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A member asked:
Can you get a collapsed lung from holding your breath for too long?
4 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
No: Holding one's breath a long time is not a known risk factor for collapsing a lung. The risk factors are smoking, and having lung diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive lung problems, etc... Also, a person who has had one spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung) is at higher risk for having another pneumothorax.
Answered 12/30/2019
6.3k views
Not exactly...: Just holding one's breath is not a risk factor per se. However, hyper inflating your lungs can result in pneumothorax in individuals with blebs and abnormal lung tissue. The practice of sucking in deep and hold one's breath while smoking drugs such as marijuana is associated with spontaneous pneumothorax.
Answered 5/11/2019
5.3k views
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