Pneumothorax?

Contrary to popular belief, your lungs are not two balloons. They are more like a bunch of grapes. So when a person has a collapsed lung, it is usually not the whole lung, however, it can be any portion of the lung.

What is a Pneumothorax? A Pnuemothorax is air in the plural space surrounding the lung. This area should not contain air. When it does, the air pushes on the lung causing the little grapes or alveoli to collapse. This depending on the size causes the person to feel several things all at once. Shortness of breath, drop in oxygen saturation in the blood, and chest pain. Because the lung is not able to inflate like it should, oxygen cannot get into the blood stream like it should. Because of this, a pneumothorax is a potentially something that can be life threatening.


What causes a Pneumothorax? Usually, a pneumothorax is caused by some sort of injury to the chest wall. A broken rib that punctures the lung is an example. Another example is a stab wound. If a person does not have an injury to the chest wall but still somehow has a pnuemothorax, this is called a spontaneous pnuemthorax.

A spontaneous pnemothorax can be caused by several things. Tall thin people who smoke are among those who are at risk for a spontaneous pneumothorax. Also people who have lung disease such as cystic fibrosis, emphysema, asthma and pneumonia have a risk for a spontaneous pnumothorax.

How does a Pneumothorax get diagnoised? A chest x-ray is usually what is used to find the pneumothorax. Depending on the size, the pneumothorax is something that needs to be treated right away.

What is the treatment for a Pneumothorax? The doctor will put in a chest tube which will suck out the air in the pleural space allowing the lung to reinflate. This is almost immediate relief for a person having difficulting breathing. If the pneumothorax is a small one, the doctor will usually allow for it to resolve on it's own. However, this person will require observation to make sure that it doesn't worsen. Removal of the chest tube takes place when the xray shows healing and the chest tube is not draining so much.

A pneumothorax is a very serious matter and should never be taken lightly. When a person is short of breath and having chest pain, no matter the cause, they should be taken to ER for a chest xray.