Dyspnoea

• Dyspnoea:

  • Subjective sensation of difficulty with breathing (breathlessness)
  • May describe in terms such as
  • ‘can’t get enough air’
  • ‘puffed’
  • ‘feel suffocated’
  • You cannot describe a patient as being dyspnoeic – they have to tell you as it is a subjective sensation
• Dyspnoea:

  • Remember – a person with chronic respiratory disease may look breathless but may feel fine as they have adapted to that sensation over time
• Dyspnoea Questions:

  • Do you feel breathless?
  • When did it start?
  • Is it getting better or worse?
  • What makes the breathlessness worse?
  • Does anything make the breathlessness better?
  • Do you find any position makes your breathlessness better?
  • Is your breathlessness worse at particular times of the day and night? (diurnal variation)
  • Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea