If there is not enough air when breathing and frequent yawning, treatment. I am tormented by constant yawning and lack of air - what could it be?

Being at rest, a person does not think about the fact that his body continues to work constantly. We blink, our heart beats, and countless chemical and biological processes occur. The body itself takes care of its condition. But sometimes, during periods of physical stress, we need to control the possibility of air intake ourselves. It becomes difficult to breathe, there is not enough air and you want to do more deep breath. This is absolutely normal condition after fast running, swimming and serious physical activity.

But there are situations when it is hard to breathe, there is not enough air when simply walking or even in a state of complete rest. Here it’s worth thinking about your health and starting to look for the reasons for such an uncomfortable state. If they occur suddenly, it may be associated with the onset of lung disease, such as thromboembolism, pulmonary asthma, pneumonia. In this case, the temperature may rise, a feeling of general malaise, and pain in the chest area may appear. You should immediately resort to medical care and begin appropriate treatment. If it suddenly becomes difficult to breathe, there is not enough air, pain in the heart appears - these are the first harbingers of myocardial infarction and other problems with cardiac activity. The body needs rest and complete rest. Such situations are caused by stress, nervous overstrain, long physical activity and overwork. Sometimes, due to the occurrence allergic reactions It becomes difficult to breathe. This is due to the presence of edema in the larynx and bronchi. The result is obstructed air flow into the lungs, and it becomes difficult to breathe.

The reasons can be sought in gradually progressing diseases to which a person did not pay due attention. These are diseases of the heart and blood vessels, lungs and developing obesity. It is necessary to fight them: lead correct image life, eat right, if necessary, get rid of extra pounds. Separately, situations in which it is difficult to breathe in the last stages of pregnancy should be considered. This is absolutely normal phenomenon and expectant mothers do not need to worry about their health. This is due to the fact that the uterus, when enlarged, increases intra-abdominal pressure, the diaphragm rises and reduces the volume of the lungs. Most often, during physical activity and in a lying position, pregnant women find it difficult to breathe.

Heavy smokers also lack air. If you smoke a lot and at the same time feel that you often have difficulty breathing, look for the reasons in the number of cigarettes you smoke per day. A the best solution wakes up to get rid of this altogether addiction. Once you do this, your lungs will begin to work better and your breathing problem will disappear. High concentrations of dust in the air cause breathing difficulties. If your work involves strong education dust, be sure to use a protective device.

One of the best ways The treatment for this condition is oxygen therapy. In our modern age There are many similar devices capable of “extracting” oxygen from the air. And inhalation maximum dose oxygen, will help get rid of problems such as hypoxemia and hypoxia ( low content oxygen in the body). In case of heart problems, the doctor will prescribe serious problems with lungs (asthma and others chronic diseases) use inhalers. Breathing problems always require the most serious attitude towards your body. Although in most cases the situation can be easily corrected, identified and resolved, it is better to consult a specialist with this symptom.

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Many people are familiar with shortness of breath these days: it occurs during active physical activity or when experiencing strong emotions.

As a rule, after a person calms down and breathing quickly returns to normal, a healthy person forgets about it. This is a normal manifestation of physiological shortness of breath. Only if shortness of breath begins to cause discomfort should you think about visiting a doctor.

What unpleasant sensations can people experience from shortness of breath, what are the causes of shortness of breath and lack of air? Painful shortness of breath manifests itself in different ways: there is a feeling of lack of air and heaviness in the chest, a feeling that the air does not completely fill the lungs, and it is difficult to breathe.

What it is

Dyspnea or orthopnea is a feeling of lack of air, which is manifested in the patient by a feeling of tightness in the chest.

Shortness of breath is understood as the following clinical changes - an increase in the depth and frequency of breathing more than 18 per minute. Healthy man does not notice his own breathing - for him this is a natural process.

A heavy load, for example, when running, causes a change in the depth and frequency of breathing, but this condition does not create discomfort, and all indicators literally return to normal within a few minutes.

If shortness of breath manifests itself when performing ordinary household activities, and even worse - at the slightest exertion or at rest, then we are talking about pathological shortness of breath - a symptom of some disease.

Classification

According to its manifestation, shortness of breath can be divided into:

• Subjective- described by patients with psychosomatic conditions and neurological diseases;
• Objective— which the patient may not feel, but it is manifested by changes in respiratory rate, breathing rhythm, and depth of inhalation/exhalation;
• Combined- felt by the patient and confirmed objectively.

Based on the patient’s complaints, 5 degrees of severity for people’s shortness of breath have been developed, presented in this table

What causes this pathological and unpleasant condition?

Causes

The main causes of shortness of breath can be divided into 4 groups:

• Respiratory failure resulting from diseases of the bronchi and lungs;
• Heart failure;
• Occurs with neurosis and neurocirculatory dystonia;
• Arising as a result of anemia and hypoxia.

Shortness of breath due to lung diseases

Shortness of breath is observed in almost all diseases of the bronchi and lungs. It may occur acutely (as with pleurisy or pneumothorax), or it may occur over weeks, months, or even years (COPD or COPD).

In COPD, shortness of breath occurs as a result of narrowing of the airways and the accumulation of secretions in them. It is expiratory in nature and, if left untreated, becomes more pronounced. It is often combined with a cough with sputum.

For bronchial asthma Sudden onset attacks of suffocation are typical. Such shortness of breath also has an expiratory nature: when inhale lightly difficult exhalation follows. Breathing is normalized only by inhaling medications that dilate the bronchi. Attacks usually occur as a result of contact with allergens.

Frequent shortness of breath without exertion is a constant companion to infectious diseases - bronchitis and pneumonia, and it also occurs when common cold. The severity depends on the course of the disease and the extent of the process.

In addition to shortness of breath, these diseases are characterized by:

• Temperature increase;
• Weakness and sweating;
• Cough is dry or with phlegm;
• Pain in the chest area.

When these diseases are treated, shortness of breath goes away within a few days. In severe cases, a complication may occur - heart failure.

Tumors on initial stages do not have pronounced symptoms.

If they are not identified when diagnostic examination, they begin to grow and upon reaching large sizes cause characteristic symptoms:

• Gradually increasing shortness of breath;
• Cough with little sputum;
• Hemoptysis;
• Pain in the chest area;
• Weakness, pallor, weight loss.

The greatest threat to life is caused by conditions that also manifest as shortness of breath, such as thromboembolism pulmonary artery, local airway obstruction or toxic pulmonary edema.

PE is a pathology when the pulmonary artery becomes clogged with blood clots and part of the lungs stops functioning. PE manifests itself as sudden shortness of breath, which begins to bother a person even when performing minor actions or at rest. Along with this symptom, the patient suffers from a feeling of suffocation, chest pain, and sometimes hemoptysis. The disease is confirmed by ECG, x-ray and angiopulmography.

Choking also manifests itself as airway obstruction. Shortness of breath in this disease is inspiratory in nature, noisy breathing can even be heard from a distance.

When changing body position, the patient often begins to cough painfully. The disease is diagnosed after radiography, tomography, spirometry and bronchoscopy.

Cause of difficulty breathing:

• Obstruction of the respiratory tract as a result of compression from the outside;
• Tumor of the trachea or bronchi;
• Entry of a foreign body;
• Development of cicatricial stenosis.

The disease must be treated by restoring airway patency surgically.

As a result of exposure toxic substances(for poisoning with salicylates, methyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, carbon monoxide) or for a long time infectious disease toxic pulmonary edema may occur.

Initially, the disease manifests itself as rapid breathing and shortness of breath, but after a while shortness of breath is replaced by suffocation with bubbling breathing. The disease recedes after detoxification.

Shortness of breath also manifests itself as:

• Pneumothorax – a condition when air penetrates and remains in the pleural cavity, compressing the lung and preventing one from breathing;
• Tuberculosis – infectious disease, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis;
• Actinomycosis — fungal pathology;
• Emphysema– a pathology in which the alveoli stretch, losing the ability to exchange gases;
• Silicosis– a group of occupational lung diseases that develop as a result of dust deposition in the lung tissue;
• Scoliosis, pathologies of the thoracic vertebrae, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, ankylosing spondylitis - changes in the shape of the chest make breathing difficult, causing shortness of breath.

Treatment of shortness of breath in all pulmonary diseases begins with the treatment of the underlying disease, accompanied by maintaining the patency of the respiratory tract and reducing the load on the respiratory system.

Shortness of breath in cardiovascular pathologies

Shortness of breath is one of the most common symptoms developing diseases hearts. In the initial stages of the disease, it appears during fast walking or other physical activity, but as the disease progresses, it begins to appear even with the slightest movement: when walking, when talking, while coughing and in a calm state. Eventually shortness of breath occurs at rest.

With advanced disease, shortness of breath can begin to develop even at night during sleep (nocturnal cardiac asthma) and manifest itself in the morning. It causes stagnation of fluid in the lungs. Accompanied by condition extreme fatigue, blueness of body parts, swelling of the limbs, pulse irregularities.

Shortness of breath may develop over a long period of time hypertension. At high blood pressure shortness of breath begins at its peak, lasting no more than 15-20 minutes.

Acute shortness of breath may occur during attacks paroxysmal tachycardia(rapid heartbeat), especially in the elderly and is accompanied by pain in the heart, dizziness and blurred vision.

Shortness of breath with neuroses

Three quarters of neurology patients also complain of shortness of breath. The feeling of shortness of breath and lack of air in this category of patients is accompanied by anxiety and fear of death.

Psychogenic breathing disorders can manifest themselves after experiencing emotional overexcitation or during prolonged stress. Some even develop attacks of false asthma. Clinical feature psychogenic difficulty breathing are frequent sighs and groans accompanying the attack.

Shortness of breath with anemia

Anemia is a pathology caused by a decrease in the content of hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood.

When the amount of hemoglobin decreases, the transport of oxygen to the tissues deteriorates, causing the body to lack oxygen. The body tries to compensate for this condition by increasing the depth and frequency of breaths, that is, shortness of breath develops.

Anemia is diagnosed upon delivery general analysis blood. The disease is accompanied by severe weakness, headaches, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, and dizziness may occur.

Shortness of breath in diseases of the endocrine system

In patients with thyrotoxicosis, diabetes mellitus and obesity, shortness of breath is very common.

1. With thyrotoxicosis, the body begins to experience a lack of oxygen. Excess hormones cause an increase in the number of heart contractions and the heart loses its ability to normally pump blood to the organs. The resulting hypoxia triggers a compensation mechanism—shortness of breath.
2. Obesity makes it difficult for the muscles of the heart and lungs to work due to the pressure of fat on them. This also results in a state of hypoxia.
3. At diabetes mellitus hypoxia develops as a result of damage vascular system body. Over time, as the disease progresses, the kidneys are affected - diabetic nephropathy further provoking anemia.

Shortness of breath after eating

Many people complain of shortness of breath after eating. This is why this happens. The mucous membrane of the stomach and pancreas begin to secrete digestive enzymes to digest food. Processed by enzymes nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream.

All these processes require a constant flow to the gastrointestinal tract. large quantity blood, due to which the blood flow in the body is redistributed.

If there are any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, this process is disrupted and hypoxia develops in the internal organs, the lungs begin to work harder to compensate for the condition, which causes shortness of breath. If you experience shortness of breath after eating, you should consult a doctor to find out the cause.

Shortness of breath in pregnant women

During pregnancy, a woman's entire body experiences increased stress due to an increase in the volume of circulating blood and compression of the diaphragm by the enlarged uterus, which makes breathing difficult, especially after meals and at night. Therefore, difficulty breathing occurs in most pregnant women. Anemia that often accompanies pregnancy only worsens this condition.

Shortness of breath in children

At different ages, children have different breathing rates.

The condition is called shortness of breath if the child has the following number of respiratory movements per minute:

• 0–6 months — more than 60;
• 6–12 months — more than 50;
• over 1 year – over 40;
• over 5 years - over 25;
• 10–14 years old - more than 20.

Why shortness of breath may occur in children:

• Respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn;
• False croup or acute stenotic laryngotracheitis;
• Congenital heart disease;
• Development of bronchitis, allergies, pneumonia, bronchial asthma;
• Anemia.

To find out why shortness of breath appeared and where its roots come from, you need to consult a general practitioner who will refer you to necessary research and tests, will find out the causes of shortness of breath in a person and, depending on the results of the examination, will send for treatment to a specialized specialist: endocrinologist, pulmonologist, neurologist, hematologist.

When we breathe easily, we don’t even notice this process. This is normal, since breathing is a reflex act that is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Nature intended it this way for a reason. Thanks to this, we can breathe even in unconscious. This ability in some cases saves our lives. But if even the slightest difficulty appears with breathing, we feel it immediately. Why does it occur constant yawning and lack of air, and what to do about it? This is what the doctors told us.

Dangerous symptoms

Sometimes difficulty breathing occurs for physiological reasons, which are quite easily remedied. But if you constantly feel like yawning and taking deep breaths, this could be a symptom of a serious illness. It’s even worse when, against this background, shortness of breath (dyspnea) often occurs, appearing even with minimal physical exertion. This is already a reason to worry and see a doctor.

You should go to the hospital immediately if difficulty breathing is accompanied by:

• pain in the chest area;
• color change skin;
• nausea and dizziness;
• severe coughing attacks;
• increased body temperature;
• swelling and cramps of the limbs;
• feeling of fear and internal tension.

These symptoms usually clearly indicate pathologies in the body, which need to be identified and eliminated as soon as possible.

Causes of lack of air

All the reasons why a person may go to the doctor with the complaint: “I can’t breathe fully and I’m constantly yawning” can be roughly divided into psychological, physiological and pathological. Conditionally - because everything in our body is closely interconnected, and the failure of one system entails a violation normal operation other organs.

Thus, long-term stress, which is referred to as psychological reasons, may provoke hormonal imbalance and cardiovascular problems.

Physiological

The most harmless are physiological reasons that may cause difficulty breathing:

It is difficult to breathe in the heat, especially if you are severely dehydrated. The blood becomes thicker, and it is harder for the heart to push it through the vessels. As a result, the body does not receive enough oxygen. The person begins to yawn and try to breathe deeper.

Medical

Shortness of breath, yawning and a regularly felt lack of air can provoke serious illnesses. Moreover, often these signs are the first symptoms that allow diagnosing the disease at an early stage.

Therefore, if you constantly have difficulty breathing, be sure to go to the doctor. The most common possible diagnoses are:

As you can see, most diseases are not just serious - they pose a threat to the patient’s life. Therefore, if you often feel short of breath, then it is better not to delay your visit to the doctor.

Psychogenic

And again, we cannot help but recall stress, which is one of the main causes of the development of many diseases today.

Yawning under stress - unconditioned reflex, inherent in us by nature. If you observe animals, you will notice that when they are nervous, they yawn constantly. And in this sense, we are no different from them.

When stressed, a spasm of the capillaries occurs, and the heart begins to beat faster due to the release of adrenaline. Because of this, it increases blood pressure. In this case, taking a deep breath and yawning perform a compensatory function and protect the brain from destruction.

When you are very frightened, there is often a muscle spasm, which makes it impossible to take a full breath. It’s not for nothing that the expression “takes your breath away” exists.

What to do

If you find yourself in a situation where frequent yawning and shortness of breath occur, do not try to panic - this will only make the problem worse. The first thing you need to do is to provide an additional flow of oxygen: open a window or vent, if possible, go outside.

Try to loosen as much as possible the clothing that prevents you from fully inhaling: take off your tie, unbutton your collar, corset or bra. To avoid dizziness, it is better to take a sedentary or supine position. Now you need to take a very deep breath through your nose and an extended exhalation through your mouth.

After several such breaths, the condition usually improves noticeably. If this does not happen, and the dangerous symptoms listed above are added to the lack of air, call an ambulance immediately.

Before medical workers arrive, do not take medications on your own unless they are prescribed by your doctor - they may distort your clinical picture and make diagnosis difficult.

Diagnostics

Emergency doctors usually quickly determine the cause of sudden difficulty breathing and the need for hospitalization. If there are no serious concerns and the attack is caused by physiological reasons or severe stress and does not happen again, then you can sleep peacefully.

But if you suspect heart or lung disease, it is better to undergo an examination, which may include:

• general blood and urine analysis;
• X-ray of the lungs;
• electrocardiogram;
• Ultrasound of the heart;
• bronchoscopy;
• computed tomogram.

What types of research are needed in your case will be determined by your doctor during your initial examination.

If lack of air and constant yawning are caused by stress, then you may need to consult a psychologist or neurologist who will tell you how to relieve nervous tension or prescribe medications: sedatives or antidepressants.

Treatment and prevention

When a patient comes to the doctor with the complaint: “I can’t breathe completely, I’m yawning, what should I do?”, the doctor first of all collects a detailed medical history. This allows us to exclude physiological causes of oxygen deficiency.

In the case of overweight, treatment is obvious - the patient should be referred to a nutritionist. Without controlled weight loss, the problem cannot be solved.

If the examination results reveal acute or chronic diseases of the heart or respiratory tract, treatment is prescribed according to the protocol. An appointment is already required here medicines and possibly physical therapy.

A good prevention and even a method of treatment is breathing exercises. But in case of bronchopulmonary diseases, it can only be done with the permission of the attending physician. Incorrectly selected or performed exercises in this case can provoke an attack severe cough and deterioration of general condition.

It is very important to keep yourself in good physical shape. Even with heart disease, there are special sets of exercises that help you recover faster and return to a normal lifestyle. Aerobic exercise is especially beneficial - it trains the heart and develops the lungs.

Active games on fresh air(badminton, tennis, basketball, etc.), cycling, walking at a fast pace, swimming - will not only help get rid of shortness of breath and provide an additional flow of oxygen, but also tighten your muscles, making you slimmer. And then, even high in the mountains, you will feel great and enjoy the journey, and not suffer from constant shortness of breath and yawning.

Breathing is a physiological process that we hardly pay attention to. But difficulty breathing, which doctors call shortness of breath, manifests itself in the form of lack of air, problems with inhalation and exhalation, immediately become noticeable. And in many cases, such symptoms are an indicator of a serious illness.

Almost always, the feeling of lack of air is caused by hypoxia - a decrease in oxygen content in tissues or hypoxemia - a drop in oxygen concentration directly in the blood. Both of these conditions cause activation respiratory center our brain, we have a feeling of lack of air, in response to which breathing quickens, in which gas exchange between the blood and atmospheric air intensifies, reducing oxygen starvation fabrics.

What can cause the development of this condition?

Cardiac weakness - leads to congestion in the lungs and tissues, gas exchange in the lungs is disrupted, and shortness of breath appears.

Respiratory (pulmonary) failure - weakening of gas exchange due to the loss of the functionally active part of the lungs due to inflammation, sclerosis of the lung tissue, tumor lesions, lung collapse, bronchospasm and difficulty exhaling, etc.

Primary decrease in oxygen concentration in the blood due to poisoning, anemia, diseases of the blood system, etc.

There are quite a lot of functional disorders or diseases that make it difficult to breathe. Therefore, we will try to describe the main ones.

So:

• Bad physical form- detraining
  In this situation, shortness of breath occurs with increased physical activity and is generally a normal reaction to it. The heart begins to pump blood more actively, and working muscles require more energy and oxygen. Because of this, a person may begin to feel a lack of air; his breathing reflexively quickens to compensate for the lack of oxygen in the tissues. Similar situation does not pose a threat to health, but shows that you need to take care of your physical fitness.
• Congestive heart failure
  Lack of air and shortness of breath in this pathology are a consequence of chronic disruption of the blood supply to all tissues of the body. One of the most characteristic signs of congestive heart failure is the forced sitting position of the patient. Shortness of air occurs while lying down, often at night, and decreases when moving to a sitting position.
• Cardiac asthma
  With this disease, lack of air develops very quickly and can develop into an attack of suffocation. Shortness of breath persists even in a sitting position, accompanied by a sharp pallor of the skin, hoarse breathing and coughing. This is very serious violation threatening human life and requiring emergency medical care.
• Pulmonary embolism
  Blood clots that can form in deep veins lower limbs, can break off and move with the bloodstream, clogging the lumen of the pulmonary artery. It leads to acute ischemia and pulmonary infarction, which is accompanied by a feeling of lack of air. In addition, this vascular catastrophe manifests itself painful cough, bluishness of the face, stabbing pain in the chest, etc. This condition also requires urgent medical intervention.
• Cardiac ischemia
  Discomfort, tightness in the chest is a classic symptom of an angina attack - one of the manifestations of coronary artery disease. Patients sometimes refer to it as a feeling of shortness of breath. In a number severe cases, including myocardial infarction, an ischemic attack can cause cardiac weakness, classic heart failure and an attack of cardiac asthma. This is an extremely dangerous condition and a medical emergency.

• bronchial asthma, in which difficulty in exhaling and lack of air develops paroxysmally - against the background of spasm of the bronchi and bronchioles under the influence of stress, contact with an allergen or with a sharp change in environmental parameters;
• spontaneous pneumothorax (air entering the pleural cavity, which is the lining of the lungs), in which the lung sharply shrinks and the respiratory surface of the lungs decreases. The condition is also accompanied by shortness of breath, sudden pallor, painful sensations in the chest, etc.;
• a feeling of shortness of breath after or during eating or choking may indicate exposure to Airways foreign body.

• Sympatho-adrenal crisis, or panic attacks
  Strong emotional arousal, fear, anxiety, etc. are accompanied by the release of adrenaline, the “stress hormone,” into the blood. It speeds up the body's metabolism, increasing oxygen consumption by tissues. That is why when panic attacks ah or in stressful situations, a person may begin to feel short of breath. Difficulty breathing can also be a manifestation of hysterical syndrome. These conditions are more characterized by a feeling of lack of breath.
• Anemia
  Iron is a component of the hemoglobin protein molecule, which is found in blood cells - red blood cells. It is this protein that is responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the cells of the whole body. With iron deficiency, it develops Iron-deficiency anemia, at high stages can cause relative hypoxia - oxygen starvation of tissues, a feeling of lack of air and shortness of breath at the slightest physical effort.
• Obesity
  This is a serious pathology, the main threat of which is the accumulation of fatty tissue on internal organs. This additional load does not allow the lungs to breathe fully and the heart to make effective contractions. Therefore, all this also leads to a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the tissues and the development of shortness of breath.
• a feeling of lack of air that occurs at the height of inspiration along with pain syndrome, may be evidence of neuritis of the intercostal nerve, for example with herpes;
• It is also difficult for patients with various chest injuries, such as soft tissue bruises or rib fractures, in which the injuries do not allow a full breath, causing severe pain;
• lack of air, sneezing, coughing, a sensation of soreness or a lump in the throat may indicate the development of pneumonia, severe bronchitis or an allergic reaction;

How to get rid of difficulty breathing?

The feeling of lack of air is not a disease, but it is only one of the manifestations of any pathology. Therefore, when treating difficulty breathing in the CELT clinic, the main attention is paid to finding the cause of this symptom. Having discovered it, our doctors will treat the underlying disease, as a result of which shortness of breath will disappear.

Vegetative-vascular dystonia is a complex of symptoms indicating a disorder of the autonomic system. nervous system. Unfortunately, from this conditional disease (conditional because the international classification does not recognize this syndrome as an independent disease) suffers, according to statistics, about 80% of the population modern world. These include men and women, the elderly, children, adolescents and infants - characteristic features Dystonia can be found in a person from the first years of life.

Introduction

As a rule, people get used to putting up with most of the symptoms and attribute them to the characteristics of the body, poor health in general. But sometimes difficulties arise that cause serious anxiety and acute attacks. To a greater extent, they are associated with problems of the heart, blood vessels and respiratory tract.

Lack of air during VSD is a common and quite typical situation. The first thing you should focus on is fixability. Fear of asphyxia and heart attack due rather psychological factor loss of control over natural processes own body than a real physical threat.

General information

The feeling of lack of air during VSD may be due to for various reasons. Shortness of breath may be caused by dystonia itself, but it may also simply be contributing factor. In both cases, accurate medical diagnostics causes.

In a situation where interruptions in breathing stem from real problems and illnesses (for example, coronary disease heart or bronchial asthma), using classic psychotherapy for VSD will simply be irrational - no more reasonable than applying plantain where plaster is required.

The opposite situation is also unsafe - when the symptoms are confused by the initial self-diagnosis, difficulty breathing is a consequence of vegetative disorders due to developing neurosis, and the patient diligently treats fictitious asthmatic complications... Advanced VSD also leads to more serious complications than tightness in the chest and difficulty breathing during stress.

Why suffocation causes fear

Even on initial stages development of VSD When crises are not so acute and other symptoms of the disease are not expressed, breathing difficulties can frighten the patient. Accompanied by sudden sharp pains in the sternum, they resemble signs of heart failure. Occurring unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, in a state of anxiety or emotional fluctuations, the slightest changes in breathing can lead to panic attacks. Fear of suffocation blocks adequate perception of reality and leads to the development of real phobias.

Most often, in the presence of dystonia (one of its types), the patient is diagnosed with hyperventilation syndrome. But this is not the only form that a violation of oxygen metabolism in the body takes on with autonomic disorders of the nervous system.

I forgot how to breathe

An absurd but frequent recognition of people suffering from apnea (short-term involuntary cessation of breathing). This happens to many people in their sleep: a person wakes up with the feeling that the lungs have stopped working, and oxygen has not entered the body for a long time.

Shortness of breath during VSD is associated with fear and exaggeration of the catastrophic nature of the situation: the person sits up abruptly in bed, begins to breathe shallowly and rapidly. The pressure rises, the heart beats faster, trying to quickly fill the lack of oxygen in cells and tissues. Interruptions in pressure do not relieve difficulty breathing. On the contrary, dizziness, darkening of the eyes, and a feeling of hopelessness are added to them.

All of the above fits perfectly into the classification of both panic attacks and classic apnea. But why does the patient lose his breath at a time when the body should be as relaxed as possible?

Is it possible to “forget” how to breathe?

The fact is that both the somatic and autonomic nervous systems are responsible for the regulation of respiratory processes. In other words, it happens both consciously and uncontrollably. We can, of our own free will, hold our breath, make inhalations and exhalations deeper or shallower, and regulate the muscular movement of the chest, thus influencing the process of gas exchange. But when we are distracted, focused on extraneous tasks, in deep sleep or in a stressful situation, unable to pay attention to the breathing process, it is the autonomic nervous system that controls the depth and frequency of breaths, heart rate and other related factors.

When the autonomic system begins to malfunction and not function as it should (vegetative dysfunction), everything that was previously controlled by it also goes into discord. The body's reactions cease to correspond to external stimuli, tachycardia and panic occur without actual danger, shortness of breath - without physical exertion, eating disorders and allergies - without real poisonings and allergens and so on.

Symptoms

Shortness of breath caused by VSD manifests itself in different ways. Patients complain about:

• Heaviness in the sternum, a feeling of constriction in the chest.
• Sharp stabbing pain when inhaling.
• Heavy breathing and shortness of breath that occurs during light exertion, when singing or talking, or during emotional experiences.
• Feeling of lack of oxygen when breathing.
• It is difficult to inhale and exhale; the process of breathing itself seems like an effort that causes shortness of breath.
• Waking up from deep sleep with the feeling that breathing has stopped.

The last point causes particular concern for those suffering from dystonia, and after it - possible insomnia.

Dream

Why do night attacks frighten patients so much? The formulation “I forget to breathe in my sleep” is illogical, as we have already discussed, primarily because memory is not involved in the breathing process while the brain is immersed in the sleepy phase.

What really happens to those who say, “I feel suffocated at night”? Explaining myself in medical terms, their body experiences apnea - cessation of pulmonary ventilation due to weakening of the muscle tone and soft tissues of the throat. When falling asleep, the muscles seem to “sag,” blocking the airways. Classic apnea lasts up to 10 seconds, hypopnea takes 10 seconds or longer. This time is enough to awaken the brain and send an SOS signal about the problem.

“I wake up because I can’t breathe” is a reason for an examination, but in no case for momentary panic. By getting out of a lying position and consciously doing a series of breathing exercises, you can bring the nighttime incident under control and prevent a panic attack.

Hangover

A healthy lifestyle as the main cure for VSD automatically includes giving up alcohol. After alcohol, it is doubly difficult for the body to cope with autonomic dysfunction- the need to remove toxins from the blood, imbalances in sugar and hemoglobin levels also affect the amount of oxygen supplied with blood flow to the lungs.

Why is it hard to breathe when you have a hangover? Yes, at least from the fact that the illusory feeling that during VSD there is not enough air, actually means an insufficient number of oxygen molecules entering the tissue cells internal organs.

Shortness of breath is provoked by any strong stress on the body, and the condition alcohol intoxication is quite among them.

Yawn

The feeling of lack of oxygen (not air in general, but an element in the body) is not always caused by physical activity or physical disorders breathing.

Sometimes patients complain that they constantly yawn without an objective reason (lack of sleep, etc.). Yawning is also an indicator of oxygen deficiency in the body and manifests itself as a reflex.

The common belief that yawning is “contagious” is associated with the phenomenon of psychogenic shortness of breath and neurotic consequences, when the breathing disorder of others (for example, a family member) is unconsciously copied by a person. This situation is especially dangerous in infancy. There are known cases when absolutely healthy child reflexively repeated the intermittent, rapid breathing of the parent, which over time progressed into its own pathology.

Causes of difficulty breathing

Situations when a person has difficulty breathing with a hangover, after a cycle of exercise, or when waking up at night seem not as critical as the ragged breathing of a person at rest. When breathing is difficult in a lying old person or baby, in a healthy adult in the fresh air, in a leader active image life of a teenager - why is there not enough oxygen in such cases?

The causes of breathing problems may lie in a number of ways: congenital pathologies. Choking during VSD can be a reaction to neurotic attacks; hypoxia is sometimes a side effect of heart failure, a tendency to hypotension and coronary heart disease, problems with the lungs and even with the muscular frame of the chest.

Osteochondrosis and spinal problems can also affect breathing difficulties. The reasons, whatever they may be, should be carefully investigated by the attending physician.

I choke when I'm nervous

It is important to remember that any symptoms vegetative-vascular dystonia are closely related to the psycho-emotional sphere. Breathing under stress becomes shallow and constricted, muscles contract spasmodically and are in constant voltage. Complaints of “suffocating in the morning” may be a consequence of a nervous habit developed to return to a nervous state as soon as the brain leaves the deep sleep phase.

It happens that it is impossible to take a deep breath when one (no matter whether positive or negative) bright emotion dominates, it is difficult to inhale after eating or sleeping, there is pressure in the sternum during changes internal pressure and external temperature. This can be associated with any change in the external situation or internal state - only the fact that the body malfunctions instead of harmoniously adapting to the situation is important.

Bronchial asthma

Sometimes vegetative crises(acute attacks of worsening symptoms of dystonia) are associated with the occurrence of similar exacerbations of another disease. So, night suffocation, dry frequent cough with VSD and the inability to fully inhale can be manifestations of bronchial asthma.

Sometimes a short-term, lasting several seconds feeling of “forgot how to breathe” is replaced by an annoying asthmatic cough and happens in moments of emotional fluctuations. Respiratory processes are closely related to the coordination of the nervous system, both conscious and unconscious; this means that asthma in the case of experiencing VSD can be just psychosomatic.

Treatment

Whatever the symptoms, they all complicate the normal course of life, and the person needs the help of a specialist. For clarification, they turn to a therapist, neurologist, cardiologist, psychotherapist - each of these specialists can conduct an examination at their own level in order to find out as accurately as possible what caused the breathing disorder.

Often in the absence of hereditary pathologies, diseases of cardio-vascular system and without urgent need for drug treatment developed neurosis, the problem is solved quite simply. Methods of relaxing physiotherapy, psychological self-diagnosis during attacks and herbal preparations are selected individually for each patient.

Treatment of shortness of breath with tablets

IN special cases When respiratory problems are caused by the development of clinical neurosis, drug therapy is used to treat it. However, any antidepressants, sleeping pills and sedatives must be prescribed by the attending physician and agreed with the diagnosis confirmed by other specialists. Otherwise, drug intervention can only worsen the problem.

For example, if a person at the self-medication level decides to take a course of sleeping pills in order to stop waking up at night, this will not save him from hyperventilation. It will only be more difficult for the body to “ask for help” to the brain when, due to weakening muscle tone, the lungs stop working for 10-15 seconds.

It is important for a person suffering from psychosomatic apnea, first of all, to explain how to breathe correctly and calm the growing fear of suffocation during an exacerbation of the VSD crisis.

Breathing exercises

In order to restore breathing not only in the current moment, but also to ensure a calm night sleep no unscheduled awakenings, usable physiotherapy. It includes both physical exercises to calm the nervous system (such as yoga, stretching and relaxation massages) and statistical breathing exercises.

Their types vary depending on the goal pursued, but one way or another they include training:

• deep breath;
• control the depth and duration of inhalation and exhalation;
• number of inhalations and exhalations per minute;
• control of the intensity of diaphragm work;
• conscious participation in respiratory process other muscle groups.

The benefits of deep breathing are mainly due to increased oxygen saturation. In addition, the depth of inspiration slows down its speed, which means it reduces the risk of involuntary tachycardia, when the heart begins to beat faster than expected due to a series of short shallow breaths.

Respiratoryyoga

Various yoga practices offer a combination of a set of exercises aimed not only at flexibility and muscle tone, but also at the health of internal organs. Alignment heart rate, eliminating internal smooth muscle tension caused by psychosomatics is a useful skill for diagnosed VSD.

Conscious breathing is first practiced according to the indicated patterns (alternate breaths from each nostril, alternating their depth and duration), then introduced to the level of habit. So, thanks to weeks of training, you can train your body in a stressful situation to slow it down instead of increasing your breathing, urging the body to first calm down and relax.

Therapeutic breathing exercises

Since the middle of the last century, it has been actively used on the territory of the USSR and is still considered ingenious method breathing exercises using the Strelnikova method. Including the work of many muscle groups, it helps not only to establish uniform deep breathing, but also to recover after surgery, develop a voice, relieve fatigue, perform a “massage of internal organs,” etc.

It is used not only as a treatment method, but also as a preventive measure, recommended also for adolescents and children. A specially designed set of exercises can replace 15-30 minutes of morning and evening exercises, as well as a relaxing massage session.

Correctly performed breathing exercises are recommended in the presence of both VSD and other concomitant diseases- neurosis, asthma, hypertension, etc.

Prevention

In order to prevent the situation from worsening in the presence of VSD, it is necessary to comply with a number of simple conditions healthy life. The number one tip is balanced physical activity.

Sedentary lifestyle, cardiac problems and poor development respiratory system - fertile soil for dystonia. To train the body we recommend:

• physiotherapy;
• fitness (but not active cardio exercises);
• yoga;
• swimming and various water procedures;
• breathing exercises;
• walking in the fresh air;
• control over emotional state.

In order to prevent the occurrence of neurological shortness of breath due to psychological problems, you should give your body a break from mental stress. If a person devotes most of his time to office work, it is recommended to spend leisure hours paying attention to the body, and not to the screen of the phone, TV and computer.

Sometimes reception sedatives helps in the fight against neurosis, also having a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system and respiratory organs.

Nightly 7-8 hours healthy sleep in a clearly established mode, relaxation sessions and selected therapy, positive psychological attitude to conscious healthy life activity - all this contributes to the establishment of harmonious functioning of the body.