With the onset of cold weather, the number of patients with lung diseases increases. The causes of pleurisy of the lungs can be pneumonia or bronchitis, which were not completely cured at one time. Each person should know the symptoms and methods of treatment of the disease. The fact is that a neglected form of such a disease can lead to tuberculosis or even cancer.
Description of disease
Pleurisy is a disease that is associated with the condition of the lining of the lungs. During inflammation, fluid accumulates on it or adhesions form. Such an inflammatory process is very serious. Pleurisy, as a rule, is not an independent disease, it occurs due to lung disease. It can develop only on one part of the respiratory organ, or maybe on both at the same time. The disease proceeds both in a chronic form and in an acute or mild form. Most common in children who have had pneumonia.
Also, pleurisy can occur in patients with tuberculosis. There are cases when some other diseases in the form of pathologies of the lungs or chest wall are hidden under the symptoms of pleurisy. The reasons for the development of pathology in this case are more than clear. Treatment of the disease takes place in stationary conditions. If there is a serious condition, then surgery is required.
Causes of disease
Before starting treatment for pleurisy of the lungs, the symptoms and causes should be fully understood. As mentioned above, quite rarely this disease occurs as an independent. Most often, this pathology manifests itself as a result of another disease.
Depending on the causes of pleurisy, which can provoke inflammation, the disease is divided into diseases of an infectious and non-infectious nature. The causes of infectious pleurisy are: viruses, parasites, syphilis, typhoid. Also operations that were done on the chest, tuberculosis, fungal infection, bacteria. If we consider non-infectious pleurisy, then the cause may be breast cancer, malignant formations in the chest, especially if there are metastases, heart attacks, and connective tissue diseases in the pleura. These are the main causes of non-infectious pleurisy.
It should be noted that this disease has a special specificity. For example, infectious agents act on the pleural cavity. They do everything to get into this body. When it comes to lung abscess, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and some other similar diseases, most oftenpathogens enter the pleural cavity during the movement of blood and lymph. If a surgical operation is performed, which is also the cause of pleurisy, then infection occurs due to reduced immunity. Viruses can enter the body directly. If a person has increased vascular permeability, then he is also threatened with pleurisy.
It happens that fluid from the pleura is absorbed into it itself, which leads to the formation of pleurisy. The reason in this case is the formation of a fibrin layer. The disease is called fibrous or dry pleurisy. If fluid forms in the pleura faster than it leaves it, then exudative pleurisy develops.
People who are constantly under stress, overcool, overtired, who have an unhe althy lifestyle, are allergic to chemical medicines, are at risk. These indicators are the causes of pleurisy. Treatment in this case directly depends on the type of disease.
Types of pleurisy
There are two main types of pleurisy - it is fibrinous (a cyst and adhesions form in a person) and exudative. The last type is that a person accumulates fluid in the pleura. We will consider later what subspecies the exudative view is divided into. Note that cancerous pleurisy is also distinguished in a separate group. There is also a metastatic view. It is characterized by the appearance of metastases in the pleura and lungs. There is a form of pleurisy in which the lung is affected by cancer cells. Each of the above forms is quite dangerous for humans,therefore, treatment should be immediate. If a person ignores the causes of pleurisy, clinical manifestations and treatment, complications will not keep you waiting. The worst of these is the appearance of tumors.
The disease is treated with complex therapy - antibiotics are prescribed, vitamins and physical procedures are prescribed. Therapy lasts up to 6 months. This is the maximum period at which chronic pleurisy is diagnosed. If we are talking about the fibrinous form, then here the treatment period is reduced up to two weeks. An accurate diagnosis can only be made by a specialist, so self-medication of such a serious disease is not worth it.
Exudative pleurisy
The way the symptoms manifest depends entirely on the neglect of the process, the etiology of development, as well as the amount of fluid that is present in the pleura. In addition, doctors should examine the nature of the exudate. The main complaints are: lethargy, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, high fever, sweating. It should be noted that due to the causes of exudative pleurisy, which were described above, a person experiences quite severe pain. They can be either acute or moderate. It depends on how much the pleural cavity is affected. When fluid accumulates in it, the person's pain decreases, and shortness of breath increases.
In general, with this pleurisy, shortness of breath has mixed manifestations. How intense it is depends entirely on the amount of fluid, how quickly it accumulates, and also how much the ventilation of the lung is impaired. Cough will be observed only at the very beginning of the development of the disease. At first it is dry, sputum does not appear. But, as soon as the disease begins to progress, the cough will become more moist and productive. The general condition of a person in this state is moderate. The patient will try to find a better body position for himself in order to suppress coughing and pain. Due to the fact that the functionality of the lung is impaired, in humans, all visible mucous membranes of the skin will acquire a blue tint. If the fluid simultaneously accumulates in the pleura and in the mediastinum, then the patient's face and vocal cords will swell. During the initial examination by a doctor, he may notice frequent breathing of a mixed type.
Types of exudative pleurisy
The type of disease depends on the causes of pleurisy of the lungs. It is infectious. If we talk about the accumulated fluid, then pleurisy is divided into subspecies: serous, purulent-serous, hemorrhagic. The clinic is divided into: acute, subacute and chronic pleurisy.
Externally, the chest looks asymmetrical. Most often, the affected side is slightly enlarged. If you palpate the chest, the patient will complain of pain. The affected side will be tense on its own.
Diagnosis of exudative type
During the diagnosis of the disease, it is necessary to highlight the main causes and symptoms of pleurisy of the lungs. This will allow you to prescribe the right therapy. If fluid accumulates in the pleural cavity, then it can be easily detected during diagnosis. Precisely according tolocalization, the doctor determines the change in the course of the disease. When the doctor listens to the lungs, in some areas you can notice a weakened pulse, as well as noise from pleural friction. However, such indicators are found only at the initial stages. In general, the diagnosis consists in donating blood, analyzing the pleural fluid, and often prescribing an x-ray of the lungs.
Encaged pleurisy
The causes of this type of pleurisy are that a person accumulates fluid in one cavity of the pleura. Most often it occurs from below in the lungs. However, the symptoms are quite unusual. A person's blood pressure rises, respiratory failure appears, pain in the head occurs, and the temperature also rises. If you press on the chest, the patient will feel discomfort. This is also related to the causes of pleurisy disease.
Among the complications, it should be mentioned that a person may experience purulent pleurisy as a complication, and a channel between the pleura and the chest, which is pathological, may also form. This form of pleurisy, as a rule, always develops along with tuberculosis. How difficult it will be to treat this disease depends on the neglect.
Dry pleurisy
The cause of this form of pleurisy is not the appearance of fluid, but the creation of adhesions. The most important symptomatology: chest pain, weakness, exhaustion. Shallow breathing may also appear, as well as a prolonged cough. If you listen to the lungs,then you can notice the noise, it is caused due to friction of the pleura. The main causes of this disease are tuberculosis and pneumonia. Sometimes bronchitis can lead to this. The treatment of this disease is quite fast, after the onset of the disease, you can be cured in just 2 weeks.
Purulent pleurisy
This disease is caused by staphylococci, pneumococci and streptococci. Some viral rods can also be pathogens. As a rule, the disease develops after one of the types of microorganisms acts, but there are cases when the purulent process is the result of the action of a group of microbes at once. These are the causes of purulent pleurisy.
Of the symptoms, it should be noted that a person has a bulge of the chest, the shoulder drops, and the arm becomes less mobile. There may be a cough with sputum, sometimes with pus. It begins to come out when the abscess ruptures. In infants who are not yet even three months old, it is very difficult to identify purulent pleurisy. It masquerades as a common disease. Older children may experience standard symptoms of total pleurisy. That is why it is advisable to be examined immediately when symptoms occur.
Tuberculosis pleurisy
It should be noted that this disease most often does not occur on its own. It is a response to tuberculosis, especially if it affects the lungs or lymph nodes. Pleurisy is divided into several types, but the symptoms are generally standard, typical forother types of pleurisy. It often happens that in the presence of dry pleurisy, a tuberculous process occurs. That is why it is necessary to identify the causes of the disease and pathogens in time.
Complications
If you ignore the causes of pleurisy, symptoms and treatment, regardless of what form we are talking about, you can achieve the development of complications. It should be noted that, as a rule, with this disease, a positive outcome will be in any case if treatment is started on time. Adhesions can develop, moorings can form, and pneumosclerosis can also develop. As a result of the latter, attacks of respiratory failure will become more frequent. As mentioned above, exudative pleurisy has a more extensive list of complications, one of which is the formation of purulent accumulations.
Treatment of pleurisy
First of all, it is necessary to find out the causes of pleurisy, clinical manifestations before treatment. Complications in this case will not bother a person, the main thing is to choose the right therapy. If pleurisy develops along with pneumonia, then antibiotics should be prescribed to the person. When this disease is caused by rheumatism, it is necessary to use anti-inflammatory drugs. As a rule, they are prescribed non-steroidal type. Together with tuberculosis, pleurisy is treated with antibiotics that destroy Koch's bacilli.
In order for a person to reduce pain, the doctor must prescribe analgesics, as well as drugs that will affect the functioning of the cardiovascular system. If the patient hasfluid in the pleura, it is necessary to prescribe physiotherapy exercises, as well as physiotherapy procedures. They will allow the liquid to dissolve. If a person with pleurisy has a large amount of effusion, then he needs to do a puncture. This will allow exudate to be pumped out. It should be noted that in order not to harm a person in one procedure, you can not pump out more than 1 liter.
If there is a complication in the form of purulent inflammation, then it is necessary to wash the pleura with antiseptics. You can also inject special antibiotics or hormonal preparations directly into the shell of the organ. If there is a need to prevent the recurrence of exudative pleurisy, then pleurodesis is performed. This procedure allows the pleural sheets to stick together. This is done by introducing special preparations based on talc.
If a person has dry pleurisy, then he must observe bed rest and rest. To reduce pain, it is necessary to put mustard plasters, cups and tightly bandage the chest.
"Dianin" and other drugs are prescribed to the patient if it is necessary to suppress the cough. "Acetylsalicylic acid", "Nurofen" will be highly effective for dry pleurisy. If a person's acute phase subsided and he went to recovery, then he is sent to therapeutic exercises in order to prevent the development of the disease. If we are talking about a chronic disease, then an operation is prescribed. It is necessary to remove sections of the pleura. Also, during it, the lung is released from the membrane covering it.
Folktreatment
If we are talking about the disease at the initial stage, it is allowed to use alternative treatment. You can mix one glass of linden honey, the same amount of aloe juice, sunflower oil, linden decoction with exudative pleurisy. It is advisable to take this remedy one tablespoon at least 3 times before meals.
The second method is horsetail, which must be poured with boiling water (a tablespoon in a glass of water). He needs to let it brew for a few hours. Next, strain the solution, and then take one tablespoon at least 3 times. At the same time, it needs to be constantly heated.
You can use camphor, lavender, eucalyptus oil. This mixture must be rubbed into the chest at night. After that, you should bandage it to warm up.
You can use sage leaves, marshmallow root, licorice, and also anise. It is necessary to pour boiling water into this collection (a tablespoon per glass of water), then let it brew for 5 hours. This solution should be taken 5 times a day, one tablespoon.
You need to understand that pleurisy, even at the initial stage, cannot be treated only with folk remedies. It is advisable to use it in combination or alternate this method of treatment with medications and other procedures. Otherwise, it can lead to the rapid development of the disease, cardiopulmonary insufficiency, as well as suppuration.
Prevention
It is impossible to predict in which of the cases of a cold pleurisy will develop as a complication. However, there are some precautions you can take to help keep you safe.
Firstly, if a person has any respiratory infections, especially the acute type, it is necessary to carefully treat and prevent complications. Otherwise, pathogenic microflora can get on the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, then it will go to the pleural cavity. That is why a cold cannot be started. Then there will be no causes of pleurisy of the lungs.
If a person is suspected of having pneumonia, a chest x-ray should be taken immediately. The next step is to follow the therapy. If the treatment is wrong, then the person may experience a complication in the form of pleurisy.
You need to do breathing exercises. After waking up, take a couple of deep breaths. This will be an excellent prevention, which will protect yourself from the development of inflammatory processes in the respiratory tract. You need to constantly exercise to strengthen the immune system. It is advisable to visit more often in the fresh air and harden, quit smoking. Most often, smoking is the cause of tuberculosis, as well as cancer, which leads to inflammation of the pleura.
When ignoring preventive measures, you need to remember that any disease, even the most difficult one, is easier to prevent than to treat. We examined the causes of the development of pleurisy of the lungs. The symptoms of this disease are not the most pleasant, and everything possible should be done to avoid them.
