i can't breathe

For the last 3 days I've have a really hard time breathing, when I breathe out it sounds like when you open the door really slowly, that creaking sound you hear. I'm only 30 years old, and just a slight bit of any type of physical exertion and not only do I feel completely week but my chest tightens up and start having pain. I have asthma and I'm a smoker but since all of this I stopped smoking. I don't have insurance so I'm trying to find out if I need to go to the hospital. Even talking gets me out of breathe, is it possible that this is just a light case of pneumonia or bronchitis or something? Please help me, thank you.

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

Your symptoms are very worrisome and suggest that yours may be a medical emergency.  I don’t know if you “need to go to the hospital” but you definitely need to seek medical assistance without delay, either from your doctor by phone if you have a primary care physician, or from an Emergency Room or Urgent Care Clinic.

You could have pneumonia, bad bronchitis, an asthma attack, heart failure or even blood clots to your lung, any of which could be life threatening.

My advice is that you contact a friend or relative immediately and arrange to be taken to the nearest medical facility.  Should no one be available to take you to the hospital or ER, you should call 911 to be taken by ambulance.

Yours is almost certainly a treatable condition so please do not put yourself at risk by further delay.

Good luck