12 Warning Signs Your Lungs Are Yelling for Immediate Help

You’ve Started Taking the Elevator Instead of the Stairs

Most people believe that having difficulty breathing after normal activities is normal as we age. Walking across a parking lot only to feel shortness of breath and start coughing afterward can be a sign of something more serious going on. If you’ve lately started taking the elevator instead of the stairs don’t just brush it off as a sign of aging.

More importantly, you should speak to a doctor if you’ve developed a cough without first having a cold. You could be suffering from COPD, the third leading cause of death in the U.S. according to the American Lung Association. A lot of people aren’t even aware of suffering from this disease, especially women, despite the fact that 11 million people have been diagnosed as such.

Though the main cause behind COPD is smoking, second-hand smoking could also lead to it. Exposure to chemical fumes and dust in the workplace or around the house are also concerning, though for some people it may even be a genetic condition, so don’t skip on a doctor’s appointment just because you haven’t been in contact with any mysterious substances.

You’re Wheezing or Coughing

Did flu season just pass without any symptoms for you? Congrats! But if you’re suddenly coughing and wheezing for no discernable reason then you should seek immediate medical help. Lung diseases may seem slightly inconvenient at first and a lot of people believe they may be experiencing a cold without other common symptoms.

However, coughing and wheezing can be signs of COPD, anemia, or adult-onset asthma. Not a lot of people know that you can become asthmatic in adulthood and, more often than not, this type of asthma is more persistent than the one that develops during childhood.

Shortness of breath, dry cough, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, wheezing, or even colds that never seem to go away all point towards asthma, so get in touch with your doctor as soon as possible.