Sharon "gets the wind knocked out of her" during a skiing accident in which she attempted a jump and landed hard on her feet before tumbling over. She is conscious but breathing is labored, and she complains of pain and shortness of breath. The first aid-trained ski patrolman that comes to her aid determines that Sharon has no broken bones, nor is CNS injury likely. He places tiny tubes at her
nostrils that blow air (with higher than normal percentage of oxygen) into her nose then places her on the snowmobile, and takes her to the first aid tent. Why is Sharon's breathing labored? How does the high-oxygen air help her condition?
What will be an ideal response?
Sharon suffered an impact that increased her intrapleural pressure above normal, possibly by pushing her diaphragm upward, forcing her to expel some of her residual volume. With her alveoli smaller than normal, they are very difficult to inflate. The lack of broken ribs suggests that she does not have a pneumothorax. The air being blown into her nostrils has a higher PO2, which will increase the diffusion into her blood and compensate for her temporarily decreased tidal volume.
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