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Breathing and ventilation

Breath stacking

Taking several small breaths in without letting them out, to fill the lungs more fully before coughing.

What it means

A helper or a hand-held bag adds air on top of a breath you have already taken, two or three times over. The lungs then hold more than one breath alone would manage, and the bigger the breath before a cough, the more force the cough has.

Why you might hear it

  • A physiotherapist may teach it before any machine is considered.
  • It is often the first thing tried when a cough is getting weaker.

People who may help

Where Compass goes into this

About this explanation

These are plain explanations of words you may come across, not advice about your own situation. Where a word matters to a decision, the question pages go into it properly, and your own team is the place to take it.