Pleural effusion is not uncommon now. Therefore, it is worth understanding what its symptoms and complications are. Pleurisy in medicine is called inflammation of the pleural sheets, which is accompanied by the release of exudate. As a rule, pleurisy of the lungs is a secondary disease, that is, it can occur as a complication of the underlying disease, for example, pneumonia, tuberculosis, oncology, heart disease.
In most cases, pleurisy is caused by various bacteria (streptococcus, pneumococcus) or tubercle bacillus, but they can provoke a disease and injuries of the chest. Infection in the pleura penetrates in three ways: directly from the lungs (bronchogenic), hematogenous (through blood), lymphogenous (through lymph). Lung pleurisy is classified into: infectious, non-infectious, dry (fibrinous), exudative (effusion). And by the nature of the exudate, the disease is divided into: serous, purulent, hemorrhagic, iron, putrefactive.
Dry pleurisy of the lungs is a disease that is accompanied by the release of thick exudate. He, in turn, increases friction between the leaves when coughing and breathing, and due to the accumulation of protein (fibrin), severe pain appears. Infections lead to this form of pleurisy (according to statistics, 90% are tubercle bacillus). But there may be other reasons: non-infectious etiology, for example, tumors, trauma, rheumatism, as well as idiopathic, that is, an unexplained cause.
With dry pleurisy, the symptoms of intoxication are practically absent, but the skin is very pale, and there is a “febrile” blush on the cheeks. A characteristic sign of the disease, of course, is severe pain, which increases with coughing, breathing, or tilting the body to a healthy side. Patients can also notice a slight shortness of breath that occurs directly due to pain, consciousness remains clear. Very often changes occur on the part of the sternum, its mobility is limited, therefore a person lies on the sick side, because only in this position it is easier to breathe, but breathing is superficial, gentle. During auscultation, a noise characteristic of pleural friction is heard.
If the patient has dry pleurisy of the lungs, appropriate treatment is prescribed. It consists in the fact that the doctor prescribes anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, painkillers and glucocorticoids. It is also advisable physiotherapy, massage and exercise therapy. At an early stage, pressure bandages on the chest are used, this is necessary to fix it and, accordingly, reduce pain. With this form, there is only one outcome - recovery.
Exudative pleurisy of the lungs is characterized by a gradual accumulation of exudate, which leads to compression of the lung lobes and the development of respiratory failure. The causes are the same as in dry pleurisy. Symptoms of intoxication with exudative pleurisy are very pronounced. Chills appear, the temperature rises significantly, consciousness becomes confused, the skin acquires a blue color (cyanosis), shortness of breath increases. As a rule, pain is present at the very beginning of the disease, but then decreases, and instead of it, severity appears. The chest undergoes significant changes - the sick half lags behind the healthy one when breathing, and the intercostal spaces are smoothed due to the accumulation of fluid. With exudative pleurisy, it is very difficult for the patient to breathe in a horizontal position, that is, when he lies, therefore he is constantly in a sitting position, tachyp (rapid) breathing is noted.
With exudative pleurisy, special attention is paid to nutrition. Doctors recommend limiting fluid and salt intake. In addition to the diet, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, glucocorticoids and, necessarily, diuretics are prescribed . If the patient was diagnosed with exudative pleurisy of the lungs, the consequences can be different. For example, the formation of pleural adhesions, the development of chronic respiratory failure.
With exudative pleurisy, hospitalization is indicated.