Breathing problems can occur because of upper airway obstruction caused by a sinus infection or allergies. Other more serious breathing problems such as shortness of breath and wheezing may occur because of pneumonia, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure, MayoClinic.com reports. All of these breathing problems require a doctor's evaluation and a form of treatment, which may include medications such as bronchodilators to open airways, antibiotics of infection and diuretics to relive the pulmonary fluid in the lungs and around the heart that makes it difficult to breathe.
Shortness of Breath
Short of breath can be described as the feeling of not gettting enough air into the lungs. It also can feel like drowning, It indicates a problem within the respiratory system such as a disease process, MayoClinic.com indicates. Pneumonia, asthma and congestive heart failure can cause shortness of breath. When the body cannot get enough oxygen carried from the lungs to the heart and blood, then not enough will reach the muscles and tissues. This occurs because of an obstruction somewhere causing lack of airflow.
Obstructed Upper Airway
Lack of airflow within the sinuses can cause mouth breathing, which triggers poor sleeping during the night. Not being able to breathe through the nose typically occurs because of sinus swelling. Sinus swelling can result from closed passageways caused by infection and irritation. A doctor may prescribe a nasal spray along with antibiotics to relieve the symptoms. Decongestants also will alleviate the swelling in the nasal passages.
Wheezing
Wheezing, a high-pitched sound made during exhalation, occurs because of constriction in the mid airways of the lungs. This noise occurs commonly in asthmatics, as well people who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure. The doctor will prescribe medications to alleviate the wheezing, to allow the airflow to flow more easily throughout the bronchial passages of the lungs.
Coughing
Coughing occurs because the person's body needs to rid itself of foreign particles that accumulate within mucous through the nose and mouth while breathing. Chronic bronchitis, which can contribute to long-term breathing problems, can produce continual coughing. People typically get chronic bronchitis and another COPD, emphysema, by smoking cigarettes. Exposure to irritants triggers the person to continually need to cough, a result of continued mucous build up in the throat and upper airways. This chronic breathing problem occurs because of the damaged airway cilia that cannot quickly rid the body of foreign particles. With this damage, the passages of the airways cannot relax, the National Institutes of Health report.
