I have been having chest pains in my left pectoral area. Not in the center where it would be heart related...?!
Question: I have been having chest pains in my left pectoral area. Not in the center where it would be heart related....?
I am a smoker since 16, and am 29 now. I used to have chronic bronchitis because of it. I had not been sick in almost 5 years, but recently go something with flu like symptoms. Started in my throat, then to my nose, then to my ears, and then to my lungs. I was on anti biotics and was still sick. Finally everything else went away, but my bronchitis was still there and so were the chest pains. I took another 10 days of anti biotics and the bronchitis is gone which I thought was the cause of the chest pains. And they are still there. Just above my left nipple by about 2 inches. It's not muscular because I lift weights every week and feel no pain when lifting. So it must be internal. I wanted a chest xray but the doctor said I needed to wait til my bronchitis clears up. Any ideas or thought.? Should I just go back to the doctor and get the chest xray now that the bronchitis is gone.? Could lung cancer cause pain like that.? Or is it just left over from the bronchitis.? Any thoughts would be great....Health Question & Answer
Answers:
hard to answer without a longer history and a physical exam, but bronchitis doesn't cause chest pain unless you were coughing enough to pull a intercostal muscle (muscle between the ribs). Pneumonia can cause chest pain by causing inflammation of the pleural lining of the lung (sometimes this pain is called "pleurisy") - this pain would hurt more with a deep breath, and sometimes can linger for a while after the pneumonia goes away. Lung cancer is almost always painless (which is why it gets diagnosed too late -- because people don't realize they have it until it spreads). Lastly, a pulmonary embolism (blod clot to the lung) can cause chest pain worse with a deep breath, but is usually associated with shortness of breath. Bottom line is, you can't really tell until you see your doctor again and tell him/her you have this residual chest pain. And I can't sign off without saying, you HAVE to quit smoking. It's my job!Health Question & Answer
Jens answer is of course spot on. But I notice you do weights every week. If your lung capacity is large [as mine is ] then a pulled muscle is a greater possibility.
I have pulled muscles coughing on numerous occasions [I have Chronic Sinusitis] the pain is not always exactly where the injury lies - 'referred pain'
Your smoking is damaging you even more than if you were not sporty. You breath deeper than many folk so you take more crap in and more of it sticks in there. Stop it - get help, but stop it
Health Question & Answer
I have pulled muscles coughing on numerous occasions [I have Chronic Sinusitis] the pain is not always exactly where the injury lies - 'referred pain'
Your smoking is damaging you even more than if you were not sporty. You breath deeper than many folk so you take more crap in and more of it sticks in there. Stop it - get help, but stop it
Health Question & Answer