Consequences of water in the lungs
The consequences of water in the lungs or at the edges of the lungs are manifold. Patients usually do not notice anything with smaller amounts of fluid. The first symptoms appear with progressive amounts of water under stress.
If patients complain of breathlessness, e.g. when climbing stairs that were previously easy, water in the lungs could be the cause. As the amount of water increases, breathlessness increases until the patients feel breathlessness at rest and are no longer able to perform the movements they are used to. In addition to shortness of breath, another phenomenon that occurs at least as frequently is the usually dry cough.
The lungs try to get rid of the fluid that does not belong in the lungs, and the coughing stimulus is triggered. In most cases, very little or no mucus is released. Very common when fluid accumulates in the lungs is discomfort while sleeping.The patients describe that they can no longer sleep deeply at night and feel breathlessness and coughing.
When the headboard is put upright, however, the complaints disappear. In the case of advanced heart failure, all patients complain of these complaints. If there is a lot of fluid in the lungs, the patient also feels shortness of breath when sitting.
The water in the lungs is already so high that it cannot sink down when sitting down to make room for gas exchange with other parts of the lungs. Now, at the very latest, treatment should be started. If this is not done, the patient will die of pulmonary edema. As a rule, high-dose drainage treatment leads to a rapid improvement in symptoms after the urine production has been increased by medication.
