Constant Trouble Breathing

[LizFriz]

     Hello. I am a fifteen year old female and for a little more than a week I have had difficulty breathing.  My last doctor's visit concerning my allergies (pollen, bermuda) was approximately a year ago and I was not diagnosed with asthma at that visit or in my previous visits.  Earlier in the week, I was helping one of my relatives with mowing the lawn.  I believe that may have triggered it, but this problem has occured (and it still going on) five to six times a day (for more than a week) ever since.  Those episodes will last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.
     When I am having trouble breathing, I feel like my lungs are inflating like a balloon and that is when the trouble begins.  The episodes occur at random times so they are not predictable.  I have found that sneezing and coughing will trigger it (most of the time).  However, that is not always the case.  Sometimes I will just be sitting or laying down and I will begin to struggle for breath.  When they begin, laying down usually makes it worse so I will always do my best to make sure that I sit-up.
     If it isn't too bad, i'm able to walk but it makes it worse so I will usually try to refrain from doing that.  As for my physical appearance, it doesn't change and people can't tell that i'm struggling to breathe until I start to talk or cough.  I went to the nurse's office during school and she said it may just be an anxiety attack (I have lots of problems with stress).  I would agree with her, but this problem has been going on for more than a week and occurs several times a day.  Also, I have never had trouble breathing before this problem even though I was very stressed.  I am very healthy and I eat healthy foods.  There haven't been any severe health issues in my family.  Thank you for any advice that can be provided regarding this problem.
    
  

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

There is an entity called exercise induced Asthma, here as the person starts exercise, the changes in the environmental air breathed in trigger an attack of asthma, causing cough and breathlessness. Have yourself evaluated for the same. This can be detected by a spirometry test.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[LizFriz]

Thank you!  I will make sure I research those topics.

[LizFriz]

Thank you for your advice!  I will definitely make sure I go and see a doctor as soon as I can.

[margypops]

Environmental allergies.. check out 'What on earth are they spraying' also What in the world are they spraying'  you can ask for a Heavy metal Toxicity test

[KarinT109]

Liz, I too have struggled in the past with a similar breathing issue. At the time I was diagnosed with panic disorder and anxiety disorder, which was certainly the case. I also struggled with allergies my entire life, including rhinitis (little to no lining in my nose= runny nose). There's been recent research showing that rhinitis can induce anxiety. So in other words, you're having a SLIGHT difficulty (nothing dangerous) with breathing from allergies, then your anxiety begins to kick in, then it just spirals out of control for awhile. For me what worked was getting my allergies under control, which resulted in taking Zyrtec whenever I FIRST noticed I was going to have allergies that day. Also, get your anxiety under control which can come in the form of therapy, medication, etc. it just depends on you. My advice to you would be to go to the doctor and get tested for: ASTHMA, RHINITIS, and ALLERGIES. Get whatever physical problems you do have under control, but also see a counselor or psychiatrist to start de-stressing, and if they want to refer you to a psychiatrist for anti-anxiety medication they might if they think it's a good idea for you.

In the end, it all depends on what works for you, but take the advice I did give as a starting point....and don't worry about it! I haven't had an anxiety attack in years.