Pneumothorax facts for kids

Pneumothorax (say: NEW-mo-THOR-ax) is a health problem where air or gas gets into the space around your lung. This space is called the pleural space. It's usually very tiny, just a thin area between your lung and a special membrane called the pleura. The pleura is like a thin, slippery covering around your lungs.

Normally, the two parts of the pleura touch each other. But if a small hole forms in the surface of the lung, air can leak out and fill this space. When enough air gets in, it can push on the lung and make it shrink or "collapse." This is why pneumothorax is often called a "collapsed lung." If a lot of air builds up, it can even push on other important parts in your chest, like your heart. A pneumothorax is a serious condition that needs quick medical help.

There are two main kinds of pneumothorax:

• Closed Pneumothorax (also called Simple Pneumothorax)
• Open Pneumothorax (also called Complex Pneumothorax)

What are the Symptoms of a Collapsed Lung?

The most common sign of a pneumothorax is chest pain. This pain can feel sharp, dull, or like a stabbing feeling. Other symptoms include feeling short of breath, breathing very fast, and coughing a lot. If you have these symptoms, it's important to tell an adult right away.

What Causes a Collapsed Lung?

A pneumothorax usually happens because of an injury to the chest or lung. This could be from things like broken ribs, a stab wound, or certain lung diseases. It also happens if a hole forms in the surface of the lung, letting air escape into the pleural space. One way to help prevent some lung problems, including some causes of pneumothorax, is to avoid smoking.

How is a Collapsed Lung Treated?

A simple pneumothorax might get better on its own over time. However, a more serious or "complex" pneumothorax will need medical attention from doctors. It's always important to get any breathing problems checked out by a doctor as soon as they happen.

Understanding Closed Pneumothorax

A closed pneumothorax happens when air gets into the pleural space without any outside wound or injury to the chest wall. This can sometimes happen if the lung is already damaged by a disease, such as cancer or cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis is a disease that affects the lungs and other parts of the body. It causes glands to make very thick mucus. This mucus can block tubes and passageways, including those in the lungs, which can sometimes lead to a pneumothorax.

The most common type of closed pneumothorax is called a spontaneous pneumothorax. "Spontaneous" means it happens without a clear reason or injury. Doctors are still learning why these happen.

Understanding Open Pneumothorax

An open pneumothorax happens when air gets into the pleural space from an injury that goes through the chest wall. This can happen from a stab wound, like from a knife, or from a gunshot injury.

This type of injury can be very dangerous, especially if the wound acts like a one-way valve. This means it lets air into the chest when the person breathes in, but it doesn't let the air out when they breathe out. This can cause a lot of air to build up quickly, which is very serious. Sometimes, this is called a "sucking chest wound" because you might hear air being sucked into the chest through the wound.

Images for kids

• 

  A drawing showing a bulla and a bleb, which are small air sacs that can burst and cause a collapsed lung.

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  This is an X-ray of a chest, showing the signs of a pneumothorax on the left side of the person (which is on the right side of the image).

See also

In Spanish: Neumotórax para niños