According to Leann Poston, MD, a licensed physician and health expert for Invigor Medical, “trouble breathing is a sensation that you cannot take a deep breath, that your throat is closing, or that you cannot get enough air into your lungs.” In these instances, you need to go to the hospital. In milder cases, your shortness of breath could be due to temporary, non-life threatening occurrences such as exercise, anxiety, or asthma. William W. Li, MD, a physician and the medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, says checking your oxygenation status by using a pulse oximeter is a good way to gauge if you’re experiencing emergency breathing issues. He says if you are short of breath and see your pulse number go below 92, you need to go to the ER. And if you’re worried about the ongoing coronavirus spread, The New COVID Strain Is Now in These 5 States. Persistent pain or pressure in the chest usually appears alongside shortness of breath, says Spencer Kroll, MD, a board-certified internal medicine specialist. According to Kroll, any chest pain that last consistently for more than a minute should be of concern. If you are having fleeting chest pain, it should only last for seconds, he says. Poston says this chest pain can be the result of serious issues that arise from COVID such as a heart attack or a pulmonary embolism. “If chest pain is a blood clot causing a heart attack, you have a limited amount of time to break up the blood clot before heart cells begin to die,” she warns. “If the chest pain is due to a pulmonary embolism, the blood supply to part of a lung is interrupted. If it is a large enough section of the lung, it can be fatal.” And for more symptoms to be aware of, If Your Symptoms Appear in This Order, You May Have Severe COVID If you’re experiencing new confusion in your everyday life, it could be because COVID has resulted in a lack of oxygen to the brain, Li says. According to Li, COVID infects the lungs and damages blood vessels once inside the body. This can result in blood clots, which could potentially block the flow of oxygen to your brain. And unfortunately, a lack of oxygen to your brain can cause problems quickly. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “brain cells are very sensitive to a lack of oxygen.” In fact, some of these cells can start dying within five minutes of losing oxygen, which can result in severe brain damage or death. And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Kroll says fatigue in COVID patients can be the result of various issues such as poor blood flow, low oxygen levels, fever, muscle irritation, or inflammation. Poston says no matter what the underlying cause is, the inability to wake or stay awake is a clear “sign that there has been a change in the brain’s chemistry,” which is an issue that needs to be medically investigated immediately. You should seek immediate medical care if you are caring for someone with COVID and they lose consciousness. And for more coronavirus symptoms, This Is the “Strongest, Most Consistent” Sign You Have COVID, Study Says. Your lips or face will turn blue if your red blood cells are not carrying enough oxygen—which be a sign of severe pneumonia or a pulmonary embolism, Poston says. Jenna Liphart Rhoads, PhD, a registered nurse and medical educator for Nurse Together, previously told Best Life that blue lips is considered a “late” sign of oxygen deprivation, which means fatality could be imminent. This is why as soon as blue lips appear, they are considered an emergency symptom that requires immediate medical attention. And for more recent COVID news, Dr. Fauci Just Issued This Warning About Another New COVID Strain.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
