Air hunger Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Air hunger is kind of feeling in which patient feels suffocation and try to inhale greater air with deep breathe. It is a symptom of many lung diseases. In this condition, the patient starve for more air and do not find it enough to breathe well. Every time when patient breathe, he tries to inhale the maximum amount of air he can. This may occur in asthma including both child and adults and teens. It also occur in generalized anxiety disorder. This feeling of hunger for more air is not only confined to asthma and generalized anxiety disorder but also occur in patient with upper airway obstruction, anaphylactic shock, malnutrition, insulin reaction i.e. hypoglycemia, low sugar level in blood i.e. hypoglycemia, pulmonary embolism, pleural effusion and last but not least dyspnea.

Patient also face difficulty in breathing and inhaling enough air in a single deep breathe. Sometimes patient find it hard and left it as it is going on and with distressing feeling of not getting enough air to breathe. Sometimes patient take help from yawning to take enough air. This normally occurs when patient is in highly or even mild suffocating area with no enough oxygen in environment.

Air hunger Causes

         
Researches have reported many cases behind air hunger and the root cause found is hyperventilation or over breathing. Due to fast breathing, the amount of carbon dioxide decreases in blood due to decreased saturation and leads to greater oxygen demand causing air hunger. Sometimes it is related to brain only, as activation of sympathetic nervous system makes the patient hyper active and in turn he breathe fast leading to air hunger. Other causes reported are stress, anxiety and panic attacks. Apart from the above mentioned causes, there may be many diseases related to it like asthma.

Air hunger Symptoms

         
Air hunger itself is a symptom of many diseases related to respiration like asthma and dyspnea. Along with feeling of hunger for more air patient feels vertigo and dizziness. The mouth of patient get dry due to frequent breathing from nose and mouth. Due to short breaths patient may also feel pain in chest region along with congestion. The palpitations occur, due to change in pulse rate and rapid breathing resulting in air hunger. Due to decreased saturation in air hunger, patient may feel numbness in limbs and brain and tingling may also occur sometimes with this.

Air hunger Treatment

         
Air hunger is a fatal condition which should be treated on emergency note upon 1st exposure. There are some modifications which should be follow to decrease the intensity which are as follows:

• Patient should try to breathe with pursed lips
• The level of activity should be increased i.e. aerobic exercise.
• Patient should try to breathe only using nose by covering mouth.
• Should focus on breathing like breathing through diaphragm and abdomen instead of chest region.
• Breathe carefully using nostrils and then exhale air through mouth also helps in reducing the intensity of air hunger.
• Other than these therapies, bronchodilators may be used as medication.