Talk:Shortness of breath

Ahortness of breath /Dyspnea
I don't think that shortness of breath nessesarily fits how Dyspnea is defined on the page of the same name that the article links to. Although it (at present) begins by saying that it means the same thing in a different language that does not mean that it means the same thing in english.

What about children who have been running until they became out of breath. There is nothing unusual about that, is there?


 * No, the lowest level - 1 - clearly indicates that one breathes normally except with strenuous exercise. Oh, and, how int he world did you post without a signature, even an anonymous one shows something, right?209.244.187.155 (talk) 23:33, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Merge Shortness of breath and air hunger
Both articles refer to the sensation of respiratory distress, rather than e.g. labored breathing, so it's confusing to have them as separate articles. This source described them as synonyms. Mikael Häggström (talk) 09:19, 12 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Agree good idea. Merge away. :-)  Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 02:50, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Yes, good idea. From a St John perspective our basic first aider might use that term, while an ETA (EMT-B) would use the correct terminology. —Preceding unsigned comment added by SimmoSJA (talk • contribs) 23:27, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

I'm confused with the definitions
This may all seem very off-topic but I'm trying to highlight: 1) The shortness of breath article seems to be incomplete; 2) medical and non-medical terminology can be ambiguous and confusing; 3) the medical experts don't seem to know everything nor cope with anyone that don't fit their limited training; 4) and therefore good references are hard to find. When I think of short of breathe I think of "short of fuel", a lack of. My activity level says I need more gas exchange (inhale/exhale, larger L/min), my heart is responding to a need for more blood flow (higher bpm), but the doctors would say I was hypoventilating (sleep study, hypoventilating while sleeping and awake). That's right, when I feel "short of breath" I mean I'm not getting enough because I can't breathe faster rate&volume. Of course, if I mention "I feel short of breath" or any breathing difficulty they immediately assume "hyperventilation" and "possible anxiety" which their tests show I'm the complete opposite (lower & slower than normal, and can occur when calm and relaxed). Why do they fixate on hyperventilation and ignore the hypoventalation? To talk about one you would think you should have content or links for what is normal and the opposite case. If you were wondering if I needed a CPAP machine, according to the doctors I do. However, while a CPAP machine made it easier to inhale, the standard low settings with automatic exhale relief caused symptoms of hyperventilation and exhalation was harder. After about 30mins I would have to give up each time because both trying to follow or relax would cause more harm. Remember, a symptom can be a symptom of another symptom. How can they conclude the patient was breathing normally when after asking the patient to "breathe normally" they then asked the patient to "breathe more"? They never report the deviation from normal procedure or clarify what is normal with the patient (they see what they want to see). Is there a respiratory specialist out there willing to think out of the box and challenge the textbooks? Not for a consult with me but by doing your own research. tygrus (talk) 11:54, 29 December 2018 (UTC)

More than one kind of unpleasant sensation
Shortness of breath doesn't cover all the manners of how unpleasant one may feel when there is too much carbon dioxide, or lack of oxygen. At one time, I had the unpleasant sensation of drowning, which mystified my medical specialists. Concurrent with the sensation of drowning, I also suddenly developed claustrophobia that I had never had before, not even once. What it turned out to be was extremely low blood pressure, which was caused by medication for hypertension. It didn't matter what kind of medication I took for hypertension, they all caused the sensation of drowning and the concurrent claustrophobia. Stopping all medications for hypertension "cured" my sensation of drowning and claustrophobia. Feeling like one is drowning is far worse than being short of breath from something like extended running. Linstrum (talk) 02:47, 12 January 2024 (UTC)