chest pain – Hello Doctor

For some reason, many of us tend to think of rib injuries as all-encompassing – we need medical attention right now! In some cases, yes. But rib injuries can be slight too, sometimes caused by something as simple as a cough, a bump or bruise.

The most obvious sign of a bruised rib is difficulty or pain when you breathe in. It might feel like you can’t take deep, substantial breaths. You may even notice swelling or tenderness in your chest and bruising on the skin.

Bruised ribs

The cause of your bruised ribs is a blow to the chest which pushes the ribs against the surrounding muscles. Bruised ribs are painful, but fortunately, they are able to completely heal. Blunt injuries to the rib cage through the chest may be sports-related, caused by a car accident, falling or an assault. But it can be something as small as bumping your chest against something at home.

If it is a rib injury, you’re more likely to feel pain when you sneeze, move, breathe or laugh, and tenderness and pain over the injured area.

Take care

Unfortunately, some sports injuries aren’t preventable. This is why it’s always important to wear the right protective gear when you’re being active.

If your injury isn’t serious enough to put you in hospital, you can still take care of yourself at home.

You will need to get some rest and have support around your rib cage. Apply an ice pack regularly to reduce swelling and pain. Be sure to wrap the ice pack in a cloth before placing it to your injured area. Over-the-counter pain medication may help ease pain and inflammation.
If you have kidney, liver or heart disease, high blood pressure, or had stomach ulcers or internal bleeding in the past, speak to your doctor before taking any medication.
Broken ribs can’t be set in a cast, so you need to get treatment for your injuries to relieve the pain while your injury heals. While you heal, avoid unnecessary movements that may put painful pressure on your ribs. This doesn’t mean you must sit down indefinitely though! Walk around your home, do normal chores – but no heavy lifting.
It may hurt to breathe deeply, but you need to practise slow deep breathing and gentle coughing exercises at least every few hours. You can hold a pillow or rolled-up towel against your ribs to relieve the pressure. Be sure to take your pain meds first.

Call your doctor if you have:

Pain that doesn’t allow you to cough or take a deep breath.
Shortness of breath.
Side-effects from medication like nausea, vomitting, and developing a rash.
Fever.
A cough or increase in mucus that you cough up.

A complete recovery may take up to three to four months or more if the rib has been torn from the cartilage, so the main thing you’ll need to recover fully, is patience!

References:

In the past, TB was called ‘’consumption”, because of the way it literally consumed infected people from the inside. Luckily for us, today TB is treatable. Here’s what you need to know about it.

What is Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. While it mostly affects the lungs, it can also affect organs in the central nervous system, lymphatic system, gastro-intestinal system and circulatory system.

TB is classified as being either latent or active. Latent TB occurs when the bacteria are present in the body, but this state is inactive and presents no symptoms. Latent TB is also not contagious. Active TB is contagious, and it’s this type of TB that makes you sick with symptoms.

What Causes TB?

TB is caused by bacteria that are spread from person to person through airborne particles.

While some people have immune systems strong enough to quickly destroy TB bacteria when they enter the body, others will develop latent TB, and a fair number of people will become immediately ill and contagious with active TB. Anyone with a weakened immune system, including people with HIV, are more prone to developing active TB.

Signs and Symptoms to Watch Out for

A lot of people who become infected with the TB bacteria don’t actually show symptoms, but when symptoms are present, they include:

Sudden weight loss and loss of appetite
Tiredness or fatigue
Shortness of breath
A cough that lasts for more than 3 weeks
Coughing up blood
Chest pain
Pain when breathing or coughing

Can TB Be Treated?

If you’re at high risk for TB, there are anti-TB drugs that stop it from progressing to active TB.

People with active TB are usually treated with several anti-TB drugs to kill all the bacteria and stop them from becoming drug resistant. This usually means daily oral doses of medication for six months.

Tag: chest pain

How to treat a rib injury