What Causes Pressure On Lower Rib Cage?

Posted on Sun, 6 Apr 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 6 Apr 2014 Answered on

Sat, 26 Apr 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, My son has complained of feeling a "squishy" type of pressure on his lower left hand rib cage on his back for the second day now. About 2 ribs up from the bottom of his rib cage. He is not experiencing any pain or discomfort with this. He says he can feel the squish when he bends over. He has not had a fever, loss of appetite or any other symptoms to go along with this feeling. Can you let me know what the possibilities of this would be. I equate it to the feeling like when I have water on my ear from an infection. Same type of squishy feeling. Than you for your help. XXXX

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: Not a serious issue. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for posting your query. The squishy type of feeling on the chest wall could be related to a nerve root irritation due to mild inflammation Vitamin B12 deficiency or a minor viral infection in the lungs. If there are no associated symptoms like pain fever or coughing then there is no need to worry. He can do a steam inhalation after adding a few drops of eucalyptus oil to open up any blocked airways. Taking Vitamin B 12 supplements will help in reducing this feeling in a week or so. In case this is persistent then do consult your physician for a physical examination. I hope this answers your query. In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out. Wishing you good health. Regards. Dr. Praveen Tayal. For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar