What is Pleuritic Chest Pain? - Specialty Care Clinics

PLEURITIC PAIN

If there is pain and burning in the chest, then it is not only a sign of heart attack or heart disease, but sometimes it can also happen due to lung disease.

Pleurisy is a disease related to the lungs.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PLEURA

To protect our lungs, they are covered with a double shell of thin membrane. These membranes are called pleura. One of its folds is mounted on the outer part of the lungs and the other fold is on the inner part of the ribs. The infection that occurs in these membranes is called pleurisy. This infection causes swelling of the membranes. There is a thin layer of liquid between these two membranes which gives them lubrication. Due to this disease, these membranes get swollen and they become relatively thick. Because of this, both the membranes start colliding with each other. Due to this collision, the fluid between the membranes starts to stay in one place and starts to freeze. Due to this the patient feels severe burning and pain in the chest which can be unbearable at times.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF PLEURITIC CHEST PAIN

Since this disease is related to the lungs, due to this disease, the patient has a lot of trouble breathing, sneezing and coughing.
The most common symptom of this disease is severe pain and burning in the chest, due to which there is severe pain in sneezing and coughing.
Pleurisy also causes difficulty in breathing and exhalation and pain is felt.
Due to this disease, the chest starts feeling heavy and some dirty substances can also come out from the mouth during coughing.
Apart from this, fever, loss of appetite and rapid loss of body weight are the symptoms of pleurisy.

Due to this disease, these membranes get swollen and they become thick. Due to their thickening, these two membranes start to clash with each other. Due to this collision, the fluid between the membranes starts to stay and freeze, due to which the patient starts feeling very severe burning and pain in the chest which sometimes becomes unbearable.

PLEURISY SYMPTOMS

Difficulty breathing: When a person has a problem of pleurisy, then that person has a lot of trouble breathing, due to which when the person coughs or sneezes, he starts feeling a lot of pain in the throat.
Chest pain: When a person’s pleura membrane becomes inflamed, there is a collision between the two membranes, due to which the fluid between them starts to stagnate at one place, due to which the person feels burning and pain in the chest, seems to happen. The person starts feeling a lot of heaviness on his chest.
Coughing: If a person has got this problem, then that person has a lot of cough problems and that person gets a cough. Due to excessive coughing of the person, the throat starts to crumble.
Fever: When the fluid starts accumulating in the person’s body, then that person feels a lot of burning and pain in the chest, due to which also his body temperature starts increasing which becomes the reason for his fever.
Loss of weight: When a person gets this disease, then that person becomes disinterested in food, due to which he does not feel hungry and the person’s weight also starts decreasing with time, due to which the person has Weakness ensues.

PLEURISY CAUSES

From diseases: When a person has TB of the lungs. Or if there is a problem of lung cancer, then the flow of blood stops in that person, due to which this disease occurs. When a person has diseases like pneumonia, tumor, cancer, etc., then there is a possibility of getting this disease.
Filling with water: When a person gets pleurisy due to the accumulation of fluid in between the membranes, then after this disease, the person’s pleurisy gets filled with water, then that person gets moist pleurisy.

WHAT HAPPENS DUE TO PLEURISY

Swelling of pleurisy can occur in three ways – dry pleurisy, moist pleurisy and empyema pleurisy.

Bacterial infection of the lungs or a viral infection of the chest muscles caused by dry pleurisy. Many times, due to diseases like TB, lung tumors of the lungs, due to the stoppage of blood supply, the folds of the pleura also become swollen.
Moist pleurisy occurs when the pleurisy is filled with water. Due to TB, the pleura gets waterlogged. Apart from this, pleura can also be affected due to pneumonia, tumor, cancer. This pain can also occur if there is swelling in the internal organs of the abdomen.

The pleura can fill with water even if one of the heart, kidneys and liver is not working properly. Apart from this, blood gets collected in the pleurisy when there is empyema. Injury can lead to blood pooling and infection in the pleura.

NEED OF PLEURISY TREATMENT AT THE RIGHT TIME

Pleurisy disease is dangerous and life-threatening, so it is necessary to treat it at the right time. Do not ignore severe burning, pain, pricking etc. in the chest at all. If there is any swelling in any part of the stomach or there is no appetite and if the chest feels heavy, then contact the doctor immediately and take proper advice. A chest X-ray or ultrasound shows signs of water and pus in the pleura. If pleurisy is detected in ultrasound, then to find out the exact cause, a sample is removed from the inside of the chest through a needle and examined.

REMEDIES

Symptoms of pleurisy should not be ignored as normal. But for immediate relief from its pain, the help of some home remedies can be taken.
Hot water soaking or an electric heating pad is effective for pain relief.
If you do regular breathing exercises, the risk of getting pleurisy is reduced to a great extent because it helps to open the lungs.
People often complain of chest pain during the cold season. Of course, chest pain should not be ignored at all.

Usually people associate it with a heart attack, but there are many other causes of chest pain. The problem of chest pain is not only related to your heart, but it can also be related to lungs, muscles, ribs or nerves. Some of these conditions can be extremely dangerous and even life threatening. If you feel chest pain anywhere from the neck to the upper abdomen, then there can be many reasons for this-

OTHER CAUSE OF PLEURITIC CHEST PAIN

Muscle strain- If you have swelling in the muscles around your ribs for some reason, it can cause chest pain. If this pain gradually gets worse, it may be a symptom of a muscle strain.
Rib injury- If you have a rib injury, such as a break or fracture. So it can cause chest pain. If for some reason the rib is broken, then it gives you a feeling of extreme pain.
Peptic ulcers- Peptic ulcers, which are actually sores in the lining of the stomach, do not cause intense pain, but they make you feel uncomfortable in the chest. Antacids can be taken to get relief from peptic ulcers.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) –When food from a person’s stomach goes back up into the throat, it is called gastroesophageal reflux. Due to this, the person has a burning sensation in the chest and a sour taste in the mouth.
Asthma- Asthma is a breathing disorder that causes inflammation in a person’s airways. Due to this there is pain in the chest of the person. Apart from chest pain, a person complains of asthma, shortness of breath, cough and wheezing etc.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy– The thickening of the heart prevents blood from flowing through the heart properly, forcing the muscles to work harder to pump blood. In this case, the person has chest pain. In addition to chest pain, a person with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy also has shortness of breath, dizziness and fainting.
An important cause of chest pain can also be a disease of the lungs and a membrane over the lungs called pleura. If there is a disease inside this membrane, such as pneumonia or let’s say there is an infection in the membrane of the lungs (which is called pleuritis), then this pain will also be very sharp. By breathing in, taking deep breaths will increase it. This pain can also be so intense that the person reaches the doctor by pressing the chest with the palm at that place.

So, consult your doctor if you are resonating with any signs and symptoms mentioned above

If you or anyone you know is suffering from pleuritic chest pain, call us today at (469) 545-9983 to book an appointment with our expert doctors.