Are you or someone around is suffering from breathing problems? If yes, here's all you need to know about it.
Difficulty in breathing is when someone feels shortness of breath, creating issues in inhaling and exhaling. For this condition, the medical term dyspnea is used, which can make you feel distressed and uncomfortable. So, in this write-up, you will learn about the different causes and remedies to prevent breathing difficulty.
Causes Of Breathing Problems
In today's time, a large population is suffering from problems related to breathing, and there are numerous reasons behind it. Below, you can find a brief description of the causes.
Common Causes
Breathing problems that arise occasionally can result from the following:
- Obesity or Overweight: Are you overweight? If yes, then there are higher chances that you might face issues related to breathing. One might encounter a situation where one may feel shortness of breath because of obesity or being overweight.
- Anxiety: Have you ever encountered a situation where you faced shortness of breath while anxious? One of the symptoms that most people face when they are in anxiety is breathing problems.
- Lack of exercise or too much exercise: Exercise is the best way to stay fit, isn't it? But do you know if you exercise too much in a day to achieve your unrealistic targets, it might cause breathing problems? Not only this, but if you don't exercise at all, even then, there are chances that your body will face issues in breathing while you do a few physical activities. So, it's better to have a balance between the two. The best you can do is to walk or exercise for at least 30 minutes daily.
- Allergies or pollution: Several people are allergic to something or the other. Their allergies become a significant cause of shortness of breath; such conditions are also known as allergic asthma.
- Smoking: It is among the most significant risk factors that can lead to dyspnea. Do you know why? It is because smoking affects the ability of breathing tubes; it causes inflammation that makes the chest feel tight.
Underlying Conditions
Do you face breathing problems regularly? If yes, then it can be because of the underlying conditions. These conditions are or might become severe and gradually which would affect your lungs or heart. Some underlying causes are asthma, anemia, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and abnormal heart function.
- Asthma: This chronic disease makes your airways to the lungs inflamed. Different people have different levels of severity, but any of such conditions can be pretty challenging to manage. Some of the most common symptoms of asthma are chronic coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and difficulty sleeping.
- Anemia: Do you know what anemia is? It is a condition when your body faces iron deficiency. As your body lacks enough iron, it can't produce the required hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a substance that carries oxygen, so with a lack of iron and hemoglobin, you might face shortness of breath and feel tired.
- Lung Cancer: Lung cancer is a life-taking disease that can affect your overall health. In some cases, it is found that cancer blocks the airways, because of which one might face breathing difficulties.
- Tuberculosis: Are you suffering from tuberculosis? If yes, then you might also have trouble breathing amongst the different symptoms like night sweats, coughing, chest pain, and intermittent fever. TB is a dangerous disease that affects the lungs, so one needs to be careful about it.
- Abnormal Heart Function: Your body is well connected to every organ, and if you face heart issues, you have more chances of facing breathing issues. Tachycardia, pulmonary edema, and cardiomyopathy can cause shortness of breath.
Acute Causes
Acute or sudden causes of shortness of breath are choking, heart attack/failure, an enlarged heart, and pneumonia.
- Choking: Choking is a life-threatening condition that occurs suddenly when something gets stuck in your throat. It has been a common problem with breathing among children and adults. Symptoms of choking can include coughing, wheezing, inability to speak, lips turning blue, and lack of breathing.
- Heart Attack/Failure: Do you know that shortness of breath can signify a heart attack or heart failure? If you feel shortness of breath and other symptoms like nausea, cold sweats, lightheadedness, chest discomfort, and discomfort in the arms or neck, then you must seek help from a professional, as it can be a sign of heart attack/failure.
- Pneumonia: Some common symptoms of pneumonia are dry cough and thick mucus with or without blood, and you can also notice trouble with breathing symptoms like shortness of breath and others.
Remedies and Treatments To Prevent Breathing Difficulties
Are you looking for remedies to treat your breathing issues? If yes, then here's what you should know. The causes, symptoms, and severity might vary from person to person, so the remedies also differ. Some of the considerable remedies are mentioned below.
Consult A Doctor
The most important thing is to consult a doctor, breathing is something on which your life depends, so instead of avoiding any symptoms, you should seek a consultation with a medical professional. The doctor might ask you about your symptoms, health history, and other stuff to know about your problems. Once they gather all the essential information, they might recommend you for tests. Some of the most common tests that are done to know about the cause of breathing problems are X-rays, lung tests, allergy tests, CT scans, and many others. After testing, the doctor will get a better idea of your problem so they can treat it with proper medications.
Also Read: Asthma: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments
Treatments
Some of the most common ways to treat different types of causes of breathing problems are:
- Medications
- Removing the object stuck in the throat that caused choking.
- Antacids
- Inhalers
- An epinephrine auto-injector
Above are a few ways of treatment; there are many other ways to treat different causes.
Preventions
The doctor might also ask you to take a few preventions like:
- Avoid eating too much
- Avoid smoking
- Take smaller bites while you eat.
- Take allergy medications if you have any kind of allergies.
- Try exercising for at least 30 minutes daily.
Home Remedies
Several home remedies can be used to treat breathing problems. Some of them are mentioned below.
- Deep Breathing: Practice deep breathing exercises; for this, you need to breathe in, hold your breath, and breathe out. If you do this daily, you can see positive changes.
- Inhale steam: Do you know steam can clear your nasal passage? This is the best way to treat your breathing issues. For this, take a bowl of hot water, add a few drops of peppermint, take your face above the bowl, cover your head, and breathe in and out.
- Pursed Lip Breathing: This breathing exercise has been quite effective for the ones who face shortness of breath because of anxiety. To do this exercise, sit straight and relax your shoulders; try to press both of your lips together but remember to keep a small gap between the two. Now, inhale through your nose and exhale it through your pursed lips.
Conclusion
The breathing difficulty might have different causes, but with the proper treatment and remedy, you can overcome this condition. So, from now on, keep a note of different changes in your body and consult a doctor if you face severe breathing problems. You can also perform a few remedies at home that will help you feel better.
Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited
