Overeating
When you eat too much — especially beans, cabbage, or spicy foods — this could lead to bloating or pressure in the abdomen.
This bloating may prevent the diaphragm — the dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of the lungs that’s essential for breathing — from properly contracting and flattening as you inhale and exhale.
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If your diaphragm cannot move in its normal way, your lungs will struggle to expand and contract, causing breathing difficulties.
Obesity
When you have extra fat on your neck, abdomen, and chest, you may experience breathing difficulties and symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and daytime sleepiness.
People who struggle with this can have worsening symptoms at night, and they may choke or grunt with the effort of breathing.
Some people with obesity are affected by obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS). Those with OHS have too much carbon dioxide in their blood and too little oxygen. OHS occurs if the brain doesn’t have proper control over breathing.
Allergic reactions (anaphylaxis)
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If you experience a severe allergic reaction, your airways can constrict, making breathing difficult.
Research shows that 5% of the U.S. population have experienced anaphylaxis, but less than 1% of them have experienced fatalities from an episode.
If you’re about to have an anaphylactic reaction, shortness of breath will likely be the first symptom of this severe allergic reaction.
There are an estimated 32 million people in the U.S. with food allergies and around 200,000 hospitalizations occur each year due to anaphylaxis. Shellfish, milk, and peanuts are the three most common allergies in the U.S. If you’ve ever had hives (itchy, raised patches of skin) after consuming seafood, milk, or any other food products, you should probably do an allergy test.
People with diagnosed food allergies can avoid the consequences of severe reactions by carrying an epinephrine auto-injector with them. An anaphylaxis reaction requires immediate medical attention.
Respiratory infections
When the lungs and airways are infected, you may experience shortness of breath. Inflammation, mucus, and phlegm can make it difficult to breathe.
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Bronchitis, pneumonia, and COVID-19 are three examples of respiratory infections that can cause shortness of breath.
Choking on or inhaling food
If you accidentally breathe food into your lungs or airways, you may experience shortness of breath as a symptom.
Inhaling food particles can lead to serious health complications, such as lung inflammation, infections, or choking.
When you swallow something and it goes down the wrong way, it’s called aspiration.
Some symptoms of aspiration include:
- The sensation of food being stuck in your throat.
- The feeling of food re-entering your mouth.
- Difficulty or pain when swallowing.
- Wheezing or coughing after you’ve eaten.
Aspiration may also have no obvious symptoms. This is known as silent aspiration. In this case, eating, drinking, or throwing up may trigger symptoms that seem unrelated to aspiration. These symptoms include heartburn and hoarseness.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
