Pneumothorax: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Pneumothorax, Well it is called a collapsed lung, can be a painful and worrying experience. It generally happens when air gets into the space between the chest wall and the lung, called the pleural space. In this article, we are going to aware you about Pneumothorax and its symptoms, risk factor and more importantly the treatment.

What is Pneumothorax?

A pneumothorax is a collapsed lung which usually starts when the air leaks into the space between the lung and chest wall. Thus, the air pushes on the outside of the lung and makes it collapse. It can be a complete lung collapse or a collapse of only a portion of the lung.

What are the Symptoms of Pneumothorax?

The symptoms of this condition can differ from mild to life-threatening include:

• Shortness of breath

• A strong chest pain

• Sharp and strong pain when inhaling

• Pressure in the chest which gets worse over time

• Blue discoloration of the skin or lips

• Increased heart rate

• Rapid breathing

• Confusion or dizziness

• Loss of consciousness or coma

What are the Causes of Pneumothorax?

Chest injury: Any penetrating injury to the chest causes lung collapse. There are some of the injuries happen during physical assaults or car crashes, while others may inadvertently happen during the medical procedures which involve the insertion of a needle into the chest.

Lung disease: As the damaged lung tissue is more likely to collapse. Lung damage can be caused by many types of underlying diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and pneumonia.

Ruptured air blisters: Small air blisters can develop on the top of the lungs. These blisters sometimes burst allowing air to leak into space which surrounds the lungs.

Pneumothorax Treatment

The treatment is based on 4 phases such as:

• Observation

• Draining excess air

• Pleurodesis

• Surgery