Pleural Effusion

[livingwith]

For more than a month I have been suffering from discomfort and burning pain on my left chest. I took x-ray and ultra-sound for fear of pleural effusion(checking fluid level). But it was found that there is no fluid level, but it is a chronic pleural thickening from the previous pleural effusion I had in 1990. I still have the discomfort and burning pain on my left chest. I feel very weak, but I can eat as normal and have no fear and cough. I sense that if I exert too much pressure to my body, ...Read the full article

[cocojambo]

Hey there, first I wish you the best in getting through these disturbing times. Pleural thickening can occur for a wide # of reasons, including the pleural effusions that you had in 1990 (there is a slight possibility this might be the cause).Do you by any chance suffer from excessive cough, or you feel you are running short of breath sometimes? Here's some information on pleural thickening taken from Malignant Mesothelioma http://www.researchmalignantmesothelioma.com/

Pleural thickening usually occurs due to inflammation of the lungs as well as exposure to asbestos particles and fibers. Most people who incur pleural thickening develop some kind of asbestos related disease example malignant mesothelioma, malignant pleural cancer, etc. Whether a person with pleural thickening will develop asbestos related diseases is unpredictable and no medical doctor can diagnose this before hand, although symptoms may indicate such development of malignant tumors and treatment options can be applied in the early stages of cancer. Here are some more reasons:

- Bruise in the lungs or lung contusions that damage the capillaries and allow blood to flow in to surrounding tissues forcing them to become distressed or enlarged and accumulate blood under the layers of skin.

- Rheumatoid lung disease is a group of complications relating to rheumatoid arthritis which often houses fluid in the chest or ascites (pleural effusions), scarring of the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis) or high blood pressure in the lungs as well as formation of lumps or nodules in the lungs.

- Pulmonary embolism or the blockage of the main arteries of the lungs by a substance that has travelled through the blood stream (process of embolism). The main artery of the lungs can become blocked by deep veins or blood clots in the lungs or due to air/fat fluids.

- Tuberculosis which is an infectious disease caused by myco-bacteria that usually attack the lungs and tissues in the lungs but can also affect the central nervous system.

- Pleural effusions which is an abnormal build up of fluids in the pleural space that results from disruption of the equilibrium that exists across pleural membranes.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask me further questions