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Pain In Right Side Under Rib Cage And Feels Like Something Is Pulling. Coughed And Difficulty In Breathing. What Could It Be?
Question: I Have had a pain in my right side for over two weeks. It is located just under my rib cage and I can feel it in my back as well as in front right under the lower rib and has woken me up at night especially if I lay on my left side. It feels like something is pulling (llike when laying on my left means the lung is pulling away from whatever would normally hold it in placei. This has been very painful. Tonight I coughed and heard a sound like a rubber band snapping - now I can hardly move - every breath is diffircult and if I move a fraction it causes severe pain in the whole right lung area. nothing I have done is helping. What could this be please
Brief Answer:
Pleurisy can cause severe chest pain
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting on XXXXXXX
If you said that you are having pleurisy presently then it is the likely cause for your right sided chest pain which when increasing can cause severe chest pain. Pleurisy requires drainage i.e medical or surgical in order to get rid of pain.
The pain is there because of the fluid collection in your lung's pleural cavity which when increasing in size can cause respiratory distress. The pleurisy might be there because of pneumonia or other infectious or non-infectious cause. Either way, you need to go the hospital as soon as possible so the cause can be determined, the abundance of the pleurisy determined so that the appropriate treatment can be indicated to relief you of the pain. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do by yourself at home and as even pain killers might not help subside the pain. Only draining of the pleurisy can help. If pneumonia is the cause, then antibiotics combination with steroid antiinflammatory and drainage will get rid of the pain ones treatment is initiated ( a few hours to days after).
Wish you the best and hope you get well soon.
Dr. Nsah
Pleurisy can cause severe chest pain
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting on XXXXXXX
If you said that you are having pleurisy presently then it is the likely cause for your right sided chest pain which when increasing can cause severe chest pain. Pleurisy requires drainage i.e medical or surgical in order to get rid of pain.
The pain is there because of the fluid collection in your lung's pleural cavity which when increasing in size can cause respiratory distress. The pleurisy might be there because of pneumonia or other infectious or non-infectious cause. Either way, you need to go the hospital as soon as possible so the cause can be determined, the abundance of the pleurisy determined so that the appropriate treatment can be indicated to relief you of the pain. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do by yourself at home and as even pain killers might not help subside the pain. Only draining of the pleurisy can help. If pneumonia is the cause, then antibiotics combination with steroid antiinflammatory and drainage will get rid of the pain ones treatment is initiated ( a few hours to days after).
Wish you the best and hope you get well soon.
Dr. Nsah
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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