Pleurisy

The lower respiratory tracts are covered with a protective cover – a pleura. When it is affected by inflammatory process, pleurisy develops. Normal surface of pleural leaves brilliant and slippery. During a disease it becomes sticky and ceases to perform the protective functions. Viruses, bacteria and various allergens can provoke development of pleurisy.

Sometimes pleurisy is an independent disease, but most often the disease develops in response to already available inflammatory processes in lungs, tumors of various etiology or traumatized. As a rule, the joined pleurisy aggravates disease, so, promotes an aggravation of symptoms of the patient. Favorable circumstances for development of pleurisy are overcooling, stressful situations, overfatigue, intolerance of medicines, defective food.

Regardless of the fact that was an incitement for development of pleurisy, in a human body the metabolism and respiratory process is broken.

Forms and types of pleurisy

Depending on existence or lack of liquid distinguish fibrinous (dry) and vypotny (exudative) pleurisy.

At dry pleurisy liquid in a pleura is absent, on its surface fibrin acts. Generally such form of pleurisy precedes development of exudative. Dry pleurisy quite often is a secondary disease at many diseases of the lower respiratory tracts and intrathoracic lymph nodes, malignant new growths, rheumatism, collagenoses and some viral infections.

Exudative pleurisy is characterized by availability of liquid in a pleural cavity. On its character allocate the serofibrinous, purulent, hemorrhagic, chyle or mixed pleurisy. The formed liquid of not clear or noninflammatory origin is called an exudate.

Specialists allocate one more form of a disease at which in a pleural cavity purulent contents collect. In this case speak about purulent pleurisy.

Quite often in hard cases or in the absence of due treatment one form of a disease can be replaced another.

Depending on the reasons which caused an inflammation, pleurisy is subdivided on aseptic (the disease develops as a result of an injury or a malignant tumor of a lung) and infectious (the activator causative organisms are).

Exudative and purulent forms of pleurisy can be complicated by pheumothorax at which there is a penetration of air into a pleural cavity. Such state demands immediate medical intervention in the conditions of a hospital.

Pleurisy symptoms

The general symptoms for all forms of pleurisy are the thorax pain amplifying at deep breath, a conversation or cough, an asthma, an indisposition, persuasive cough, weakness, the increased temperature, forced position of a body.

At dry pleurisy join these symptoms a pleural rub during listening by a phonendoscope. At uncomplicated disease recovery occurs on average in 7-10 days.

Exudative pleurisy is characterized by emergence of feeling of weight in that half of a body where there is an inflammatory process, cyanosis of a nasolabial triangle and swelling of cervical veins. A condition of the patient heavier, symptoms of intoxication are more expressed. Depending on the reasons which caused pleurisy, duration of a disease makes from one to two months.

The following joins the above-stated symptoms of pleurisy at a purulent form: temperature increase to considerable figures, the loss of appetite, integuments become an earthy-yellow shade, intoxication accrues, the unpleasant smell from a mouth is noted. Treatment as well as the subsequent rehabilitation, takes a long time.

Tubercular pleurisy

Recently incidence of tubercular pleurisy which meets in all forms increased: fibrous, exudative and purulent.

Almost in half of cases existence of dry pleurisy indicates that in an organism in the latent form tubercular process proceeds. Tuberculosis of a pleura in itself meets rather seldom, mostly fibrous pleurisy is response to a scrofula or lungs.

Tubercular pleurisy, depending on disease and its features, is subdivided into three versions: perifocal, allergic and actually pleura tuberculosis.

The perifocal form of tubercular pleurisy develops over the defeat center when inflammatory process covers also the site of a pleura. Pleurisy can be both fibrous, and exudative, the amount of liquid happens different. Causative agents of tuberculosis in an exudate at this form are practically not sowed. Prolonged treatment, quite often there is recurrence.

Allergic pleurisy is response to reproduction of mycobacteria of tuberculosis in a human body. The course of a disease acute, exudate in a pleural cavity collects a significant amount. Rassasyvany liquids occurs within three-four weeks.

Pleurisy symptoms at tubercular defeat are similar to those which appear at an inflammation of a pleura of other etiology.

Treatment of pleurisy

Treatment at any form of pleurisy shall be complex. First of all it is necessary to direct efforts to elimination of the main inflammatory process which served as a starting point to start this disease. Treatment at pleurisy is carried out in several directions: anesthesia, acceleration of a rassasyvaniye of an exudate, prevention of complications.

To the patient analgetics, antiinflammatory drugs, antibiotics, means for fight against cough and allergic manifestations are appointed. At tubercular pleurisy specific therapy is carried out by antitubercular drugs. At the pleurisy which resulted from a tumor of a lung or intrathoracic lymph nodes the chemotherapy is appointed. Glucocorticosteroids are used at collagenic diseases.

At a large amount of liquid in a pleural cavity carrying out a puncture for the purpose of suction of contents and administration of medicines directly in a cavity is shown.

During rehabilitation the respiratory gymnastics, physiotherapeutic treatment, fortifying therapy is appointed.

Prevention of pleurisy

The most important emphasis in prevention of pleurisy is placed on a hardening, good nutrition, maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Also specialists recommend to address timely for treatment at diseases of a respiratory organs, kidneys, is warm – vascular system.