As a result of inflammatory processes in the respiratory organs, a disease such as pleurisy can sometimes develop. Symptoms and treatment of it are usually directly related to the cause that caused it, but there are times when the disease appears on its own. It is important to determine the harmful microflora that caused pleurisy in time. In some cases, it may be a secondary disease of pneumonia, which requires prompt medical attention.
Forms of the disease
There are various reasons why pleurisy develops. Symptoms and treatment are determined by the specific form of the disease. So, there are fibrinous, exudative and purulent pleurisy. Dry or fibrinous pleurisy develops when there is not enough fluid in the pleural cavity , which is why the elasticity of its membranes decreases. Symptoms are associated with extreme discomfort during breathing. The fibrin protein forms on the surface of the pleural lobes, which gave the name to this form of the disease. The opposite situation is when fluids appear in excess, making breathing difficult, and cause exudative pleurisy. Symptoms and treatment of this disease are associated with blood, lymph and pus that fill the pleura. The course of treatment will be aimed at their removal. The purulent form somewhat resembles exudative and should be treated in a similar way. Discomfort in the last two cases is not as strong as with fibrinous pleurisy, and manifests itself mainly with coughing.
Causes of the disease
In order to minimize the danger that pleurisy threatens the health, it is not enough to know the symptoms and treatment. The reasons are no less important, since eliminating them, you can speed up recovery, and in the future and prevent relapse. Frequent sources of the disease are tuberculosis, pneumonia, or
pulmonary infarction, associated with impaired functions and physiological properties of the pleural membranes. Therefore, in the diagnosis of such diseases, timely treatment is necessary. Sometimes the disease occurs as a result of fractures or bruises that cause blood to enter the pleural fluid. If timely
treatment of pleurisy of the lungs is not performed in such a situation, a severe purulent form of the disease will develop. Finally, the most serious cause is cancer of the respiratory system.
How to treat pleurisy?
As already mentioned, the disease is often secondary. Therefore, treatment involves eliminating the root cause. In the presence of inflammatory processes, it is necessary to conduct a course of therapy against them, and as a result, pleurisy will also pass. Symptoms and treatment of the tuberculosis type of disease are also associated with the elimination of the underlying disease. In parallel, a number of drugs can be used that will return the pleural cavity to its previous state. So, with uncomfortable dry forms, the patient is recommended painkillers, and with excess fluids, surgical intervention may be required to remove them, especially if they have arisen due to injury or damage.