Dear doctor;

On rare occasions, about once every two months on average, I go to sleep at night and wake up suddenly from deep sleep gasping for air. This has been quite scary whenever it occurs, as I literally cannot breathe and sometimes open the windows to gain as much air as possible. I find that I often sleep on my left side on my front when this occurs. What could be the problem?

Eric, 27.

Dear Eric,

You have not specified that how frequently you have this problem. Is it related to change of season or exhaustion? Are there any other associated problems like cough, palpitations, e.t.c.

Episodes of breathlessness during sleep can occur due to bronchial asthma where one develops breathing problem at night. It is associated with cough and expectoration. Heart failure is another condition which causes one to get up with, "air hunger”. Sometimes there is partial or total obstruction of the upper airways during sleep which can result in shortness of breath. This can be due to deviation of the septum of nose, obesity, nasal congestion, among others. Diabetes and hereditary factors increase susceptibility to this condition. You should get a blood test done to assess for allergy which gives clue to asthma or allergic cold, X-ray chest and cardiac echo to screen for left sided heart failure.  Any of these conditions is treatable. Try inhaling steam before sleeping and that should be beneficial.