Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, better known as ARDS, is a serious, life-threatening lung condition. ARDS is typically a side effect of an ongoing illness, such as pneumonia, COVID-19, or a lung infection. ARDS is characterized by the filling of your lungs with fluid rather than oxygen. This, in turn, leads to insufficient oxygen in the body, breathing difficulties, and other serious problems.
In addition to breathing difficulties, ARDS also causes insufficient oxygen flow to the brain, heart, and other organs. ARDS typically happens very quickly and can become life-threatening in a matter of hours. Therefore, it’s essential to seek treatment immediately if you suspect that you or someone you love has ARDS.
If you have ARDS, the first thing that your doctors will do is try to get your oxygen back to a normal level. To do this, they will treat you with supplemental oxygen therapy that gets administered in several ways.
In the early stages of ARDS, an oxygen mask or nasal cannula may be enough to resupply your body with oxygen.
In serious and advanced cases of ARDS, you will need a mechanical ventilator to do your breathing for you. This is often performed in the Intensive Care Unit due to the extreme nature of the treatment.
The goal of oxygen therapy is to force oxygen into your lungs, which, in turn, pushes fluid out of them. Because excess force is needed to do this, a mechanical ventilator is the better option.
In addition to oxygen therapy, you will also need various medications to manage your symptoms, reduce fluid in the lungs, and to treat the underlying condition that’s causing your ARDS.
Pain is one of the most prevalent side effects of struggling with ARDS due to your inability to breathe and the strain on your lungs. Therefore, pain medications, such as clonidine and morphine can help make you more comfortable.
Diuretics are often prescribed to increase urination, which is necessary for getting fluid out of your lungs. Furosemide and bumetanide are two commonly prescribed diuretics to treat ARDS.
In most cases, ARDS is a side effect of an ongoing infection or disease. Therefore, it’s necessary to treat your underlying condition simultaneously as you’re receiving treatment for ARDS. Macrolides and tetracyclines are often used to treat infection-induced ARDS.
Another common side effect of ARDS, in addition to pain, is a feeling of stress, anxiety, and fear. This can lead to hyperventilation, which is extremely dangerous if you have ARDS. Therefore, your doctor might prescribe a sedative, such as propofol or dexmedetomidine, to calm your nerves and slow your breathing.
However, because sedatives can cause depression, memory problems, PTSD, nausea, and many other side effects, they’re only used when absolutely necessary.
Developing a blood clot is another big risk in people with ARDS. To keep this from happening, you might need heparin or heparinoids.
Regardless of how severe your ARDS is, it will be difficult to breathe. To make it easier to breathe, medical experts have found that it helps to place you in the prone position on your stomach.
Even though ARDS causes fluid in your lungs, it can lead to dehydration and a shortage of fluid in other parts of the body. You may require IV fluid therapy to keep you healthy, but it’s important not to overdo it as it could lead to even more fluid in the lungs.
ARDS is a serious and life-threatening health problem. It always occurs as a result of having an underlying health problem or a lung infection. Therefore, if you have a health condition that puts you at risk of developing ARDS, it’s vital to monitor your symptoms. If you start showing symptoms of ARDS, you should seek immediate treatment because ARDS only needs a few hours to cause serious damage.