Many people are interested in the question of whether the lungs can hurt; pain sensations behind the sternum and ribs at least once felt everything. It should be understood that in the lung tissue there are practically no nerve endings that perceive painful impulses, therefore this paired organ can not itself be ill. In this regard, the phrase "pain in the lungs" should be taken as a description of pain in the lungs.
Areas located nearby, in which pain can arise, are the pleura, trachea and bronchi. However, not only because of diseases of the respiratory system, such a symptom may arise, but as a result of heart pathologies, muscle tissues, spine, etc. Consider the most common causes of pain in the lungs.
Why do the lungs ache?
Trying to determine what the pain sensations of a given localization can be related to, one should take into account their intensity, nature, duration, concomitant symptoms. Most often, these pain associated with the respiratory system, appear in the following cases:
- Pleurisy. With this disease, patients can note that the lungs ache with coughing, deep inspiration, while moving. The pain is sharp, mostly it is felt at the bottom of the chest on one side and somewhat abates at the turn to the affected side. Other manifestations: weakness, fever, shortness of breath.
- Tracheitis, tracheobronchitis. In this case, there is a pain behind the sternum, worse at night, as well as a paroxysmal cough with hard-to-recover sputum, caused by changes in air temperature, deep inhalation, laughter, etc. There is also a sore throat, an increase in body temperature.
- Pneumonia. With infectious inflammation due to a feeling that the lungs are aching, the patient is hard to breathe and painfully cough, breathing is superficial, raucous, there is a feeling of lack of air. Other symptoms may include high body temperature, chills, signs of intoxication.
- Tuberculosis. With a long-lasting, unobtrusive and not strong cough, a sensation of pain in the lungs on inspiration, a periodic increase in body temperature, sweating, weakness, one can suspect this pathology.
- Pneumothorax. This condition can occur with trauma, tuberculosis, abscess , lung cancer and some other pathologies. It is accompanied by a sharp stabbing pain in the lungs, which can give to the neck, arm. Also there is shortness of breath, pale and blue skin, dry cough, cold sweat, blood pressure is reduced.
- Lung infarction. This acute pathology is associated with blockage of the pulmonary artery. Patients have pain in the lungs, accompanied by a cough (sometimes with phlegm and blood), cyanosis of the skin, severe shortness of breath, a sense of irregular heartbeat.
Other causes of pain in the lungs may include:
- pericarditis ;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- thoracic osteochondrosis;
- bruise or broken ribs;
- myocardial infarction;
- pancreatitis;
- peptic ulcer;
- shingles;
- foreign bodies in the lungs, bronchi, etc.
What if the lungs hurt?
If this anxiety symptom occurs, you should contact the specialist as soon as possible. some acute conditions require immediate medical attention. After carrying out physical examination and instrumental diagnostics in the conditions of a medical institution, the exact cause can be clarified. Probably, for diagnosis it will be necessary to consult several specialists - a cardiologist, gastroenterologist, etc. Only after that, appropriate treatment can be prescribed.