After a collapsed lung (pneumothorax)
What to watch for, and the rules to follow, while your lung heals.
You have had a pneumothorax — air leaked into the space around the lung, making part of it collapse. It is settling, but here is what to watch for and the rules to follow while it heals.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
The air leak can come back suddenly, and it can be worse the second time.
- Sudden or increasing shortness of breath
- Sharp chest pain that is getting worse
- Lips or fingertips going blue
- A racing heart that will not settle
- Feeling faint, dizzy, or like you might pass out
Contact the ED or the service named above the same day.
- Breathlessness or chest pain that is mild but not settling
- You are not improving as quickly as you were told to expect
- You have missed, or not been given, your follow-up chest X-ray appointment
- Your wound or drain site becomes red, hot, swollen or leaks fluid
Diving: you should not scuba dive again unless you have had definitive surgery and been formally cleared — for most people after a spontaneous pneumothorax this is permanent. Flying: do not fly until a chest X-ray has confirmed the lung has fully re-expanded and your specialist has agreed. The safe interval after that is decided by your team, not by a fixed rule — check with them and with your airline and travel insurer. Exercise: build up gradually as your breathing allows. Avoid heavy lifting, straining and contact sport until you have been reviewed. Do not smoke or vape — smoking greatly increases the chance of it happening again.
Important rules while it heals
- Do not fly until a doctor confirms your lung has fully healed — this can be several weeks.
- Never scuba dive again unless you have had surgery and a specialist says it is safe. For most people this is for life.
- Do not smoke — it makes another pneumothorax much more likely.
- Avoid heavy lifting and hard exercise until you have been reviewed.
- Take your pain relief so you can breathe deeply.
Follow-up
You will be given a chest x-ray or clinic appointment to check the lung has fully re-expanded. It is important to keep this appointment, even if you feel well, as a small leak can take time to settle.