If you have pain in the right side of your chest while breathing.
If you have pain on the right side of your chest while inhaling.
If the pain and discomfort on the right side chest while inhaling is a concern for you.
We recommend that you read more.
Doctors call chest pain when inhaling pleurisy.
what you will read next :
- What is pleurisy?
- What are the risk factors for pleurisy?
- What are the common clinical signs and symptoms in people with pleurisy?
- What is pleural effusion?
- What are the causes of pleurisy?
- How is pleurisy diagnosed?
- What are the available treatments for pleurisy?
- What are the complications of pleurisy?
- When to see a doctor?
What is pleurisy?
Pleurisy or pleurite or pleurodynia is the so-called inflammation and stimulation of the pleura.
The pleura is a thin, layer that covers the outer surface of the lungs and the area inside the chest. Pleurisy is called chest pain that begins or intensifies with a deep breath. Pleurisy is not a disease in itself, but we consider pleurisy as a manifestation and a symptom that has occurred due to various underlying causes.
When fluid is secreted at the site of inflammation in the pleura, this fluid accumulates between the two layers of the pleura and is called the pleural effusion.
What are the risk factors for pleurisy?
You may ask who is most at risk for pleurisy?
Factors that increase the risk of pleurisy are as follows:
- Obesity
- smokers
- People taking immunosuppressive drugs.
What are the common clinical signs and symptoms in people with pleurisy?
If you experience pain on the right or left side of your chest that is exacerbated by deep breathing or coughing, you may have pleurisy. Pleurisy may be just a vague unpleasant sensation when inhaled deeply.
Sometimes pleurisy can cause variable stabbing pain that begins and intensifies on the left or middle of the chest during deep breathing and breathing, Pleurisy is usually unilateral. meaning that the pain often focuses on the site of inflammation of the pleura.
However, sometimes pain is felt in the lower parts of the chest and even the abdomen.
Other accompanying symptoms include:
Increased shortness of breath, especially when pleural discharge is formed.
Rapid and shallow breathing, feeling sore and uncomfortable when changing position, especially when moving the affected side
And in some cases fever
Plural effusion atelectasis or empyema may also occur.
What is pleural effusion?
In some cases where people present with pleurisy, fluid and secretions collect between the two layers of the pleura. This condition is called pleural effusion. When a small amount of fluid is present, it disappears spontaneously.
Atelectasis is when a large volume of fluid is placed in the space between the pleural membranes. A large amount of pressure is created that compresses your lung tissue. Thus, a part of the lungs collapses or becomes atelectasis.
Atelectasis may occur with difficulty breathing or sometimes with coughing.
The next case is the empyema. The empyema is a pleural effusion that becomes infected. In fact, we call the accumulation of pus and infection empyema.
Usually, if a person develops pleurisy due to empyema, Along with other symptoms, there will be fever.
What are the causes of pleurisy?
If you have a burning and excruciating pain in the right side of your chest that intensifies with breathing in, you know by this part of the article that you have pleurisy or pleurite, and you must be wondering what causes pleurisy?
Doctors cite a large number of underlying causes as possible causes of pleurisy.
These are as follows:
- Common infections such as:
- influenza virus infection
- Bacterial infections such as bacterial pneumonia
- Fungal infections such as Fungal pneumonia
- Autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus
and
- rheumatoid arthritis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Pulmonary tuberculosis
- Lung tumors located in the periphery of the lung and near the pleura.
- Rib fractures, blows to the ribs
- Stretching and contusion of the chest wall muscles
- Inflammation of the cartilage at the junction of the ribs with the sternum
- Hereditary diseases such as sickle cell anemia
- medicines
- Liver disorders
- Kidney disorders
- Congestive heart failure and cancers of other parts of the body
- Collapse of part of the lung
How is pleurisy diagnosed?
- Paraclinical methods
- Diagnostic procedures
Your doctor needs to find out the underlying cause of breathing pain in order to choose the right treatment for pleurisy.
After hearing your history and signs and symptoms, your doctor will perform a physical examination that includes a chest exam. The physician may use the findings of the following paraclinical methods to determine the underlying cause of pleurisy:
- Paraclinical methods
- Blood tests:
Blood tests can help your doctor with infections such as empyema, pneumonia, and the flu.
They will also be effective in detecting autoimmune disorders such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
- simple chest x-ray:
A simple chest x-ray shows whether the lungs are completely filled with air or whether there is fluid between the lungs and the ribs.
In other words, is pleural effusion seen or not?
- CT Scan
- sonography
- Electrocardiography
- R.I
In addition to paraclinical procedures that aid in diagnosis, physicians may use diagnostic procedures. Some diagnostic procedures include Thoracoscopy:
- Diagnostic procedures
- Thoracentesis:
It is a procedure in which your doctor performs a local anesthesia for you between your ribs where there is pleural effusion, and then a needle is passed through your chest and between the ribs to reach the pleural fluid and remove the fluid. The extracted fluid is sent to a laboratory for analysis and culture, in addition to helping you improve your breathing. Your doctor may guide the needle with ultrasound guidance.
- Thoracoscopy:
If there is a pulmonary tuberculosis or tumor or a suspected case, the doctor will use a tracheoscopy. In this method, the thoracoscope, which is a small camera, is inserted into the chest.
With Thoracoscopy or pleuroscopy, the doctor will be able to see abnormalities.
Thoracoscopy also allows sampling of suspicious tissue.
What are the available treatments for pleurisy?
The success of Pleurisy treatment depends on the underlying cause. In many cases, the problem resolves completely and spontaneously within fourteen days without leaving a complication.
Your doctor may use the following methods to treat pleurisy:
- Wrap the entire chest with two to three rounds of non-stick bandage 15 cm wide.
- To alleviate and relieve your cough, it may be advisable to use a cold steam humidifier because cold steam is effective in diluting respiratory secretions and thus emptying them more easily with a cough.
- The following medications may be used depending on the cause of the pleurisy:
- Inhaled bronchodilators
- Analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs
- Antibiotics
- Oral antifungal
- and …
What are the complications of pleurisy?
- Pneumonia
- Compression or collapse of the lungs
- Respiratory disorders due to pleural effusion
- Scarring or adhesions at the site of inflammation that limit lung dilation.
When to see a doctor?
If you have right-sided chest pain that gets worse when you breathe, we recommend that you see your doctor if your pain is accompanied by one or more of the following symptoms:
- If you have progressive pain.
- If you have shortness of breath.
- If you have bloody sputum.
- If you have a dry cough without sputum.
- If there is a fever or chills.
- If there is bruising or darkening of the lips or bruising and darkening of the fingernails.
To prevent pleurisy, we recommend that you seek medical treatment if you have risk factors or underlying diseases and disorders that predispose you to pleurisy.