{"id":12738,"date":"2020-04-06T06:39:30","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T06:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/?p=12738"},"modified":"2021-07-02T13:47:06","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T13:47:06","slug":"14-frequent-causes-of-pleurisy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/14-frequent-causes-of-pleurisy\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Frequent Causes of Pleurisy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pleurisy is the medical name for a condition that is characterized by the temporary inflammation or infection of the tissues that surround and line the ribs and lungs: This might happen as part of a chronic connective tissue disorder like Marfan’s or Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes where the lungs are prone to faster “wear” even in the absence of being a smoker, but it might also take place as a result of an infection that you have recently had (or currently have).
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If you have recently had bronchitis or asthma, then you might be more at risk of developing pleurisy: Symptoms can include a sharp, stabbing pain in the chest, back or lungs when breathing in – and it is most likely to happen before or after a serious lung infection. 
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Usually, pleurisy goes away within a few weeks of its first appearance – but can recur unless the underlying cause for it gets treated.
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Here are 14 frequent causes for pleurisy that you should know about.
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1. Chronic Asthma<\/strong>
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Asthma <\/a>describes an inflammatory condition of the lungs which will usually mean that someone is prone to wheezing and difficulty breathing whenever they encounter certain environmental triggers such as dust or other allergens. There are many things that can trigger asthma attacks, and being within reach of medication at all times is the first recommendation for treating an emergency – and anything else means immediate emergency room treatment as soon as possible.
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If you have chronic asthma, then you are at an increased risk of developing pleurisy due to the inflammation and infection risk that you are at an increased risk of developing should you already have asthma as an existing condition.
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Speak to your doctor about any changes that you experience in your condition, including further difficulty breathing or any sharp pains when breathing in or out. Pleurisy might be the underlying cause – and it can be treated and managed just as easily as chronic asthma with the right medication.
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2. Bronchitis<\/strong>
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Bronchitis <\/a>describes a serious type of respiratory infection that thousands of people suffer from, and that you might be more at risk of if you live in a highly polluted environment or if you are a smoker – and any other conditions like asthma combined with exposure to allergens or pollutants can put you at an increased risk of developing bronchitis.
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If you have bronchitis, it typically lasts for a few weeks, but can last for months in the absence of seeking the right medical treatment as soon as possible. See your doctor where symptoms of bronchitis (including a serious cough and fever last for more than a few weeks at a time.
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Bronchitis, usually either a current or recent case, puts you at an automatically higher risk of developing pleurisy and experiencing the symptoms in addition to the ones that you are already going through now – including sharp pains when breathing in, the most characteristic pleurisy symptom.
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3. Lung infections<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bronchitis isn’t the beginning and end of the list of potential lung infections that you might develop: In fact, there are thousands of different varieties of lung infection that you might be struck by – and many of the pleurisy <\/a>causes mentioned on this list are conditions or infections that might accompany these types of lung infections.
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If you have any type of current lung infection, a cough, the production of phlegm and pain in the lungs or back are common ones that point to the infection – but if you experience any sharp or serious pain when breathing in, then you are almost surely dealing with pleurisy and not “just” a lung infection on its own.
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See your doctor for the treatment of a serious lung infection or for the diagnosing of what you suspect might be a condition such as pleurisy. Pleurisy is easy to treat, but only when properly diagnosed.
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4. Smoking<\/strong>
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Smoking <\/a>isn’t as fashionable as people might have considered it a few decades back, but this doesn’t mean that people have stopped smoking by any means – and there are still a considerable group of people who consider themselves “smokers”, whether they choose to opt for tobacco, cannabis or anything else such as vaping e-cigarettes.
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Unfortunately, smoking remains one of the biggest potential risk factors for developing lung infections and conditions like bronchitis, which can all be long-term causes for pleurisy – particularly for lifelong, chronic smokers who are on a few packs a day (and have been for years).
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If you smoke, you are more at risk: Not just for pleurisy, but for many other conditions that surround it including bronchitis, lung cancer and chronic asthma that’s either caused or made worse by being a smoker.
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The irony is that stopping “cold turkey” as a cigarette smoker after several decades might be hazardous to your health. See your doctor before proceeding on from being a habitual smoker.
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5. Alcohol consumption<\/strong>
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Smoking and drinking are often mentioned in the same sentence – and it’s because both were once assumed to be perfectly socially acceptable behaviors before we had properly been able to calculate the potential health risks that go along with them. If you are a casual drinker, it might be good for your health, your circulation <\/a>and your heart – but once you are someone who drinks more than a few times per week (or more than a few drinks at a time), then you’re crossing into physically dangerous territory for the body.
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Alcohol consumption can affect everything in the body were it gets consumed to excess: It can affect the heart, the liver, the joints and the brain in the long-term – and there’s research that points to the fact that being a long-term heavy drinker might additionally cause lung issues, which can include an increased likelihood of conditions like emphysema, but also an increased rate of developing associated lung conditions such as pleurisy.
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6. Pollution<\/strong>
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Smoking and drinking are often mentioned in the same sentence – and it’s because both were once assumed to be perfectly socially acceptable behaviors before we had properly been able to calculate the potential health risks that go along with them. If you are a casual drinker, it might be good for your health, your circulation and your heart – but once you are someone who drinks more than a few times per week (or more than a few drinks at a time), then you’re crossing into physically dangerous territory for the body.
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Alcohol <\/a>consumption can affect everything in the body were it gets consumed to excess: It can affect the heart, the liver, the joints and the brain in the long-term – and there’s research that points to the fact that being a long-term heavy drinker might additionally cause lung issues, which can include an increased likelihood of conditions like emphysema, but also an increased rate of developing associated lung conditions such as pleurisy.
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7. Untreated infections<\/strong>
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An infection directly in the lungs isn’t the only thing that might help to trigger conditions such as pleurisy, bronchitis or emphysema<\/a>: Other infections within the body can also affect the rest of the body at the same time – especially if these infections are either left untreated or allowed to spread further.
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Infections can enter through several different ways, sometimes through broken skin, other times through small injuries that are exposed to bacteria (and thus turn into bigger issues): There are infections of the teeth, infections of the organs and infections that affect open wounds, among other types of infections.
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Any infection can put your immune system at risk, and any infection could mean that you are at an increased risk for developing conditions like pleurisy. Should you suspect that you have an infection that needs to be taken care of, see your doctor as soon as possible.
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8. Tuberculosis<\/strong>
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Tuberculosis <\/a>is also known as TB, and it was long thought by many to be an infection that’s mostly rife in developing countries – and the truth is that this was never the case, but that tuberculosis is the type of infection that you might encounter anywhere in the world. It also happens to be an infection that can affect several different parts of the body (including the lungs, but by no means limited to it).\u00a0
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If you have TB, then one of the first symptoms you might experience is a persistent cough, but it might last for months rather than days: See your doctor for any sign of a persistent cough, particularly if you aren’t sure what might have been triggering it – and particularly if you experience additional symptoms such as a fever or night sweats together with it.
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TB is a serious type of infection that might be known to go hand in hand with developing pleurisy. Both, luckily, can be treated if a diagnosis can be made early enough in the process.
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9. High blood pressure<\/strong>
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High blood pressure<\/a> is a common health condition that means your blood pressure measures far too high above the usual 120 over 80 measurement: Genetic factors are the first thing that can increase your potential risk factor – but there are also other things which might be known to heighten your risk, including being a smoker, having an underlying heart condition, being overweight or following a diet that ups your risk of developing high blood pressure (often together with cholesterol).
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Have your blood pressure tested at least once every three to six months, though more regularly (sometimes daily) if you know that you might have existing high blood pressure issues or be particularly at risk of developing them during your lifetime.
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High blood pressure can increase your heart attack and stroke risk, and it might lead to an increased likelihood of developing pleurisy. See your doctor for the long-term management of any health conditions.
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10. Circulatory conditions<\/strong>
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Conditions that affect the circulation are known to affect the lungs<\/a>, even though it might seem to people at first that these conditions have little to nothing to do with one another. If you are suffering from a circulatory-related condition, then you might suffer from additional symptoms that includes numbness and tingling, intolerance’s to hot or cold temperatures and often, shortness of breath.
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There are many potential conditions like this, including diabetes, though many are additionally related to the heart.
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Circulatory conditions might affect the lungs due to the fact that every part of the body is in need of circulation: In many cases, it’s very likely that you are going to struggle with conditions like pleurisy where a condition related to circulation is affecting your lungs in any way.
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The first thing that you should do if you suspect a condition related to your circulation is to see your doctor.
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11. Various heart conditions<\/strong>
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The term “heart condition” is an extremely broad one that describes any number of a few hundred different heart conditions that you might develop during your lifetime: You are more at risk of heart conditions if there is some or other genetic <\/a>factor influencing your likelihood of developing it, or if you are overweight, a smoker, a drinker or have any other chronic health condition that’s known to impact the heart.
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See your doctor regularly in order to discuss your heart health and for the proper scans: Do this even if you don’t know of any risk factors that put you at an increased risk – and even if you don’t know about an existing family history of heart conditions in your family.
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Heart conditions can have an effect on everything else in the body, including the overall function of the lungs, and it might increase your risk of developing pleurisy.
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12. Drowning<\/strong>
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Drowning happens at a rate of a few hundred cases every year over the United States; while many cases are children, there are just as many cases of adults who might have come close to fatal drowning in circumstances that sometimes involves swimming and other times might just involve an unfortunate accident in or near a body of water.
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What you should know is this: Drowning is never pleasant, and it can have many after-effects on the body that last for after the drowning event has taken place. Many people will develop an immediate lung infection<\/a> after a period of accidental water inhalation – and this is due to the stress it has placed on the lungs.
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It’s not uncommon for people to develop pleurisy as a result of this sudden trauma to the lungs: A sharp stabbing pain when breathing in is considered characteristic of pleurisy – and might be what occurs here. 
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13. Emphysema<\/strong>
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Emphysema is a type of lung infection that’s usually coupled with years or decades of either being exposed to pollution or having been a heavy smoker (usually over several packs per day); it can also characterize the condition of people who have seen years of environmental pollution as part of working in high-pollution environments.
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If you have emphysema, you will likely develop an uncomfortable and long-term cough that lasts for weeks to months at a time; it’s more likely to be a wet cough filled with phlegm<\/a> than a dry cough, but can sometimes occur as alternations of either.
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If you suspect that you have emphysema, the first recommendation will be an immediate change from the lifestyle factors that might have caused it and an appointment with your doctor to recommend the best possible treatment from there.
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The condition also heightens your risk of developing other chronic lung problems and additionally of developing serious bouts of pleurisy that might make breathing even more difficult and painful.
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14. Blood clots<\/strong>
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Rarely, pleurisy isn’t caused by a recent lung infection, though might be caused by something that’s considered a little more serious: Blood clots<\/a> and lung cancer have both been known to trigger pleurisy – and if you don’t see your potential cause on the earlier mentions listed in this article, then you might have more serious cause for concern if you are still showing the same symptoms of pleurisy in the absence of any other causes.\u00a0
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Blood clots can be deadly, and even the slightest suspicion that you might be dealing with a blood clot should mean an immediate trip to the emergency room in order to have the injury examined, scanned – and treated as soon as possible.
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If you have lung cancer, you might have the same symptoms that might go together with a lung infection but over a much longer time period: You might even show very few symptoms if you have lung cancer, either in early or late stages.
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The best thing you can do is an appointment with your doctor at the first sight of symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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