Back, (but missing some body parts)

[Pneumagger]

Is a coolapsed lung painful or what? Is it like, "ZOMG, my one lung isn't expanding when I breathe!" Or is it more like, "AHHHHhhhh, I think I'm gonna die."

[behemoth]

I dont know about the lung thing, but having your throat swell up, and feeeling gagged, so you cant breathe, and feel like puking at the same time, that sucks.

/hospital ftl.

[Glickman]

Is a coolapsed lung painful or what? Is it like, "ZOMG, my one lung isn't expanding when I breathe!" Or is it more like, "AHHHHhhhh, I think I'm gonna die."

actually it wasn't as bad as you would think. my collapse was only 30% so my other lung made up for it, and i could only feel slightly out of breath. The tearing of the lung though, made me stop in my tracks and double over in pain while walking to class. being the macho male i was, i put off going to the doctor for 4 days.

the nurses were all like /slapmeinthehead

like i said though, by far the most painful thing was the local morphine. those of you who've had it know how it BURNS.

[Lohman446]

Is a coolapsed lung painful or what? Is it like, "ZOMG, my one lung isn't expanding when I breathe!" Or is it more like, "AHHHHhhhh, I think I'm gonna die."

Its more of feeling a lot of pressure when you breath in. Most of the time it just keeps your from taking deep breathes. There is air on the outside of your lung so your lung does not have the ability to expand all the way. Its more annoying unless you are working hard, mine was down to about 40% of lung capacity IIRC. I can't really say if it in itself is painful because I had other issues at the time that really hurt. They can jam a needle into your chest cavity to get the air out or, most of the time, it will go away. I told the doctor it probably was not a good idea for him to try with the needle, I really really don't like them.

[rkjunior303]

yeah usually a stent with a valve on it is used to relieve the pressure.

[Ole Unka Phil]

The chest cavity has to be under NEGATIVE pressure to breath normaly. They are creating a negative pressure by drawing a vacuum into that space around them. Sort of sucking a vacuum with the syringe and then withdraw the needle leaving a negative pressure behind in that space. This is what assists the lungs in inflating is the negative pressure around them. Its not so much the air they remove as the vacuum that leaves behind by doing that.

[Lenny]

Well, you're still on this side of the grass....

Now post more goatse.

Goatse... Eww... Bad memories. That pic traumatized me.

[Lenny]

Is a coolapsed lung painful or what? Is it like, "ZOMG, my one lung isn't expanding when I breathe!" Or is it more like, "AHHHHhhhh, I think I'm gonna die."

It isn't too bad. You actually don't really feel it. My right lung collapsed when I had pneumonia way back when.

Pneumonia sucks. Almost died.

[MedicDVG]

People have what are called "blebs" on their lungs which are actually thin spots on the visceral plueral lining of the lung. They are comparable to blisters I suppose in that they tend to swell and in some cases rupture, as yours did. Now a spontaneous pnuemotorax of about 15-20% lung involvement isn't particularly dangerous as the body can tend to compensate as the lung heals. It is when you get a total deflation of the lung called a "tension" pnuemothorax. When this happens the air trapped in the chest cavity displaces the heart and remaining lung to the side. You don't die by not being able to breathe as much as you kink your aorta or put so much pressure on the heart that you can't circulate blood effectively and deprive the brain of blood.

All that being said, while you may be at risk for further spontaneous PT, you should be able to lead a basically normal life, including paintball. As long as you are not getting tackled or something like that you should be fine. Air travel on the other hand could be a problem....

As for stabbing your GF with a bic pen -- unless you are trained to perform thoracostomy (not thoracenteseis as you surmised -- that is pulling fluids out of the chest cavity) you can do much more harm then good in the situation. 1) you are introducing a non sterile item into a very vascular area that does not respond to in infective agents well. 2) Just cause the lung is deflated doesn't mean that you NEED to do a needle chest decompression. Like I said above, 15-20% collapse are sometimes not even noted by the patient. 3) Pushing a bic pen through the chest wall allows outside air to fill the pleural cavity hence making the pneumothorax worse instead of better.

anyway.. enough medicine for one day... I am just glad you are ok.

[Glickman]

People have what are called "blebs" on their lungs which are actually thin spots on the visceral plueral lining of the lung. They are comparable to blisters I suppose in that they tend to swell and in some cases rupture, as yours did. Now a spontaneous pnuemotorax of about 15-20% lung involvement isn't particularly dangerous as the body can tend to compensate as the lung heals. It is when you get a total deflation of the lung called a "tension" pnuemothorax. When this happens the air trapped in the chest cavity displaces the heart and remaining lung to the side. You don't die by not being able to breathe as much as you kink your aorta or put so much pressure on the heart that you can't circulate blood effectively and deprive the brain of blood.

All that being said, while you may be at risk for further spontaneous PT, you should be able to lead a basically normal life, including paintball. As long as you are not getting tackled or something like that you should be fine. Air travel on the other hand could be a problem....

anyway.. enough medicine for one day... I am just glad you are ok.

thanks, its always welcoming to hear that

i was told not to travel by plane for at least 60 days, and i dont plan on doing so for a few months at least, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Sounds like im getting a chest protector ( == my inner paintballer) cause i would rather not incur the wrath of another lecture from my pulmonist.

[AirAssault]

As for stabbing your GF with a bic pen -- unless you are trained to perform thoracostomy (not thoracenteseis as you surmised -- that is pulling fluids out of the chest cavity) you can do much more harm then good in the situation. 1) you are introducing a non sterile item into a very vascular area that does not respond to in infective agents well. 2) Just cause the lung is deflated doesn't mean that you NEED to do a needle chest decompression. Like I said above, 15-20% collapse are sometimes not even noted by the patient. 3) Pushing a bic pen through the chest wall allows outside air to fill the pleural cavity hence making the pneumothorax worse instead of better.

anyway.. enough medicine for one day... I am just glad you are ok.

Yeah what he said. 6 years of Army nursing and I only saw 2 PT and only had to decompress 1 of em.
Breathing 101. The diaphragm drops which lowers pressure in the lungs allowing outside air (which is at a higher pressure) to enter the lungs. So actaually the act of inhaling is a passive action, the air rushes in on its own. Now, in the case of asthma, people say they can't breath, which isn't true at all. They can't expel the air in the lungs, hyperinflation. There are of course other issues in play but that is the major gist of it. As far as SPT which usually occures in skinny males of teen to mid 20's, there is no reason you can't continue to play paintball after proper time off.

There really is no need for a chest protector unless you really want one. A paintball should have no ill effect on you, even being hit in the chest 50 times. Your lungs are more than protected.