Paradoxical Breathing, Chest Abnormalities of the Chest that Breathe Hard

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Breathing involves the movement of the diaphragm muscles pushing downward to make the lungs expand so as to allow air from outside to be breathed in. However, muscle abnormalities can make the diaphragm and lungs work exactly the opposite. This condition is called paradoxical breathing, one of the causes of shortness of breath that you may never realize.

What is paradoxical breathing?

Paradoxical breathing is a respiratory disorder caused by abnormal diaphragm muscle contraction function. Normally, the diaphragm muscle should press down so you can breathe, but this condition causes the diaphragm muscle to be pushed up so that the lungs can not expand.

As a result, a person experiencing this condition can not breathe a sigh of relief to inhale as much oxygen as his body needs. Paradoxical breathing also causes the body can not emit carbon dioxide as much as it should. This can be a cause of shortness of breath and various other health problems.
Signs and symptoms of paradoxical breathing

Signs and symptoms of paradoxical breathing are:

Breathing very short
Easy to feel dizzy and weak
Easy to sleep and sleep too long
Easy to feel tired
Wake up in a tired state
Often awakened at night
Heart rate is very fast
Weak, tired, lethargic, limp (low physical activity performance)
Breathing very fast
Experiencing the sensation of pain and pressure on the area around the chest and abdomen

What causes breathless paradoxical breathing?

Basically, paradoxical breathing disorder is caused by diagframa muscle abnormalities and is a type of disorder that is difficult to recognize.

Even so, there are some health problems that can cause this condition. For example:

Obstruction Sleep Apnea

Obstruction sleep apnea can be a cause of typical breathless paradoxical breathing. This condition is a breathing disorder during sleep that causes a person to stop breathing or short breathing during sleep. This condition interferes with the oxygen inlet flow and outflow of carbon dioxide. Over time, the chest wall can expand inside, not outward.

Experiencing serious trauma or injury to the wall of the diagframa

Experiencing an accident can cause damage to the diagframa area where the ribs and inner chest wall are removed so that the diagframa ceases to contract normally when breathing in the air, triggering paradoxical breathing.

Nervous breakdown

Phrenic nerve is a nerve that plays a role in regulating diagframa movement and other muscles on the chest or torso. Nerve damage to the part can cause changes in muscle contraction when breathing. The condition is also associated with diseases that damage the nerves as slowly as the complications of trauma to the chest, lung cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Respiratory muscle weakens

Muscle-like respiratory muscle disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig's disease may be the cause of breathlessness due to paradoxical breathing.

Mineral deficiency

Deficiency of potassium, magnesium and calcium can affect breathing patterns through central nervous system disorders that regulate the respiratory process.

Treatment and prevention of paradoxical breathing

Most cases of paradoxical breathing are treated by treating the conditions that cause it. For example, muscle contraction disorder due to deficiency of minerals will improve when the body has received sufficient mineral intake.

In the case of paradoxical breathing caused by a trauma to the chest, surgical action is required to repair the muscle and rib joints that are detached or damaged. But in cases caused by chronic diseases and nervous disorders most likely handling and healing process is more difficult.

Treatment to overcome symptoms of paradoxical breathing also include:

Use of breathing aids such as oxygen masks
Use of tracheotomy by creating a new airway
Replace lost electrolytes with intravenous fluids
Doing therapy on sleep apnea disorders
Eliminates blockages or other foreign objects that cause disturbances of contractions and airway obstruction.

Many of the causes of paradoxical breathing can not be overcome with lifestyle changes. However, the disorder can be minimized by behavior such as:

Maintain a healthy diet with balanced nutrition
Keeping the weight within a healthy limit, it is necessary to prevent sleep apnea disorders
Reduce smoking and alcohol consumption
Strengthen the abdominal support muscles (core muscles) around the diagframa.

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