Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

ARDS is a life-threatening condition when your lungs become severely inflamed and cannot provide your body with enough oxygen. ARDS is rare and affects people that are already very ill.

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What is ARDS?

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition when your lungs become very inflamed and stop working properly.

Inflammation harms the blood vessels around the airways. This makes it very difficult to breathe because your body cannot get enough oxygen.

How common is ARDS?

ARDS is a rare condition. It usually affects people who are already in hospital because of a serious illness or injury.

Around 1 in 10 people admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) in the UK have ARDS.

What causes ARDS?

ARDS is usually caused as a result of another health condition. This means that most people who get ARDS are already in hospital.

ARDS can be caused either directly or indirectly.

Direct causes happen when your lungs are harmed, for example:

Indirect causes happen when other parts of your body are harmed, for example:

Signs and symptoms of ARDS include:

  • severe shortness of breath (breathlessness)
  • taking fast, short breaths
  • skin with a blue or grey colour (cyanosis). On black or brown skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, lips, gums and inside the eyelids.

Call 999 or go to A&E if you or someone else have any signs or symptoms.

Symptoms of ARDS develop quickly. People usually get symptoms within one week of experiencing the initial cause of their ARDS.

Call 999 or go to A&E if you or someone else have:

  • severe difficulty breathing, for example, not being able to get words out, choking or gasping
  • sudden shortness of breath and:
    • pain in your arms, back, neck or jaw
    • your chest feels tight or heavy
    • you're feeling sick or being sick
    • you're coughing up blood
    • pain or swelling in one of your legs
  • sudden signs of cyanosis, like skin suddenly turning blue or grey.  On black or brown skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, lips, gums and inside the eyelids.

How is ARDS treated?

People with ARDS are usually looked after in an intensive care unit (ICU). Treatment can help most people with ARDS. Getting medical support quickly can increase your chances of recovering.

About 6 in 10 people survive after having ARDS. Sadly, some people die with ARDS. In most cases, this happens because of the underlying illness or injury, not from ARDS itself.

Oxygen

The main treatment for ARDS is giving you oxygen through a mask to breathe in. This will support you to breathe and make sure you get enough oxygen.

If you’re very unwell, healthcare professionals may give you oxygen directly into your lungs through a tube in your mouth using a machine called a ventilator. The ventilator will help you breathe so your body can rest. Healthcare professionals will give you medicine called general anaesthetic so that you’re asleep while you’re on a ventilator.

Treating the cause

While managing your ARDS symptoms, healthcare professionals will also give you medicine to treat the cause of your ARDS.

For example, you’ll get antibiotics if your ARDS was caused by a bacterial infection.

Other ways to treat ARDS

Treatments for ARDS may also include:

  • laying face down on your front, known as prone positioning. This may help you take bigger breaths and get more oxygen into the healthy areas of your lungs.
  • getting fluids through your vein to help manage your body’s liquid levels.

Recovering from ARDS

Recovery is different for everyone, but treatment helps most people with ARDS. Your recovery depends on things like how serious your ARDS was, what caused it, your age, and whether you have other health conditions. Some people’s lungs will recover to work almost as well as they did before having ARDS.

The healthcare professionals treating you in the ICU can give you the best advice about your condition.

People with ARDS usually stay in hospital for 2 to 3 weeks.

After leaving hospital, you’ll have follow-up appointments with specialist healthcare professionals. They will support your recovery. These appointments are organised to help you manage your specific needs.

Recovering at home

You might find that it takes you a while to feel like yourself again. For example, you may find it more difficult to do daily tasks, go to work or be social.

If you do not feel well enough to go back to work straight after leaving hospital, speak to your GP or another healthcare professional about your options. They can support you to plan how to get back to work, including how to tell your employer if you need more time off work. Healthcare professionals can also signpost you counselling and wellbeing services.

You may also be entitled to financial support or benefits while you’re recovering from ARDS.

Naomi Watt
Respiratory Nurse Specialist

It’s important to be patient with yourself and take your recovery at your own pace. Listen to your body and what feels right for you.

Long-term effects of ARDS

ARDS can cause long-term lung damage. This means some people may get symptoms like breathlessness. Not everyone who gets lung damage after ARDS will have symptoms.

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) can help you manage long-term effects from ARDS, like breathlessness. This is because it helps your lungs work well by making your breathing muscles stronger. PR also has lots of other benefits too, like improving your mental wellbeing.

We have information to help you manage your breathlessness, including different breathing techniques.

Sometimes people can have health problems after being treated in intensive care. These can last for a few months or longer.

Talk to a healthcare professional if you’re worried about the long-term effects of ARDS or being treated in intensive care. They can help you get the care you need while you’re recovering.

Help and support

We know from our community forum on Health Unlocked that having ARDS and being treated in intensive care can be a very traumatic experience.  When you’re recovering, it can be upsetting if you’re finding daily tasks more difficult than usual. It can also be a difficult time for your family members and friends.

Some people develop problems with their mental health after they recover from ARDS, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety.

If you’re struggling with your mental health after ARDS, it’s important to talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling.

Find out more about looking after your mental health, including practical advice to improve your emotional wellbeing.

You can also find help and support through our:

  • online communities on Health Unlocked – we have forums for people with asthma and other lung conditions to chat to each other, get support and share ideas
  • support groups – we have many online and in-person support groups for people with lung conditions
  • helpline – you can talk to our helpline about any aspect of your lung condition, or about how you’re feeling.

The charity ICUsteps has lots of information about recovering from being in intensive care, including how you might feel and stories from people sharing their personal experiences.

Get support

Call or email our helpline for support with any aspect of living with a lung condition – whether you need practical advice, emotional support, or answers to health-related questions. You can also find support through our groups.

Did you find this information useful?

We use your comments to improve our information. We cannot reply to comments left on this form. If you have health concerns or need clinical advice, call our helpline on 0300 222 5800 between 9am and 5pm on a weekday or email them.

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