Pleurisy, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Pleurisy is inflammation and irritation of the lining of the lungs and chest (the pleura) that leads to chest pain (usually sharp) when you take a breath or cough.
Pleurisy may develop when you have lung inflammation secondary to:
a. Infections such as pneumonia or tuberculosis.
b. Pulmonary Embolism
c. Bronchiolitis
This inflammation also causes the sharp chest pain of pleurisy.
It may also occur with:
a. Asbestos-related disease
b. Certain cancers
c. Chest trauma – neck and rib fractures
d. Fibrous adhesions
The main symptom of pleurisy is sharp stabbing pain in the chest.
This pain often occurs when you take a deep breath in or out, or cough.
Some people feel the pain in the shoulder.
Deep breathing, coughing and chest movement makes the pain worse.
Pleurisy can cause fluid to collect inside the chest cavity.
b. This can make breathing difficult and may cause the following symptoms:
i. Bluish skin color (cyanosis)
ii. Dry painful Coughing
iii. Shortness of breath
When you have pleurisy, the normally smooth surfaces lining the lung (the pleura) become rough.
They rub together with each breath and may produce a rough, grating sound called a "friction rub."
The doctor can hear this sound with the stethoscope, or by placing an ear against the chest.
CT scan of the chest: CT scan may show the inflammation of the pleura and pleural effusion
Thoracentesis: tapping of pleural effusion will identify the underlying cause
Treatment depends on what is causing the pleurisy.
Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics.
Surgery may be needed to drain infected fluid from the lungs.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Pleurisy
Chapter 2 More Facts of Pleurisy
Chapter 3 Treatment of Pleurisy
Chapter 4 Pleural Effusion
Chapter 5 Pneumonia
Chapter 6 Cancer Lung
Chapter 7 Pneumothorax
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Nov 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370835058

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Pleurisy,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2014 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Pleurisy, and Its Treatments and Related Diseases or in vernacular terms

(What You Need to treat Pleurisy)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

Ode to Pleurisy

Pleurisy is the inflammation or irritation of the pleura

Usually secondarily to diseases like pneumonia

The typical feature is the pleural rub sound

This appear where the 2 inflamed pleura are found

There is sharp stabbing pain at the side chest wall

This is worse in cases of pleurisy due to trauma

Muscle guarding and dry cough occur at area of pleurisy

This is especially if there is chest muscle and rib injury

A X-ray or CT scan can show the presence of thickened pleura

A pleural effusion may need an aspiration of the fluid through chest wall

Treatment is by the use of antibiotics or in cancer chemotherapy

The pleurisy usually recovers with appropriate therapy

-An original poem by Kenneth Kee

Interesting Tips about the Pleurisy

A Healthy Lifestyle

1. Take a well Balanced Diet

2. Treatment depends on what is causing the pleurisy.

Pleurisy is a condition in which pleuritic chest pain may evolve as a symptom secondary to a primary cause.

NSAIDs (particularly indomethacin), along with opioid analgesics, remain the mainstay of treatment for pleurisy; identification and treatment of the primary cause are also important.

A variety of disorders can cause pleurisy, including pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, and myocardial infarction; the condition may also be drug induced.

It is imperative that life-threatening conditions be considered first when a patient presents with pleuritic chest pain.

Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics.

Surgery may be needed to drain infected fluid from the lungs.

Viral infections normally run their course without medications.

Patients often can control the pain of pleurisy with acetaminophen or anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen.

Chest strapping may reduce movement of the chest and pain

3. Keep bones and body strong

Bone marrow produces our blood

Eat foods rich in calcium like yogurt, cheese, milk and dark green vegetables.

Eat foods rich in Vitamin D, like eggs, fatty fish, cereal, and fortified milk.

Eat food rich in Vitamins B and C such as green vegetables and fruits

Zinc and other minerals are important to the body

4. Get enough rest and Sleep

Avoid stress and tension

5. Exercise and stay active.

It is best to do weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or lifting weights for 2½ hours a week.

One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week.

Begin slowly especially if a person has not been active.

6. Do not drink more than 2 alcohol drinks a day for a man or