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What are the causes of shallow breathing? Can shallow breathing be dangerous? Could this symptom indicate serious medical conditions? Should shallow breathing be consulted? Which specialist is worth visiting? The question is answered by the drug. Katarzyna Darecka.
Why does shallow breathing appear?
Hello, I have noticed recently that I have one shallow breathing. It started with an infection I had about two weeks ago. The doctor then diagnosed bronchitis, prescribed an antibiotic and the symptoms subsided. The only thing left is that shallow breathing, which worries and worries me a bit. In addition, I have noticed that I sleep much worse at night, wake up frequently and have trouble falling asleep again. During the day I am sleepy and irritable, but so far I have associated these symptoms with lack of sleep, rather than with some disease or complications after a recent illness.
Can shallow breathing be dangerous? What can be cause of shallow breathing? Could this be related to some serious illness? Should I see a doctor with symptoms of shallow breathing? At first, I just got tired faster, had less energy to do my daily housework, but I kept putting it on the antibiotic I was taking. Now I don’t know myself. I will also mention that I am 34 years old, I do not have any chronic disease and I do not take any medications on a regular basis. Thank you in advance for letting me know what may be causing your shallow breathing. Regards.
The doctor explains the causes of shallow breathing
Feeling of “heavy breathing” is often described as breathlessness and is a subjective feeling of ‘lack of air’. It is a fairly common symptom of various diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, anemia, muscular and nervous disorders, obesity. Dyspnoea can be a symptom of many dangerous diseases, so it should not be taken lightly.
The most common causes of breathlessness include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, heart failure. Depending on when there is shortness of breath, how long it lasts, how sudden these symptoms are, what causes it, or something helps to relieve the feeling of breathlessness, from the severity and accompanying symptoms, the occurrence of smoking – the doctor decides on the ordered tests based on the exact interview and physical examination of the patient.
Depending on the results of the test, the doctor may order tests such as: morphology, glucose, creatinine, electrolytes, TSH, spirometry, pulse oximetry during exercise, chest X-ray, electrocardiography, NT-pro BNP. Depending on the results of the above-mentioned tests, the doctor may order further diagnostics, e.g. methacholine or histamine provocation test, pulmonary gas diffusion capacity test (DLCO), high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest, echocardiography.
Do causes of acute dyspnea may include respiratory tract infections, severe allergic reaction, asthma attack, foreign body in the respiratory tract, pulmonary embolism, pleural fluid, heart attack.
However, if the tests exclude all causes of dyspnea, the physician should also take into account the possible psychiatric causes of dyspnea, e.g. Anxiety disorders, anger, pain, depressive syndromes. Patients with hyperventilation syndrome often describe symptoms such as “hunger for air” or the inability to take a deep breath.
Despite the possible cause of dyspnea on a psychiatric basis, organic causes should be ruled out first, therefore it is necessary to see a GP or if the dyspnea occurs suddenly, severely, is accompanied by pain in the chest, sudden appearance of skin or gastrointestinal symptoms should be as soon as possible. call an ambulance.
– Lek. Katarzyna Darecka
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