the cause of your problem is stress, then just try to remove stress from your daily life. You may take help of meditation, yoga or other mild physical exercises on regular basis.
Keeping symptoms and causes of breathing difficulties in your mind may help you better understand your problem and let you go for proper treatment.
