What causes breathing and sleep issues in an 86-year-old?

Question

Hi doctor,

My grandmother is 86 years old. She is having a cold for the last 10 days that gets controlled with medicines. But, in the last four days, she has had breathing problems and is unable to sleep well. She has given her blood for testing.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thanks for writing to this platform.

As you said, your grandmother initially had a cold and is now suffering from breathing difficulty. It is advised to shift her to any nearby hospital and do achest X-rayto rule out any infectious cause. And also to rule out any underlying obstructive lung disease that could be present.

At this age, it is very common to have pneumoniaor obstructive lung disease, or any other lung disease which causes breathing problems. But, we can make a final diagnosis only after a chest X-ray and some blood tests. Once the diagnosis is made after checking the X-ray, definitive treatment can be started. It is also important to monitor her blood oxygen levels in the hospital. Everything can be done easily once she goes to the hospital.

Thank you.