A Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung is a collection of free air in the chest outside the lung that causes the lung to collapse.

A pneumothorax or collapsed lung occurs when air gets inside the chest cavity (outside the lung) and creates pressure against the lung. Also known as pneumothorax, collapsed lung is a rare condition that may cause chest pain and make it hard to breathe. A collapsed lung requires immediate medical care.

In some instances, the lung continues to leak air into the chest cavity and results in compression of the chest structures, including vessels that return blood to the heart (tension pneumothorax).

Types of pneumothoraxes

There are five main types of pneumothoraxes:

1- Primary spontaneous pneumothorax

Collapsed lung sometimes happens in patients having no other lung problem. It can occur due to abnormal air sacs in the lungs that break apart and release air.

2- Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax

Several lung diseases may cause a collapsed lung for example, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and emphysema etc.

3- Injury-related pneumothorax

Injury to the chest can cause collapsed lung for example, due to a fractured rib, a hard hit to the chest or a knife or gunshot wound etc.

4- Iatrogenic pneumothorax

After certain medical procedures such as lung biopsy or a central venous line insertion, some patients can have complications that include a pneumothorax.

5- Catamenial pneumothorax

This rare condition affects women who have endometriosis. Endometrial tissue lines the uterus. With endometriosis, it grows outside the uterus and attaches to an area inside the chest. The endometrial tissue forms cysts that bleed into the pleural space, causing the lung to collapse.

Causes of Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung

Pneumothorax has three main causes: medical conditions, injuries and lifestyle factors.

Medical conditions that may cause a collapsed lung include:

• Asthma.
• Pneumonia.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Collagen vascular disease.
• Cystic fibrosis.
• Emphysema.
• Endometriosis in the chest.
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
• Lung cancer.
• Lymphangioleiomyomatosis.
• Marfan syndrome.
• Tuberculosis.
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a condition caused by pneumonia, coronavirus and other illnesses.

Injuries that may cause collapsed lung are:

• Blunt force trauma.
• Certain types of ventilation or changes to ventilation.
• Gunshot wound.
• Lung puncture during a medical procedure, like a biopsy or nerve block.
• Stab wound.

Lifestyle factors associated with collapsed lung are:

• Drug use, especially inhaled drugs.
• Flying that involves drastic changes in air pressure.
• Scuba or deep-sea diving.
• Smoking.

Certain other risk factors may be more likely to have a collapsed lung for example:

• Family history of pneumothorax.
• Pregnancy.
• Tall, thin body type.

Symptoms of Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung

Signs of a collapsed lung include:

• Chest pain on one side especially when taking breaths.
• Cough.
• Fast breathing.
• Fast heart rate.
• Fatigue.
• Shortness of breath.
• Cyanosis.

Diagnosis

Ask your patient about his/her history of lung disease and perform a physical exam. Measure the level of certain gases in patient’s bloodstream by lab blood tests.

Advise chest X-ray, sometimes it’s necessary to advise a CT scan or ultrasound.

Allopathic treatment for Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung

Treatment depends on the cause, size and severity of pneumothorax. Collapsed lung treatment may include:

Observation: If pneumothorax is minor, watch for signs of heart or breathing problems.

Supplemental oxygen: Give extra oxygen if pneumothorax is small but patient have symptoms. Watches to make sure the condition is stable.

Needle aspiration: During aspiration, a doctor uses a syringe to remove some of the air in the pleural space. A doctor also should follow needle aspiration with percutaneous chest tube drainage.

Chest tube drainage: If patient have a larger pneumothorax, put a hollow tube in patient’s chest to reduce the air in the pleural space. As the air pressure decreases, the lung re-expands, and patient feels comfort. Doctor may leave this tube in place for a couple of days or longer if needed.

Chemical pleurodesis: To prevent the lung from collapsing again, a doctor may perform pleurodesis (makes an incision and inserts a tube. Then use doxycycline or talc to attach the lung to the chest cavity, eliminating extra space in the chest cavity).

Surgery: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a small camera to help the surgeon remove lung tissue. Surgeon may also perform a chemical pleurodesis or a mechanical pleurodesis using a piece of gauze to attach the lung to the chest cavity.

Complications of pneumothorax

Although most pneumothorax or collapsed lungs heal without problems, serious complications do occur. These can include:

• Re-expansion pulmonary edema, when extra fluid is in the lungs.
• Damage or infection caused by the treatment.
• Inability to breathe.
• Heart failure.
• Death.

Homeopathic treatment for Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung

Homeopathic approach to pneumothorax is very vide and more efficient then allopathic. There are numbers of Homeopathic medicines for pneumothorax and its causes for example:

Apis Melifica

Dyspnea, breathing hurried and difficult. Edema of larynx. Suffocation; short, dry cough, suprasternal. Hydrothorax. Pneumothorax. Sensation of soreness in the chest, as from a bruise. Oppression of the chest, shortness of breath, inability to remain in a warm room. Dull, aching pain in the chest, near the middle of the sternum. Sensation of fulness in the chest and short breath. Expectoration of copious, transparent, frothy, bloody mucus. Stitching pain in chest and through back. Burning, stinging pain through entire front of chest. Melting in region of diaphragm.

Aletris Ferinosa

Raises a good deal of froth. Want to cough and couldn’t. Tickling, short, dry, hard cough on waking, becoming spasmodic. Later, cough incessant, like whooping-cough; loses breath; cyanotic. Pneumothorax. Pulse irregular and intermittent.

China Officianalis

Cannot breathe with head low. Labored, slow respiration, constant choking. Pneumothorax. Suffocative catarrh; rattling in chest; violent, hacking cough after every meal. Sharp pain in lung – one or another. Asthma. Empyema.

Ferrum Phosphoricum

Congestions of lungs. Hemoptysis. Short, painful tickling cough. Croup. Hard, dry cough, with sore chest. Hoarseness. Expectoration of pure blood in pneumonia. Pleuritic stitch with a deep inspiration. Pneumothorax. Hemoptysis.

Jaborandi or Pilo carpus Microphylus

Bronchial mucous membrane inflamed. Inclination to cough and difficult breathing. Edema of lungs. Pneumothorax. Foamy sputa. Profuse, thin, serous expectoration. Slow, sighing respiration. Pulse irregular, dicrotic. Oppression of chest. Cyanosis; collapse.

Kali Carbonicum

Cutting pain in chest; worse lying on side. Palpitation and burning in heart region. Weak, rapid pulse; intermits, due to digestive disturbance. Threatened heart failure. Pneumothorax, whole chest is very sensitive. Expectoration scanty and tenacious but increasing in morning and after eating; aggravated right lower chest and lying on painful side. Hydrothorax. Leaning forward relieves chest symptoms. Expectoration must be swallowed; cheesy taste; copious, offensive, lump. Coldness of chest. Wheezing. Cough with relaxed uvula. Tendency to tuberculosis; constant cold taking; better in warm climate.

Kali Iodatum

Violent cough; worse in morning. Pulmonary oedema. Larynx feels raw. Laryngeal oedema. Awakes choking. Expectoration like soapsuds, greenish. Pneumonia, when hepatization commences. Pneumothorax. Stitching pains through lungs to back. Asthma. Dyspnea on ascending, with pain in chest. Respiration difficult. Hydrothorax. Pleuritic effusion. Cold travels downward to chest.

Alumen

Hemoptysis, great weakness of chest; difficult to expel mucus. Copious, ropy morning expectoration in old people. Asthma. Palpitation, from lying down on side. Pneumothorax.

Carbo Vegitablis

Cough with itching in larynx; spasmodic with gagging and vomiting of mucus. Whooping cough, especially in beginning. Deep, rough voice, failing on slight exertion. Hoarseness; worse, talking; evening oppression of breathing, sore and raw chest. Wheezing and rattling of mucus in chest. Occasional spells of long coughing attacks. Burning in chest; worse in evening, in open air, after eating and talking. Spasmodic cough, cyanotic face, offensive expectoration, neglected pneumonia. Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung. Hemorrhage from lungs. Asthma in aged with cyanosis.

Senega

Hurts to talk. Bursting pain in back on coughing. Catarrh of larynx. Loss of voice. Hacking cough. Thorax feels too narrow. Cough often ends in a sneeze. Rattling in chest. Chest oppressed on ascending. Pneumothorax, with sore chest walls; much mucus; sensation of oppression and weight of chest. Difficult raising of tough, profuse mucus, in the aged. Asthenic bronchitis of old people with chronic interstitial nephritis or chronic emphysema. Old asthmatics with congestive attacks. Exudations in Pleura. Hydrothorax. Pressure on chest as though lungs were forced back to spine.

Phosphorus

Congestion of lungs. Burning pains, heat and oppression of chest. Tightness across chest; great weight on chest. Sharp stitches in chest; respiration quickened, oppressed. Heat in chest. Pneumonia, with oppression; worse, lying on left side. Pneumothorax. Whole body trembles, with cough. Sputa rusty, blood-colored, or purulent.

Tuberculosis. Repeated hemoptysis. Nervous coughs provoked by strong odors, entrance of a stranger; worse in the presence of strangers; worse lying upon left side; in cold room. Violent palpitation with anxiety, while lying on side. Pulse rapid, small, and soft. Heart dilated, especially right. Feeling of warmth in heart.

Antimonium Tartaricum

Rattling of mucus. Velvety feeling in chest. Burning sensation in chest, which ascends to throat. Rapid, short, difficult breathing; seems as if he would suffocate; must sit up. Emphysema of the aged. Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung. Coughing and gaping consecutively. Bronchial tubes overloaded with mucus. Cough excited by eating, with pain in chest and larynx. Edema and impending paralysis of lungs. Palpitation, with uncomfortable hot feeling. Pulse rapid, weak, trembling. Dizziness, with cough. Dyspnea relieved by eructation. Cough and dyspnea better lying on right side.

Ipecacuanha

Dyspnea; constant constriction in chest. Asthma. Difficult shortness of breathing. Continued sneezing; coryza; wheezing cough. Cough incessant and violent, with every breath. Chest seems full of phlegm but does not yield to coughing. Bubbling rales. Suffocative cough: child becomes stiff, and blue in the face. Pneumothorax. Bleeding from lungs, with nausea; feeling of constriction; rattling cough. Croup. Hemoptysis from slightest exertion.

Bryonia Alba

Frequent desire to take a long breath; must expand lungs. Difficult, quick respiration; worse every movement; caused by stitches in chest. Cough, with feeling as if chest would fly to pieces; presses his head on sternum; must support chest. Croupous and pleuro-pneumonia. Expectoration brick shade, tough, and falls like lumps of jelly. Tough mucus in trachea, loosened only with much hawking. Pneumothorax. Heaviness beneath the sternum extending towards the right shoulder. Cough worse by going into warm room. Stitches in cardiac region. Painful stiffness in nape of neck. Stitches and stiffness in small of back.

Ammunium Carbonicum

Dyspnea, palpitation, burning in chest. Chest feels tired. Emphysema. Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung. Much oppression in breathing; worse after any effort, and entering warm room, or ascending even a few steps. Asthenic Pneumonia. Slow labored, stertorous breathing; bubbling sound. Winter catarrh, with slimy sputum and specks of blood. Pulmonary oedema.

Audible palpitation with fear, cold sweat, lachrymation, inability to speak, loud breathing and trembling hands. Heart weak, wakes with difficult breathing and palpitation.

Amylenum Nitrosum

Dyspnea and asthmatic feelings. Great oppression and fullness of chest; spasmodic, suffocative cough. Precordial anxiety. Pneumothorax. Tumultuous action of heart. Pain and constriction around heart. Fluttering at slightest excitement.

Arsenicum Album

Unable to lie down, fears suffocation. Air-passages constricted. Asthma worse midnight. Burning in chest. Suffocative catarrh. Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung; worse lying on back. Expectoration scanty, frothy. Darting pain through upper third of right lung. Wheezing respiration. Hemoptysis with pain between shoulders; burning heat all over. Palpitation, pain, dyspnea, faintness. Irritable heart. Pulse rapid. Dilatation. Cyanosis. Fatty degeneration. Angina pectoris, with pain in neck and occiput. Drawing in of shoulders. Pain and burning in back.

Outlook / Prognosis

Most people who have a collapsed lung generally heal without major treatment. If patient had a collapsed lung, with allopathic treatment patient have a higher chance of having it again that’s why it will be better to take proper Homeopathic medication to be treated permanently.

P. S: This article is only for doctors having good knowledge about Homeopathy and allopathy, for learning purpose(s).

For proper consultation and treatment, please visit our clinic.

None of above-mentioned medicine(s) is/are the full/complete treatment but just hints for treatment; every patient has his/her own constitutional medicine.

Dr. Sayyad Qaisar Ahmed (MD {Ukraine}, DHMS), Abdominal Surgeries, Oncological surgeries, Gastroenterologist, Specialist Homeopathic Medicines.

 Senior research officer at Dnepropetrovsk state medical academy Ukraine.

Location:  Al-Haytham clinic, Umer Farooq Chowk Risalpur Sadder (0923631023, 03119884588), K.P.K, Pakistan.

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