A collapsed lung is known as a pneumothorax, which can be either a complete collapse of the lung or a collapse of only a portion of the lung. A pneumothorax is caused by air leaking into the space between the lung and the chest wall, which pushes on the outside of the lung and causes it to collapse.
The most common symptoms of a pneumothorax are sudden chest pain and shortness of breath. In some cases, a collapsed lung can be a life-threatening event. Causes of a pneumothorax include blunt or penetrating chest injuries, certain medical procedures, damage from underlying lung disease, or it may occur for no apparent reason.
SYMPTOMS OF PNEUMOTHORAX
Sudden chest pain and breathing difficulties are the main signs of a pneumothorax.
CAUSES OF PNEUMOTHORAX
These things may lead to a pneumothorax:
- Lung collapse can result from any chest injury, including those that occur accidentally during medical procedures that require the insertion of a needle into the chest.
- Lung disease –Lung damage can result from a variety of underlying conditions, such as pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and is more likely to collapse if there is damaged lung tissue.
- Small air blisters (blebs), which occasionally rupture and let air leak into the area around the lungs, can form on the top of the lungs.
- A severe type of pneumothorax, which causes a pressure imbalance in the chest and the possibility of the lung collapsing completely, can develop in people who require mechanical ventilation.
RISK FACTORS
The type of pneumothorax caused by ruptured air blisters is most common in individuals between the ages of 20 and 40, particularly if the individual is extremely tall and underweight.
Pneumothorax risk factors include the following:
- Smoking-Even in the absence of emphysema, the risk rises with the duration and quantity of smoking.
- Genetics-Pneumothoraxes of particular types seem to run in families.
- Lung disease-A collapsed lung is more likely if you have a lung condition that is already present, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Mechanical ventilation: Pneumothorax risk is higher in people who require mechanical ventilation to help them breathe.
- Anyone who has previously experienced a pneumothorax is more susceptible to experiencing one again.
COMPLICATIONS OF PNEUMOTHORAX
Within one to two years of the initial pneumothorax, many people who have already experienced one can experience another.
If the lung opening does not completely close, air may occasionally still leak out.
HOMOEOPATHIC TREATMENT FOR PNEUMOTHORAX
ACONITE :Useful for hoarse, dry, croupy cough with loud, labored breathing. Given when child grasps at throat each time he coughs. Useful for dry, short, hacking cough that gets worse at night and after midnight. Very helpful for pneumothorax with constant pressure in left chest. There is oppressed breathing on least motion.
AMMON CARB :Useful for pneumothorax when there is coughing every morning around three o’clock, along with dyspnea, palpitations, and burning in the chest. Useful when the chest feels tired with heavy breathing that is made worse by exertion, going into warm rooms, or even climbing a few steps.
AMMON MUR :Given when coughing loosely in the afternoon with profuse expectoration and rattling of mucus, this medication is useful for pneumothorax with hoarseness and burning in the larynx, as well as a dry, hacking, scraping cough that is worse when lying on the back or right side.
ANTIM TART :Useful for pneumothorax with rapid, short, labored breathing; appears as if he would suffocate; velvety feeling in chest; useful for burning sensation in chest that rises to throat; useful for pneumothorax with great rattling of mucus but very little is expectorated;
ARSENIC ALBUM :Useful for a pneumothorax when the patient is unable to lie down. There is a fear of suffocation due to a constricted airway. There is a burning in the chest from a suffocative catarrh. Useful for scanty, frothy expectoration with darting pain through the upper third of the right lung.
FERRUM PHOS :Useful for a hard, dry cough with a sore chest, as well as the peumohorax that occurs in the early stages of all inflammatory affections.
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