Breathing difficulties - first aid

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Breathing

Collapsed lung, pneumothorax

Epiglottis

Difficulty breathing - first aid; Dyspnea - first aid; Shortness of breath - first aid

The following symptoms are often associated with difficulty breathing:

• Bluish lips, fingers, and fingernails
• Chest moving in an unusual way as the person breathes (may indicate an airway or chest injury)
• Chest pain (could be a heart attack or injury; sharp chest pain could be pulmonary embolism or collapsed lung)
• Confusion , light-headedness , weakness , or sleepiness
• Cough (if the person also has phlegm/sputum, this may be pneumonia; a barking cough in a child is croup)
• Fever
• Gurgling, wheezing, or whistling sounds
• Using chest and neck muscles to breathe

Review Date: 07/08/2009
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, Clinic. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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