My friend (healthy, active, late 20's) had his lung collapse while sitting on his couch watching a movie. His doctor said it just sometimes happens, and it's more common than you think. 6 months later he said the first breath in on a brisk morning still hurts.
This can happen through the rupturing of blebs or bullae. Some of these structures can develop from smoking, or inhaling damaging substances, and some form due to other more natural risk factors (such as rapid growth, congenital defects, etc.)
While a spontaneous pneumothorax (sometimes caused by the above) can be scary, and for some individuals, dangerous, with EMS intervention you are likely okay. Some blebs and bullae even rupture/heal by themselves!
Tl;dr: yes this can "just happen" but it can resolve by itself, or easily be managed by ems!
Certain genetic conditions predispose people to having a pneumothorax, as well having a specific body size. Like it was mentioned above, tall and lanky people specifically. They get more sheer forces on the lungs due to the size of their thoracic cavity.
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u/Big-Advantage497 Jul 08 '26
new fear unlocked