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Understanding Breathlessness
Reviewed: December 2006
The sensation of shortness of breath, dyspnea in medical terminology, is common in patients with life-threatening conditions: 20-80% of palliative care patients experience this symptom. Like pain, shortness of breath is subjective and not necessarily linked with oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.
There are many causes of shortness of breath, including:
- Disease of the lung, such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cancer and many others
- Fluid in the lungs
- Infection
- Anemia
- Emotional factors, such as anxiety
Sometimes simple measures can relieve the sensation of shortness of breath, including:
- Providing a familiar voice to reduce anxiety
- Changing position
- Using relaxation techniques
- Improving air circulation by opening a window or turning on a fan
Sometimes simple measures can relieve the sensation of shortness of breath, including:
- Providing a familiar voice to reduce anxiety
- Changing position
- Using relaxation techniques
- Improving air circulation by opening a window or turning on a fan
Medication can sometimes be useful, including:
- Opioids, such as morphine which reduce the "work of breathing"
- Sedatives such as benzodiazepines
- Oxygen through a face mask, in some cases
- Corticosteroids, for patients with obstructive complications such as superior vena cava syndrome
- Bronchodilators, if airway spasm is involved
The BC Cancer Agency maintains a database on commonly used unconventional therapies available to cancer patients.
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