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What Causes Breathing Difficulty And Tightness In The Chest?

Posted on Tue, 5 Jul 2016

Question: I am having severe difficulty breathing after a week of desonide cream on my chest for inflammation. I have severe copd and it seemed to exacerbate the symptoms. I also have constant tingling in my right arm/hand and a tightness in my chest. I don't know if this is the cause of my shortness of breath. I can't walk up stairs Also racing heart. I had diarhhea for 10 days from a supplement I took for weight loss. Could dehydration cause the difficulty in breathing? Thanks.

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome on HCM!

I carefully passed through your question and would explain that your symptoms could be related to exacerbation of copd, due to inflammation.

Topical desonide does not cause any similar adverse effects. You should know that it is a steroid, and it can be used in copd too.

So, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing some tests:

- a resting ECG
- a chest X ray study
- respiratory function tests
- some blood lab tests (complete blood count for infection, PCR and sedimentation rate for inflammation, blood electrolytes, kidney and liver function tests)
- a blood gas analysis.

You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues.

Hope to have been helpful!

Kind regards,

Dr. Iliri

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar