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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffSigns and symptoms of a pneumothorax usually include:
- Sudden, sharp chest pain on the same side as the affected lung — this pain doesn't occur in the center of your chest under the breast bone
- Shortness of breath, which may be more or less severe, depending on how much of your lung is collapsed
- A feeling of tightness in your chest
- A rapid heart rate
If only a small amount of air enters the space between your lungs and your chest wall (pleural space), you may have few signs or symptoms. However, even a slightly collapsed lung is likely to cause some chest pain and some shortness of breath that slowly improves over a few hours to a day or so, even if there is no reduction in the size of the collapse.
When to see a doctor
See your doctor right away if you have sudden chest pain and trouble breathing of any kind. Many conditions other than pneumothorax can cause these symptoms, and most require an accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment. If your chest pain is severe or breathing becomes increasingly difficult, get immediate emergency care.
- Pneumothorax. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec05/ch060/ch060g.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- What are pleurisy and other disorders of the pleura? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pleurisy/pleurisy_all.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Smith DA. Pulmonary emergencies. In: Stone CK, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Emergency Medicine. 6th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3106264. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Noppen M, et al. Music: A new cause of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Thorax. 2004;59:722.
- Light RW. Disorders of the pleura and mediastinum. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2861952. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Light RW. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Spontaneous pneumothorax fact sheet. American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35772. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 24, 2009.
