shortness of breath

[MaryAnn54]

I am a 54 year old female. I have at least one or two episodes of bronchitis every winter. Each year the cough is more violent (broncospasms) where I cannot catch my breath to inhale. The antibiotic that has helped over the years is Zithromiacin. Sometimes I need two courses of it. I had bronchitis 3 weeks ago, was treated with Zithromiacin and it seemed to have cleared up. Five days ago my cough returned, a little more severe each day. I went to my G.P. 2 days ago and he put me on another round of the Zithromiacin. This latest episode of bronchitis has an added component, shortness of breath. I have experienced this at other times when I've had bronchitis, but yesterday and today I am only able to take very shallow inhalations and expirations. My cough is usually triggered and it hurts my chest to breath. My muscles in my chest and back became so tense last night that I decided to soak in a warm bath. To my surprise, this increased my shortness of breath to a level that I felt some panic. My breathing was as if I were drowning and I was gasping for air. Once I was able to get myself to my feet, I turned a small portable fan on with the air blowing on my face. I concentrated on slowing my 'panic' down and took slow breaths, trying to inhale some cooler fresh air. It helped. Today is Sunday so I didn't call my doctor last night or today...I plan to call him tomorrow. Does anyone know about this and what it might be, and what I should do the next time it happens?

[National Jewish Health]

It is decidedly abnormal for a 54 year old woman to have 1 to 2 episodes of bronchitis each winter, especially so if you are not a cigarette smoker or have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic sinusitis or an inherited condition that would predispose you to recurrent bronchitis, for example cystic fibrosis (CF) or a condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

Maybe your condition is not acute bronchitis.  Maybe it is asthma, a disease that can cause the symptoms you describe.  If asthma,  these episodes that occur in the winter could be due to either cold air, indoor allergens in higher concentrations with the house shut tight or the increased number of respiratory infections in the community in the winter.  Some people with asthma do have symptom worsening in response to steam or high humidity.  It is interesting that you sought relief of symptoms by using your fan to blow air across your face as there have actually been studies of relief of respiratory distress of individuals who have rushed to an open window and allowed a cool, but not real cold, breeze blow across the face.

You may wish to discuss the above with your doctor.

Good luck.

[wannasing]

Have you considered going to a pulmonary specialist?  I've been dealing with a tough bout of bronchitis, and have taken more extreme antibiotics to clear it up, along with inhaled steroids (to reduce inflammation) and bronchodilators (to relieve bronchial spasm).  I'm not entirely recovered, so I'm considering this as a next step.  By the way, if you have latent asthma, panic could be provoking shortness of breath (and I've been there a lot lately!)