Suffered from Pleurisy?

"You can set yourself up to be sick, or you can choose to stay well." - Wayne Dyer

Have you suffered from Pleurisy? Maybe or maybe you may not know of it. Sometimes we neglect symptoms because it may seem too ordinary or we may confuse it with other sickness. I have suffered from this and it may not have been that easy, sometimes it may lead to other complications.

I was diagnosed of pneumonia and had accumulated pleurisy and was hospitalized for almost 2 weeks. It was really a tough time for me and my husband. Breathing was very difficult because of the progressive coughing, I was up from night till morning. I was confined in the isolation room and had undergone so many tests before the final diagnosis . A fluid in the lining of my lungs called phyothorax (pleural empyema) was drained in my lungs through a chest tube using pigtails. Recovery period also takes time in order for your lungs to be fully in condition again. I am so thankful that I had gone through this without any major surgery or other life threatening complications.

Here are some of the information regarding this disease I have researched and would like to share with you.

Pleurisy , is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Pleurisy has a variety of infectious and non-infectious causes. It can cause extremely painful respiration and other signs and symptoms, some of which may remain long after the pleurisy has gone away. Depending on its cause, pleurisy can be associated with an accumulation of fluid in the space between the lungs and chest wall called a pleural effusion , or it can be dry pleurisy, which has no fluid accumulation.

Symptoms:
* Inspiratory chest pain * Cough * Chills * Shortness of breath * Weight loss * Poor appetite * Pain may limit chest expansion on affected side * Rapid shallow breaths * Inability to take a deep breath * Itching in sites on the back (near the site of the lungs, but no visible rashes) * Dizziness * Tiredness

It is better to call your doctor or go to the emergency room if breathing may be too difficult and it becomes persistent. Chest pain can be a symptom of many different disorders, it may lead to complications especially depending on age and may be potentially life threatening.

You may have to be tested for:
* Chest X-ray * Blood tests * Ultrasound * ECG (Electrocardiogram )

Depending on the results of these preliminary tests, additional tests may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. For example: CT Scan, thoracentesis.

Here are also other links which you may found helpful:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/pleurisy/article_em.htm
http://www.mylifetime.com/lifestyle/health/health-a-z/pleurisy-and-pleural-effusion

Famous People who died of pleurisy:
Cardinal Richelieu, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Scott Key, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Hernán Cortés, Catherine de Medici, Anna Pavlova, Charlemagne, Thomas Hardy, George Stephenson, Tadd Lincoln, William Henry Harrison and Rudolph Valentino.

Famous People who had suffered from pleurisy:
Mahatma Gandhi, Carson McCullers, Chicago White Sox outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player LeBron James, Ringo Starr, Kenji Miyazawa and Elvis Presley.