Pleurisy

Description:

Inflammation of thin layers of fabric (pleura) covering lungs and a chest wall. The enveloping layer of a pleura covers an internal part of a chest wall, and an inside layer lungs. The tiny site between these two layers is called a pleural hollow. This hollow usually contains a small amount of lubricant liquid which allows two layers to slide the friend on the friend, at breath.
When the pleura inflames, layers rub, causing a stethalgia.

Pleurisy can be caused by a large number of various problems. Originally, the doctor will look for the inflammation reason. For this purpose he will conduct examination and will execute a thorax X-ray analysis. Can treat the possible reasons of pleurisy:
Viral infections.
Stretching of a pectoral muscle.
Edge fracture.
Formation of blood clots in lung blood vessels (a pulmonary embolism).
Inflammation around heart (pericardis).
Pneumonia.
Tuberculosis.
Liquid in a pleura (a pleural exudate).
If the doctor thinks that your pleurisy is caused by an autoimmune disease, such as a lupus or a pseudorheumatism, he will appoint blood tests. At a pleural exudate, liquid is deleted by means of a needle. Such procedure is called a pleurocentesis as a result of which liquid is investigated for definition of the reason of an exudate.

Pleurisy symptoms:

Pleurisy symptoms - a stethalgia and the complicated breath. The stethalgia usually begins suddenly. People often describe it as an acute pain which is aggravated at a breath:

At superficial breaths, it is possible to avoid painful feelings.
Usually pain arises on the one hand breasts.
Pain can give to a shoulder or a stomach.
It is usually aggravated at cough, sneezing or the sharp movements.
Such pain can be caused by other conditions, for example stretching of a pectoral muscle and a costal chondritis.
If pleurisy is caused by a viral infection, you can have virus symptoms, such as fever, a headache and muscular pain.

The pleura inflammation sometimes promotes accumulation of liquid in a pleural hollow (a pleural exudate) that causes breath difficulty. Fever, a stethalgia and dry cough belongs to symptoms of a pleural exudate. The pleural exudate can arise also without pleurisy, for example at heart failure, hepatic or renal diseases.

Pleurisy reasons:

Young, healthy people have infections of the lower system of respiratory bodies caused by a virus or bacteria, can cause pleurisy. Pleurisy usually lasts from several days to 1 - 2 weeks.

Hit of air in a pleural hollow from lungs (pheumothorax), chest injuries (for example, an edge fracture), tuberculosis and other infections belongs to other reasons of pleurisy.

Also pleurisy can be caused by a pseudorheumatism, a lupus, crisis of a sickle cell, a pulmonary embolism and pancreatitis. Pleurisy can also develop owing to a complication of cardiological surgery.

Treatment of Pleurisy:

Treatment of pleurisy depends on the reason. For example, at a bacterial infection, to the patient appoint antibiotics, and at a pulmonary embolism - anticoagulants. In most cases, for treatment of the pain caused by pleurisy, the doctor will appoint aspirin, an ibuprofen, or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.