Always having trouble breathing and gasping for air

Constant difficulty breathing and shortness of breath is a common health problem, which is more common among people suffering from lung disease, heart disease, blood-borne disease, neurological disease and poisoning. Different respiratory distress has different symptoms and requires different treatment methods. Below, we will introduce the causes of breathing difficulties in detail!

1. Pulmonary dyspnea

It is caused by respiratory organ diseases and mainly manifests in the following three forms:

1. Inspiratory dyspnea: manifested by wheezing, and depression of the sternum, supraclavicular fossa, and intercostal spaces during inspiration—the three-depression sign. It is common in laryngeal and tracheal stenosis, such as inflammation, edema, foreign bodies and tumors.

2. Expiratory dyspnea: The expiratory phase is prolonged, accompanied by wheezing, which is seen in bronchial asthma and obstructive pulmonary disease.

3. Mixed dyspnea: seen in pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, large pleural effusion, pneumothorax, etc.

2. Cardiac dyspnea

Common in cardiogenic pulmonary edema caused by left heart failure, its clinical features are:

1. The patient has a history of severe heart disease.

2. It is mixed dyspnea, which is more obvious when lying down and at night.

3. Medium and small wet gong sounds may appear at the bottom of the lungs and change with body position.

4. X-ray examination: abnormal changes in the cardiac shadow; congestion in the hilum of the lung and its vicinity or signs of pulmonary edema.

3. Toxic dyspnea

Acidosis caused by various reasons can increase carbon dioxide in the blood and decrease pH, stimulate peripheral chemoreceptors or directly excite the respiratory center, increase respiratory ventilation, and manifest as deep and severe dyspnea. Poisoning with respiratory depressants such as morphine and barbiturates can also inhibit the respiratory center, causing shallow and slow breathing.

4. Hematogenous dyspnea

Severe anemia can cause shortness of breath due to a decrease in red blood cells and lack of blood oxygen, especially after activity. In case of massive hemorrhage or shock, ischemia and a drop in blood pressure stimulate the respiratory center and cause breathing difficulties.

5. Neuropsychiatric and myopathic dyspnea

Severe brain diseases such as encephalitis, cerebrovascular accident, brain tumors, etc. directly affect the respiratory center, resulting in abnormal respiratory rhythm and leading to dyspnea; myasthenia gravis crisis causes paralysis of the respiratory muscles, leading to severe dyspnea; in addition, hysteria can also cause dyspnea attacks, characterized by significantly rapid and shallow breathing, because respiratory alkalosis is often accompanied by tetany.