What Causes Shortness Of Breath, Fatigue And Pain In The Head?

Posted on Wed, 5 Apr 2017

Question: I'm worried about a friend whose home I just left. He is 80 and smokes, but for most of his life he has been EXTREMELY healthy. He has a lot of emotional stress right now. He was experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue, and his forehead seemed hot to the touch. He expressed feeling as though he was not getting enough oxygen. He has been dealing with possibly a fungus infection in a big toe. To me his toes looked swollen and red. When I left he was drifting off to sleep. Could he be fighting an internal infection due to his toe, or do you think it might be something more serious? I don't think he has a "regular" doctor.

Answered by Dr. Dr Sameer Maheshwari (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Needs further evaluation

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome.
This is Dr Sameer, cardiologist.
Shortness of breath & fatigue could be because of infection, but it also be a symptom of cardiac or respiratory disease. As he is a smoker, which is a risk factor itself, he needs further evaluation for his respiratory & cardiac system in the form of Chest X Ray & stress echo.
Warm forehead could be because of infection.
For the toe, i will also recommend going to the doctor because if not treated properly the infection could spread to other parts of body through blood & can cause serious problems.
So get him evaluated properly so that all risks factors can be ruled out.
If you have any more question, I'll be happy to help.
Thanks & take care

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D