Respiratory Distress (HB)

Respiratory distress is difficulty breathing with normal mental status.

The patients are working hard to breathe and are complaining about feeling like they can get enough air. You may notice the increased respiratory effort, and the patient may start repositioning themself to a position of comfort. The skin may be pale, ashen, or blue, and they may be sweating—this patient looks sick. If you cannot fix this in the field, it should be considered a serious problem.

Patients in respiratory distress will only be able to speak in short sentences. They will likely be using accessory muscles at rest like in the above video.

This distress should not be confused with going for a run and having an increase in respiratory rate and depth from exercise. Once the exercise is ended, the rate will quickly return to normal.