Any damage to the lungs as a result of trauma or a serious illness can result from the accumulation of excess air in the pleural cavity. Thus, pneumothorax arises, the symptoms of which need to be able to recognize in time, in time to help the patient and take him to the hospital, where he will be given proper treatment.
The manifestation of the pathology depends on the cause that led to the damage to the pleura, and on how serious the injury is. In this regard, there are several types of pneumothorax.
Symptoms of spontaneous pneumothorax
The primary form, which occurs without any predisposing causes, is formed suddenly. Patients already in the first minutes are noted:
- weakness;
- dyspnea;
- acute pains in the sternum, gaining intensity when trying to inhale or cough;
- pain giving in the arm and shoulder.
The next day, it almost completely disappears, but the disease itself does not pass. The feeling of air deficiency is disturbing only with physical exertion.
The secondary form develops against a background of severe lung disease. Patients encounter such disorders:
- dyspnea;
- pain in the chest, which is transmitted to the neck, shoulder, arm;
- sensation of lung constriction;
- lingering dry cough.
A complicated version of the spontaneous form is intense pneumothorax, the main symptoms of which are:
- weakness;
- anxiety;
- excessive sweating;
- dyspnea;
- cyanosis;
- pulse, reaching more than 135 beats per minute;
- development of hypotension ;
- at the inhalation the damaged side is immobilized.
Symptoms of open pneumothorax
With this form, air penetration is carried out through various injuries of the sternum. At the same time, oxygen mixes with atmospheric air, thus creating a pressure equal to atmospheric pressure. In the presence of a wound during breathing, air is sucked in with whistling, when carbon dioxide leaves, the blood "foams" from the wound.
Symptoms of valve pneumothorax
This form refers to an open pneumothorax. Its peculiarity is that when you exhale, the air does not completely escape because of the overlapping in the pleura that is formed like a valve.
Determine the valve form of the disease according to such manifestations:
- cyanosis of the face and neck;
- pressure drop;
- increased heart rate;
- swelling of the face;
- arrhythmia ;
- increase in the size of the cervical veins;
- expansion of intercostal space.
Symptoms of closed pneumothorax
First of all, such a state differs in the volume of accumulation of air between the pleural sheets. Approximately in fifteen percent of cases, symptoms may not manifest themselves. In a typical situation, the patient is noted:
- shortness of breath;
- lagging of the damaged side during the breathing process;
- unobservability of noise.