lennemagdalene

· 19 Jan 2022

Follow Following

Why Can't I Breath When I Lay Down?

#Breathlessness is also known as difficulty breathing or dyspnea. It is characterized by the tightness of the chest and the feeling as if the air is not getting through the windpipe. To understand this, let’s start with the basics. The breathing system is one of the most complex frameworks in the human body. It comprises the nose, mouth, throat, voice box, windpipe, and lungs. The breathing system performs a very important role in the body, availing oxygen to tissues and cells while removing carbon dioxide through the lungs. Ideally, a healthy person should breathe well regardless of the position they are in. However, this does not happen all the time, as some people may experience difficulty breathing properly, especially when lying down. This condition in medical terms is known as orthopnea and can be caused by a variety of reasons, such as congestive heart failure or infections of the lungs. This article focuses on the causes of difficulty in breathing when lying down and tips to enable you to live a normal healthy life. The causes are:




Obesity. Obesity is the new epidemic in the 21st century. If you study carefully, you notice obesity has affected the large population in the world despite the campaigns about eating healthy foods. Obesity is one of the most common causes of diseases in the world today, breathing problems included. People who have obesity most often experience difficulty in breathing not only when lying down but in almost every activity they do. Sometimes people may wonder what’s the relationship between weight and breathing, but here is the fact. Excess weight compresses the abdominal organs, making it difficult for the lungs to inflate fully. This condition is also known as pannus. The best way to get rid of excess weight is to exercise and eat a balanced diet. Eating fruits and vegetables instead of junk foods can help you maintain your ideal body weight. You can also limit the amount of red meat, salt, sugar, and fats you eat daily. Adopt healthy fats from nuts and fruits such as avocado while getting your lean proteins from beans, fish, and chicken. Again, instead of sleeping on your back, adopt sleeping on your side to decrease the pressure exerted on your lungs by excess weight.




Anxiety or Panic Disorders. Panic attacks sometimes can be very severe, causing frightening and fear. Depending on how severe the situation you encounter is, it is possible to have shortness of breath when lying down. Anxiety triggers a wide range of emotions in the brain and activates a mode of flight or fright. The brain then activates the heart muscles to beat faster to avail the blood to major organs and muscles to enable you to react to the situation. This does not sound convincing enough, right? Allow me to explain. One thing you should know is that blood carries oxygen as well, so for blood to be delivered quickly to these organs, you need to breathe faster. This then activates the heart rate, which rises and leads to shortness of breath. From here, people portray symptoms such as shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating, shaking, chest pain, or even feelings of dizziness. To recover from this, you may be required to see a psychotherapist who will help you with coping mechanisms. Antidepressants medications are also helpful in treating anxiety disorders.





Obstructive Sleep Apnea. This condition is often abbreviated as OSA. It describes a sleep disorder that causes difficulty in breathing during sleep. It is a very common condition and can affect young children as well. OSA may be difficult to diagnose this condition, but snoring and night, gasping, or choking sounds when sleeping gives an accurate diagnosis. The condition makes someone pause his/her breathing while sleeping for some seconds and then breathe well. Within a few minutes, the same cycle of pausing while breathing continues, accompanied by sudden movements, irritability, and restlessness. In the morning, such people wake up with severe headaches. If you have this condition, visiting a doctor is recommended. The doctor will give you a mouth guard or a continuous positive airway pressure(CPAP) to help you breathe properly while sleeping.





Heart Failure. Heart failure is one of the primary causes of orthopnea, especially in old people. Heart failure is a condition that affects the heart muscles, making them unable to pump blood effectively. When the heart cannot pump the blood to the lungs and the rest of the body, this blood remains in the heart, creating stasis. After a while, this increased amount of fluid volume increases pressure in the heart. This pressure then makes the fluid back up into the lungs, abdomen, and lungs. Ideally, lungs are supposed to be fluid free and because of heart failure, they become congested as well. This then creates difficulty in breathing, fatigue, pedal edema (swelling of the legs because of fluids), and coughing. Without proper treatment, this condition makes everyday activity difficult and restricts people from breathing well while bending or lying on a flat surface. Unfortunately, heart failure has no known cure, but lifestyle modifications can ease the situation. Such measures include some medical drugs such as diuretics to get rid of excess fluids, restricting salt, and elevating the bed head while sleeping.





Emphysema. Emphysema is one disease that belongs to a group of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Emphysema is a lung disease that damages the air sac (alveoli) making them narrower than normal. This Narrowing restricts the inflow of air into the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Smoking is the number cause of emphysema. Anytime you smoke (active smoker) or you sit near people who smoke (passive smoker), you stand a chance of suffering from this condition. Because the lungs’ alveoli are already damaged, it makes it difficult for you to perform simple tasks. Advanced emphysema in most people exhibits symptoms such as chronic cough, shortness of breath, frequent respiratory infections, fatigue, wheezing, and others. When all these factors get involved, they make it even harder for you to breathe well. The mucus produced during emphysema coats the lungs, hindering the proper diffusion of oxygen to perfuse tissues. Emphysema is an irreversible condition and the best way to reduce the consequences is by quitting smoking. Doctors recommend a few tips to help prevent the progression of emphysema and are inhalers to reduce airway inflammation and mucus production, oxygen therapy, bronchodilators to relax the constricted airways, lung surgery in extreme cases, etc. For more information about orthopnea, check the following links:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325539#heart -failure
https://amerisleep.com/blog/shortness-of-breath-when-lying-down/



The Bottom Line

Orthopnea is a medical condition that describes shortness of breath when lying down. The condition has many causes, such as smoking, obesity, emphysema, COPD, OSA, heart failure, or anxiety disorders. No matter how difficult the conditions seem to be, with proper treatment is possible to recover. For instance, losing weight if you are obese or overweight can help reduce pressure on the lungs to allow more air to flow in. Again, quitting smoking or staying near smokers can also help delay some symptoms linked to emphysema, a condition that compresses breathing. It is important to recognize more serious signs such as nausea, chest pain, dizziness, or fainting and seek medical help. With all good measures put into consideration, it is possible to live life to the fullest.
#Breathingdifficulties #Breathindifficultieswhenlyingdown #Chestpains #Shortnessofbreath #Othorpnea #Emphysema #COPD #Anxietydisorders #Sleepapnea #Obstructivesleepapnea #Obesity #Breathlessness #Chestinfections