How to Treat Pleurisy

Diagnosing Pleurisy

Pay attention to pain in your chest. A sharp pain in your chest is the first symptom of pleurisy. You’ll usually feel it on 1 side of your chest or the other, but it might also feel like it’s coming from your whole chest.

Listen for a dry cough. Pleurisy can cause a dry cough. If you notice you’ve been coughing a lot, listen to the cough itself. If it’s dry – that is, if it doesn’t produce any phlegm – that can be another symptom of pleurisy.

Get a medical diagnosis. Only a doctor can order the tests necessary to diagnose pleurisy. If you experience any of the symptoms of pleurisy, see your doctor right away. Your doctor will listen to your lungs to check for the distinctive sound caused by pleurisy – a dry, crunching sound. Make sure you bring a list of your symptoms with you, including when they began.

Get a blood test. A blood test can determine if there’s anything else going on with your health. A blood test lets your doctor see if you have an autoimmune disease or infection, which can be underlying causes of pleurisy.

Go for an ultrasound. If your doctor can’t tell for sure if you have pleurisy from listening to your lungs, they might order an ultrasound for you. You’ll likely have to go to another office for the ultrasound, and the results will be sent back to your doctor. Not all insurance plans cover ultrasounds for diagnostic purposes. You might want to check your benefits to see if you’ll have to pay for the ultrasound, and how much.

Get a chest x-ray. A chest x-ray will let your doctor see if your lungs are working the way they’re supposed to. It will also show your doctor if there is liquid between your lungs and ribs – a classic symptom of pleurisy.

Have a biopsy. Your doctor might not be able to fully diagnose you from the methods above. If they can’t, they might order a biopsy on your lung tissue. This will tell them for sure what’s wrong, and whether there are other underlying issues.

Seeking Professional Help

Ask your doctor about treatment options. The treatment of your pleurisy will depend on what’s causing it. Your doctor can perform a variety of tests and tell you the best treatment option for you. This might include blood tests, chest x-rays, MRIs, or tissue biopsies. Your doctor will tell you what sorts of tests you should have.

Take antibiotics for pleurisy caused by a bacterial infection. If the pleurisy you’re experiencing is caused by a bacterial infection, you’ll need to treat the underlying cause. Your doctor may prescribe 1 or more antibiotics to clear up the infection. Depending on how severe your symptoms are, the antibiotics might be in pill or injection form. Make sure you follow your doctor’s instructions for taking the medication.

Have fluid drained from your lungs, if needed. If the pleurisy is caused by a pulmonary embolism or a very severe bacterial infection, fluid might build up around your lungs. In that case, you’ll need to have the fluid drained. Either a general anesthetic – which makes you unconscious – or a local anesthetic – which numbs 1 area of your body – will be administered. Then a tube will be inserted through your chest to drain the fluid. Depending on how much fluid needs to be drained, you might have to stay in the hospital for a few days. Your doctor will let you know if you can have the procedure done in their office or if you’ll need to be admitted.

Treating Pleurisy at Home

Get extra rest for 2-3 days if you have a viral infection. If the pleurisy is caused by a viral infection, there’s not much you can do but wait it out. Get as much rest as you can to speed up your healing process. Try to find the position where you are most comfortable – but keep in mind you still might have a bit of pain – and rest. If you can, try to rest for 48 to 72 hours. It seems a little counterintuitive, but lying down on the side of your chest that hurts can help relieve some of that pain. Once you start feeling better, you might be tempted to overdo things. Make sure you’re still resting, even after you start to improve. Otherwise, your illness can come back.

Apply a cold compress to your chest. Applying cold to your chest can numb it. This can help alleviate some of your symptoms. A cloth run through cold water, or an icepack wrapped in a towel can work well. Lay the cloth or icepack on your chest for 15 minutes, and then give your body a break for 20 minutes or so.

Take anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving drugs for the chest pain. Pleurisy is basically an inflammation of the tissue in your lungs, so taking anti-inflammatory medication can help relieve your symptoms. An anti-inflammatory medication that’s also a pain reliever – like ibuprofen – can give you some relief, too. Follow the directions on the bottle of medication for dosage and timing. There may be additional methods you can try to ease your pleurisy pain.