Many things in Chinese traditional culture are closely related to “qi”, from “qi sinking into the dantian” in the world of martial arts to “a drum of qi” for soldiers in ancient wars, from “qi supplementation treatment” in the dialectic theory of Chinese medicine to the simplest way for ordinary people to judge life and death. However, this is not the case in the thoracic area under the jurisdiction of thoracic surgery. Today we will talk about spontaneous pneumothorax in the thoracic cavity in layman’s terms. How does a pneumothorax arise? The human lung is composed of many, many alveoli that are not visible to the naked eye. If some small alveoli in the lung break, they form a pneumothorax visible to the naked eye, and when the pneumothorax ruptures, gas from the lung and bronchus enters the chest cavity. Since the chest cavity is a closed organ, the pneumothorax is formed when the blister ruptures to produce air leakage and thus the chest cavity accumulates air. Pneumothorax is commonly caused by spontaneous pneumothorax and secondary pneumothorax. The former is caused by rupture of lung tissue and dirty pleura due to lung lesions or rupture of fine emphysematous blisters near the surface of the lung, and air spills into the pleural cavity. The latter is caused by trauma (e.g. rib fracture), invasive operations (e.g. medical puncture), etc. When spontaneous pneumothorax occurs, patients usually feel relatively severe chest pain or chest tightness, followed by dyspnea, which in severe cases leads to mediastinal oscillation and is life-threatening. It is clear that in the exclusive jurisdiction of thoracic surgery, “gas” is a potentially fatal and dangerous person. Who is the target of pneumothorax? Pneumothorax is most popular among young and middle-aged people, especially young men with lean and tall body shapes, because these young people with lean and tall body shapes grow faster when they develop and have poorly developed elastic fibers on the alveoli, which makes the alveoli relatively less elastic and prone to rupture. In this way, thin and tall men should pay attention, regardless of what sports, do not exercise too intense too hard, to avoid the alveoli pressure is too high and rupture, to avoid the occurrence of pneumothorax. Remember that handsome you inadvertently laughing while watching TV, sneezing once in a while, violently lifting the barbell, coughing, lifting heavy objects, playing basketball, playing soccer and other strenuous sports may let the pneumothorax find the door in this way. Self-examination and vigilance awareness of pneumothorax The recurrence rate of spontaneous pneumothorax is very high, and some patients may recur within a month after the first onset. Therefore, people who have had spontaneous pneumothorax should usually pay attention to preventing colds especially coughing, and keep their bowels open to avoid holding their breath, and exercise should be jogging, tai chi and other sports, avoiding basketball, soccer and other strenuous sports that are confrontational and require sudden force. However, some people do not necessarily hold heavy objects, hold their breath, or exercise strenuously when a pneumothorax occurs; some people do not always have breathing difficulties when a pneumothorax occurs, because for young people with a good basic state, sometimes there may not be breathing difficulties even if the lungs have been compressed to 90%. Therefore, lean and tall body types should be aware of self-examination and vigilance, and if chest pain and dyspnea occur after severe coughing or exertion, they should be alert to the possibility of spontaneous pneumothorax and go to the hospital in time. What are the treatment means for pneumothorax? For pneumothorax, the diagnosis can be confirmed by chest X-ray. The general principles of treatment are: exclude chest gas, close the fistula, promote lung reopening, eliminate the cause of the disease and reduce recurrence. 1.If the lung compression is less than 30%, simple, first occurrence of closed pneumothorax with no obvious symptoms can be considered conservative treatment. 2.Pulmonary compression greater than 30% with respiratory distress should be treated with thoracentesis and closed chest drainage. 3.Thoracic surgery is considered for those who fail in conservative medical treatment or recurrent pneumothorax, hemopneumothorax, and combined with huge pulmonary alveoli. 4.If you suspect you are suffering from pneumothorax, please come to the hospital to find a professional respiratory medicine or thoracic surgery doctor for your examination. For pneumothorax, the vast majority of them can be improved or cured by treatment and observation. Pneumothorax is not something that can be solved by taking medicine, and it is not something that you can escape from unless you put your own health and life at risk. Please remember this saying: A small pneumothorax is not a big disease, and improper treatment can still kill you.