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Breathing difficulties - first aid


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Collapsed lung, pneumothorax
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Breathing difficulties - first aid

Alternative Names:

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

The following symptoms are often associated with difficulty breathing:

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