Lack of air when breathing - causes, methods of diagnosis and treatment

A separate disease called “ lack of air”

" does not exist. A feeling of shortness of breath is a symptom, a sign of a painful condition.

As stated above, there are two groups of reasons for this symptom:

1. Internal diseases: pathology of the heart, lungs, blood diseases, obesity, oncology, infections, injuries, etc.

2. Nervous and mental disorders:

• consequences of stress,
• prolonged or intense overload,
• neuroses,
• neurasthenia,
• panic attacks and other anxiety disorders,
• depression,
• consequences of organic damage to the nervous system,
• psychosomatic and somatoform diseases.

Statistics say that the vast majority of cases of feeling short of air when inhaling is a consequence of disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system.

The mechanism for triggering this symptom is associated with the development of anxiety, overexcitation of the midline structures of the brain, excessive activation of autonomic centers, and the predominance of excitation processes over inhibition processes in neurons.

The feeling of shortness of breath may be accompanied by other symptoms:

• feeling of heartbeat,
• dry mouth or excessive sweating,
• feeling of heaviness in the chest or stomach,
• discomfort in the head and neck,
• internal trembling
• insomnia,
• loss of appetite,
• gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea, constipation),
• fear of death.

Previously, doctors called such conditions VSD (vegetative-vascular dystonia), but in our time this term has ceased to be used.

How does the violation manifest itself?

When there is a lack of air, a person is unable to breathe normally. Shortness of breath occurs, breathing movements become rapid. Against this background, general health deteriorates significantly. If there is constantly not enough air when breathing, the patient fears for his own life.

The feeling of lack of air can occur at rest and during physical activity, and have varying degrees of intensity. In any case, such a condition should not be ignored. Even if rare episodes occur, you should always consult a doctor.

Pathogenesis

The phenomenon of yawning remains a mystery. There are several theories explaining the cause and mechanism of its development. Yawning is considered as a reaction of the brain to changes in it or changes in the general state - excitement , drowsiness , fatigue , excitement , anxiety , worries . This reaction begins following a signal from the brain, and the respiratory and neuromuscular act of yawning helps the body transition to another state.

Recent studies have shown that in this way the brain “cools down.” According to Andrew Gallup's theory, yawning is provoked by “overheating” of the brain and he has proven the thermoregulatory function of this reflex. According to his theory, this reflex helps the outflow of stagnant venous blood from the head and the influx of arterial blood, which reduces the temperature inside the skull and the brain “cools.”

Moving the jaw and tensing the facial muscles increases the speed of blood flow in the cranium area. At the same time, taking a deep breath not only lowers the blood temperature, but also delivers cool air into the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, which cools the skull. This is confirmed by the change in temperature in the oral cavity after the act of yawning. Before the act, the temperature was elevated, and a series of “yawning” movements lowered it to 37, after which the yawning stopped. Also, when you take a deep breath, the muscles tense and compress the cervical thoracic part of the vagus nerve, toning it, so the blood vessels, including those supplying the brain, dilate.

If we consider anxiety and anxiety-depressive disorders , then they are the main cause of psychovegetative syndrome. Mental disorders disrupt normal breathing and cause hyperventilation syndrome, the manifestations of which include frequent yawning. The respiratory system is closely related to emotional state and anxiety. Respiratory disorders can form the core of the psychovegetative syndrome. A psychogenic factor (anxiety) disrupts normal breathing. Constant deep breaths increase pulmonary ventilation and cause the development of hypocapnia , and this is accompanied by dizziness , weakness and fainting .

Difficulty breathing - causes of the disorder

The feeling that there is not enough air in the lungs is not always due to any disease. This phenomenon can occur during physical exertion, emotional shock, or sudden climate change. If the feeling of shortness of breath bothers you regularly, this may be due to serious problems:

• diseases of the heart muscle;
• vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• pulmonary pathologies;
• the presence of foreign bodies in the respiratory tract;
• diabetes mellitus;
• oncology;
• infectious processes.

Other causes of difficulty breathing are active smoking, a tendency to allergies, excess body weight, and nervous disorders. The problem often occurs during pregnancy and is associated with bearing a large fetus, twins or triplets, and polyhydramnios.

Causes of shortness of breath

When talking about the causes of shortness of breath, you should not mention physical activity, stuffy rooms, or conditions caused by stress. All these reasons can be easily eliminated by changing the environment around a person, and do not indicate the presence of possible pathologies in the body.

Shortness of breath at rest may indicate cardiovascular and bronchopulmonary pathologies that can threaten a person’s life. That is why you should pay close attention to such symptoms. Chest injuries also need to be evaluated and treated as they are another cause of this symptom.

The main reasons for lack of air are:

• Pneumothorax. A condition in which air accumulates in the pleural cavity of the lungs, causing the lung itself to not function fully.
• Bronchial asthma. With this disease, the airways become very narrow in size, which leads to a lack of air.
• Injuries. If the injury causes damage to the lung, the person may experience shortness of breath.
• Heart failure. A concomitant pathology may be pulmonary edema.
• Lack of air due to a sharp increase in blood pressure.
• Pneumothorax, pulmonary edema, and mechanical injuries are conditions in which a person needs urgent medical attention.
• Also, one of the common causes of lack of air is anemia - iron deficiency anemia. With this disease, the amount of blood in the body is greatly reduced, due to which organ tissues are not supplied with oxygen, since oxygen transfer is the main function of red blood cells and hemoglobin.

All of the above situations require diagnosis and proper treatment. If any of these conditions are left unattended, it can lead to very serious consequences in the future. Therefore, if shortness of breath occurs, you should immediately consult a physician.

Carrying out diagnostics

To find out why breathing is difficult and to select effective methods for normalizing it, a thorough diagnosis is carried out. To clarify the causes of shortness of breath, the KRH Dental & Medica clinic performs:

• examination of the larynx using direct and indirect laryngoscopy;
• chest x-ray, fluoroscopy, bronchoscopy;
• spirometry, which allows you to assess the state of respiratory function;
• electrocardiography, daily Holter monitoring, determining the characteristics of the heart.

It is also provided for a test to determine the gas composition of the blood. To find out the reason why breathing is difficult, an MRI, tests for allergic reactions, and testing for tumor markers may be required.

Symptoms of psychogenic dyspnea

As with breathing disorders of various etiologies, psychogenic shortness of breath is characterized by changes in the frequency, rhythm and depth of breathing. More than 80% of patients with psychogenic disorders complain of:

• decrease or increase in the number of inhalations and exhalations;
• inhalation dissatisfaction;
• feeling of constriction of the chest;
• awareness of the breathing process, control over it;
• feeling of lack of air;
• a feeling of air being “stuck” in the trachea, a lump in the throat;
• neurotic cough (dry, persistent);
• neurotic yawning;
• reflex hyperventilation due to dissatisfaction with inhalation;
• pain in the intercostal muscles;
• forced movements to expand the chest (straightening the shoulders, moving the arms, body, changing body position), which do not lead to the expected result;
• increased anxiety, depressed mood, fear of death from suffocation.

Since neurotic breathing is shallow, with shortened inhalation and prolonged exhalation, breathing difficulties cause a natural desire to take a deeper breath, which leads to hyperventilation and an aggravation of the process with the appearance of false angina and/or the development of cardioneurosis, attacks of neurotic asthma. Patients complain of dizziness, increased sweating, dry mouth, weakness, cold hands and feet, and limb cramps. Neurotic pseudoasthmatic attacks may be accompanied by changes in breathing sounds - the appearance of whistling, groaning.

A distinctive feature of psychogenic shortness of breath can be the cyclical nature of the pathology, which depends on weather conditions (high humidity, low atmospheric pressure) and seasonal exacerbation of the existing psychogenic disorder.

In the absence of somatic diseases, such symptoms are a reason to seek psychotherapeutic help as soon as possible, since further development of psychogenic shortness of breath can lead to the appearance or exacerbation of hypochondria, hysterical disorders, general cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

Self-medication is dangerous because psychogenic shortness of breath is treated only in conjunction with the underlying disease of which it is a manifestation. Clear differentiation from other pathologies is possible only on the basis of laboratory and hardware examinations, the scope of which can only be determined by a highly qualified psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

Not enough air - treatment methods

If it is difficult to breathe for physiological reasons, but there are no diseases, no special therapy is required. Many people are interested in what to do if breathing is a little difficult, but there are no serious disorders in the body. To improve your well-being, you should use simple methods (ventilation, humidification, taking sedatives, agreed with the doctor).

Patients who have difficulty breathing due to certain diseases are prescribed complex treatment. Main goals of therapy:

• eliminate foci of infection and inflammation;
• clear the airways;
• speed up the discharge of sputum;
• improve blood composition;
• stabilize the functioning of the heart muscle;
• normalize the condition of blood vessels.

To eliminate lack of air during breathing, specialists at the KRH Dental & Medical clinic use effective and safe medications and prescribe effective procedures. Each patient is guaranteed attentive attention and an individual approach. After the treatment is completed, recommendations are given to correct the lifestyle and prevent the recurrence of the pathology.

Why and why we yawn

Why and why do we yawn? Many people ask themselves this question. Some argue that we yawn when there is a lack of oxygen, others that when we want to sleep. Read more about the causes of yawning...

Yawning is a breathing movement, most often involuntary, consisting of a deep inhalation and a vigorous exhalation. Some believe that yawning is aimed at improving the supply of oxygen to organs. And that yawning begins when carbon dioxide accumulates in the blood. Others are that we yawn to stay awake. In turn, most often an adult usually yawns before going to bed or when returning from a sleepy state to a wakeful state. Sometimes yawning occurs before important moments in life, when it is necessary to mobilize vital forces. Strange, isn't it? Yawning is not unique to humans. They say that even frogs yawn. Yawning is a reflection of an ancient instinct that exists in all animals. Men and women yawn almost equally often, but not all men cover their mouths with their hands when yawning. A yawn lasts about 6 seconds. And children begin to yawn in the womb at the age of 11 weeks. People who are able to empathize, seeing a person yawning, also begin to yawn. Yawning is an extremely contagious activity. The fact is that yawning easily occurs as an imitative reflex. This reflex makes us not only yawn, but also smile if someone laughs nearby. They yawn for company in 50% of cases, but children under four years old do not yawn for company. Chimpanzees, just like people, can yawn for company. At the same time, scientists say that yawning is beneficial. When you yawn, your airways open wide and your muscles relax. After which a pleasant state of loss of consciousness occurs. Yawning helps relieve stress, fatigue, mental stress, and stimulates brain function. German scientists have found that yawning activates blood circulation, clears the mind, supplies brain and body cells with energy, and promotes the activity of the lacrimal glands. Dry eyes are hydrated and feel much better. The muscles of the temples, face, neck, back of the head, shoulders and abdomen relax. Your mood improves. According to Spanish doctors, yawning normalizes blood pressure, relieves tension in muscles and joints, and helps prevent heart attacks and other heart diseases.

Source : portal.radio.ru

Link to publication: Solvay-pharma.ru

Treatment of psychogenic dyspnea at NEARMEDIC

When treating respiratory dysfunction, psychotherapists use an integrated approach using psychotherapeutic, medicinal and physiotherapeutic techniques and measures. Whenever possible, our specialists strive to eliminate or limit drug therapy. A thorough knowledge of modern psychotherapy techniques allows them to successfully treat respiratory dysfunction caused by mental pathological conditions without the use of medications. For this purpose, both classical, traditional and innovative methods and techniques are used:

• classical psychoanalysis;
• Ericksonian hypnosis;
• integrative transactional analysis;
• cognitive behavioral psychotherapy;
• rational psychotherapy;
• Socratic dialogue techniques;
• Gestalt therapy;
• client-centered therapy by K. Rogers;
• body-oriented therapy;
• meditative breathing techniques.

For complicated forms of the underlying mental disorder, modern medications and a dosage regimen are prescribed that are precisely designed for the individual pharmacokinetics of each patient. When prescribing each drug (antidepressant, tranquilizer), not only the diagnosis is taken into account, but also the age, build, general condition of the patient, the presence of accompanying somatic diseases and other data.

A psychotherapist is the only specialist who can help you with psychogenic shortness of breath. A false prejudice against visiting doctors of this specialization can result in serious complications, including diseases of internal organs and systems. Psychotherapists from the NEARMEDIC network of clinics will not only restore your peace of mind, but also prevent the development of more severe disorders.