A lung puncture or pneumothorax can occur once the chest sustains harsh injury such as a stab wound or rib fracture. These injuries will allow air to abnormally accumulate around the lungs. Once this occurs, the lungs could no longer expand normally, resulting to severe breathing difficulty. If you suspect that an individual sustained a lung puncture or develops the symptoms, it is vital to seek immediate emergency care in order to prevent life-threatening complications from developing.
It is important that you are familiar with the signs and symptoms of a lung puncture. If you suspect that an individual has lung puncture, you can seek immediate care to prevent the condition from worsening.
Piercing chest pain
A lung puncture can cause piercing, abrupt pain inside the chest close to the site of the puncture. The symptoms tend to manifest on either side of the chest instead on the middle of the chest. In most cases, the painful sensations are more intense when the individual attempts to breathe in normally. The development of pain in the chest can also indicate other medical conditions such as a heart attack, thus it entails immediate medical attention. If you will register for an emergency course, you are prepared to help out an individual who is suffering from a heart attack. If the lung puncture was caused by a stab wound, it would also require immediate emergency care due to the bleeding and damage to the interior organs and tissues.
Breathing difficulty
The buildup of air around the lungs due to lung puncture can disrupt the ability of the lungs to normally expand. Once this occurs, the individual can suffer from severe difficulty breathing. Difficulty breathing can prevent adequate amounts of oxygen from reaching the essential organs in the body and can lead to additional symptoms such as dizziness or headache.
In case the cells, organs and tissues inside the body could not receive enough oxygen due to lung puncture, the individual will also become tired easily after engaging in any mild activity such as walking. In some cases, those who have lung puncture can cough up small amounts of blood.
Discoloration of the skin
Inadequate oxygen can lead to the development of skin discoloration. Those with lung puncture can appear abnormally pale and bluish in color which is referred to as cyanosis. The affected skin can also feel cool to the touch and this can be accompanied by dizziness or loss of consciousness.
Elevated heart rate
The diminished level of oxygen in the body due to the lung puncture can disrupt the functionality of the heart. If the individual sustained a lung puncture, he/she can develop an elevated heart rate as a symptom of the condition. An increase heart rate helps with the quick pumping of oxygenated blood all over the body but can also cause the individual to feel dizzy or anxious.