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I am a 35 year old female, non smoker. I had pneumonia numerous times in the past. Right now when I sneeze I get a really sharp pain in my chest, left arm and in my left side where my ribs are. The pain in my ribs wont go away, but the pain in my chest subsides when I am not sneezing. Do I have to go to the ER? thanks
Dear Ma'am, Hi & Welcome. It is suggestive of pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane covering the lungs). Also known as pleuritis it can cause chest pain with breathing, coughing, or sneezing. Recurrent pneumonia seems to be the cause responsible for your present illness. For the symptomatic relief of pain you can take OTC pain killers like Ibuprofen or other medications to reduce the inflammation. You may also need a cough suppressant like Codeine to control the painful cough or sneezing. If the symptoms don’t improve or if they get worse after around 3-5 days, then you should visit your doctor for further evaluation including certain tests such as Chest Xray, CBC, etc to find out certain underlying conditions such as pleural effusion, pneumothorax or chronic infection like tuberculosis. Hope this will help you.
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What Causes Sharp Pain In Chest While Sneezing?
Dear Ma am, Hi & Welcome. It is suggestive of pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane covering the lungs). Also known as pleuritis it can cause chest pain with breathing, coughing, or sneezing. Recurrent pneumonia seems to be the cause responsible for your present illness. For the symptomatic relief of pain you can take OTC pain killers like Ibuprofen or other medications to reduce the inflammation. You may also need a cough suppressant like Codeine to control the painful cough or sneezing. If the symptoms don’t improve or if they get worse after around 3-5 days, then you should visit your doctor for further evaluation including certain tests such as Chest Xray, CBC, etc to find out certain underlying conditions such as pleural effusion, pneumothorax or chronic infection like tuberculosis. Hope this will help you.