Pleurisy

What is pleurisy?

Pleurisy is a term you'll often hear people use when they have any acute chest problem. Medically, however, it means that the two membranes (called the pleura) that line the outside of the lungs and separate it from the chest wall are inflamed.

Instead of these two membranes gliding smoothly across each other every time a breath is taken, they grind against each other because the inflammation makes them rough and irregular.

Symptoms

This causes short, sharp pains to be felt around the affected area on breathing in, and may make breathing difficult. When a doctor listens to the chest, they can sometimes hear the affected areas rubbing against each other.

Causes and risk factors

Pleurisy is often caused by a viral infection that actually affects the pleura. It may also be caused by something affecting an area of the lung, and common examples of this are pneumonia or a blood clot in the lung, called a pulmonary embolus.

When this is the case the area of pleura covering the affected part of the lung will become inflamed. Some autoimmune diseases, for example where the body attacks itself, may also be responsible for causing pleurisy.

Treatment and recovery

Anti-inflammatory medication will help to ease the symptoms by calming down the inflammation. Other treatment may also be needed, for example antibiotics, if the underlying cause is pneumonia.