Pleurisy - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the membrane covering the lungs and lining the inside of the chest. It can produce sharp, sticking chest pain that may be intensifiedby breathing and coughing or may be present only with deep breathing or coughing. Other symptoms can include fever, cough, chills, rapid shallow breathing. The lungs and chest cavity are lined with a thin membrane called pleura. The condition can make breathing extremely painful, and sometimes it is associated with another condition called pleural effusion where excess fluid fills the area between the membrane's layers. If you are healthy, the pleura is separated by a thin layer of fluid. This lets the lungs expand and contract easily during breathing. When the pleura becomes inflamed, the layers rub together, causing chest pain. This is known as pleuritic pain. Pleurisy occurs as a complication of a wide variety of underlying conditions. Relieving pleurisy involves treating the underlying condition, if it's known, and taking pain relievers.

Pleurisy (PLOOR-iss-ee) is caused by swelling and irritation of the membrane that surrounds the lungs. In some cases of pleurisy, excess fluid seeps into the pleural space, resulting in pleural effusion.Pleurisy is sometimes called pleuritis. Pleurisy occurs as a complication of a wide variety of underlying conditions. The two layers of pleura are like two pieces of smooth satin rubbing against each other with almost no friction, allowing your lungs to expand and contract when you breathe without any resistance from the lining of the chest wall.

In dry pleurisy, the two membrane layers may become swollen and congested, rubbing against each other as the lungs inflate and deflate, causing sharp, knifelike pain, which may radiate to shoulder, abdomen, or neck. The pain can sometimes seem like that of a heart attack, except that in a heart attack breathing makes no difference in the pain, whereas in pleurisy the pain is intensified by breathing movements of the chest.

In wet pleurisy, which often follows upon dry leurisy, tissue fluid gets between the membranes. There may be less pain, but the excess fluid may compress the lungs and interfere with breathing, making it shallow and rapid.

Causes of Pleurisy

The most comman causes of Pleurisy include the following :

• Pleurisy can develop from many things, including bacterial or viral infections of the lungs (such as pneumonia), TB, lupus, chest injury or trauma, a blood clot in the lung, or cancer.
• Pneumonia, in those cases in which the infected portion of the lung involves the pleural surface
• Autoimmune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune hepatitis
• Viral infection is probably the most common cause of pleurisy.
• Trauma from bruised or broken ribs
• Gastrointestinal disease, for example pancreatitis , peritonitis, or a collection of pus under the diaphragm
• infections, including pneumonia, tuberculosis , and other bacterial or viral respiratory infections

Symptoms of Pleurisy

Some sign and symptoms related to Pleurisy are as follows :

• Poor appetite
• Sharp chest pain with breathing. Pain can limit the movement on the side of the chest with pleurisy. The pain can also be in the back around where the lungs are
• Shortness of breath
• Cough: You may get a cough, depending on the cause of the pleurisy. Your cough may be dry or productive of sputum or blood.
• Fever: You may also get a fever, depending on the cause of the pleurisy.
• Cyanosis
• infections, including pneumonia, tuberculosis , and other bacterial or viral respiratory infections

Treatment of Pleurisy

Some treatment of Pleurisy are as follows :

• People with pleurisy may also receive relief from lying on the painful side. Sometimes, a painful cough will be controlled with codeine-based cough syrups.
• To treat pleurisy , the doctor will first need to treat the underlying infection or disease, often with antibiotics.
• Treatment of pleurisy is directed at the underlying illness. Bacterial infections are treated with appropriate antibiotics.
• Anti-inflammatory medications and even cortisone drugs are very effective in relieving the inflammation and pain, particularly in dry pleurisy.
• Pleurisy root helps to ease pain, inflammation, and breathing difficulties brought on by pleurisy.
• The pain of pleurisy is usually treated with analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and indomethacin