Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

ARDS is a certain kind of severe breathing problem when your lungs fill up with fluid

ARDS causes low oxygen levels in your blood

Many diseases that injure your lungs can cause ARDS

You feel short of breath and your lips and/or skin turn blue

Without treatment, ARDS is often fatal

You will need extra oxygen and sometimes a ventilator Ventilators Ventilation is the same thing as breathing. It's the movement of air into and out of your lungs. Sometimes your breathing needs to be assisted by a ventilator. A ventilator is a machine that... read more (breathing machine)

Lung problems: Pneumonia Pneumonia Pneumonia is an infection deep in your lungs. The infection involves the small air sacs in your lungs (alveoli). Pneumonia is different from infection of the air passages (bronchi) in your lungs... read more , choking on food (aspiration), smoke inhalation (like from a fire)

Severe injuries: Burns, drowning, major trauma with shock Shock Shock is a medical emergency caused by your organs not getting enough blood and oxygen. It has nothing to do with the "shock" we feel when something scares or upsets us. When your body can't... read more

Bodywide problems: Severe infection, drug overdose Overdose Toxicity Overdose toxicity refers to serious, often harmful, and sometimes fatal toxic reactions to an accidental overdose of a medication (because of an error on the part of the doctor, pharmacist,... read more

Other organ problems: Heart failure Heart Failure Your heart pumps blood to carry oxygen and nutrients to the rest of your body. Heart failure is when your heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. It doesn’t mean your heart has stopped... read more , pancreatitis Acute Pancreatitis Pancreatitis is inflammation (swelling) of your pancreas. Your pancreas is an organ in your upper belly that makes juices that help you digest food. Your pancreas also makes insulin, which helps... read more

Blood tests to measure the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood

Chest x-ray

Give you extra oxygen

Sometimes put you on a ventilator Ventilators Ventilation is the same thing as breathing. It's the movement of air into and out of your lungs. Sometimes your breathing needs to be assisted by a ventilator. A ventilator is a machine that... read more or noninvasive ventilation Ventilators Ventilation is the same thing as breathing. It's the movement of air into and out of your lungs. Sometimes your breathing needs to be assisted by a ventilator. A ventilator is a machine that... read more using a special mask