Skip to content

What to do in an emergency

Signs of an emergency1

  • You’re extremely short of breath

  • Your reliever medication isn’t helping

  • You’ve got chest pain

  • You’ve got a high fever

  • You’re panicking or getting tired because of your breathlessness

If you’re not sure if it’s an emergency, call your GP surgery.

In an emergency, go to A&E or call 999. 

Approval code: UK/RESP/17/0032w(1)

Date of preparation: January 2020.

References
  1. MRC Dyspnoea scale/MRC Breathlessness scale. Medical Research Council. Available at: https://mrc.ukri.org/research/facilities-and-resources-for-researchers/mrc-scales/mrc-dyspnoea-scale-mrc-breathlessness-scale/ Last accessed: January 2020.

Related content

Recognising worsening COPD
Knowing your symptoms and recognising when they’re getting worse is an important part of COPD management. It means you can take steps to…

Ways to help yourself
Smoking causes irreversible damage, so if you continue to smoke it will continue to damage your lungs, and your COPD will get worse.

You are about to leave this website.

Teva UK Limited accepts no responsibility for the content of other sites.

Let’s Talk Respiratory Open Close External link