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Pleural Effusion And Health-Threatening Complications

Pleural effusion can arise from many different diseases in the body, occurring when the amount of secretions in the pleural space is greater than normal. If the patient does not recognize signs of pleural effusion at an early stage and does not know how to promptly handle it, it will cause life-threatening complications.

What is Pleural effusion?

The lungs are surrounded by a membrane called the pleural cavity (between the parietal leaf and the visceral leaf). The pleural cavity contains a small amount of fluid about 10 – 15ml, which functions to keep the lung surface soft, and is seen as the cushion between the lung and the chest wall.

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Pleural effusion affects the patient's health depending on the level of effusion

What is pleural effusion? It can be understood that pleural effusion is the phenomenon of pleural effusion more than normal. When the amount of pleural fluid exceeds the physiological level a small amount only causes mild difficulty breathing. But when the pleural fluid accumulates too much, it creates great pressure on the lungs which is potentially life-threatening.

Signs Of Pneumothorax

Signs of pleural effusion are not difficult to recognize. Frequent chest pressure is the most obvious manifestation of the disease. Besides, we can also recognize early signs of pleural effusion such as:

• Always feel short of breath, especially while lying down. Symptoms of dyspnea also depend on the degree of pleural effusion more or less. Normally, if the amount of pleural fluid is> 2 liters, it will cause severe difficulty breathing.

• Patients with constant high fever are usually over 38.5 degrees.

• Frequent dry cough, cough while sleeping.

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Patients with pleural effusion often experience chest pain

If the pleural effusion comes from the cause of the patient with cancer often accompanied by symptoms such as:

• Fatigue, distraction.

• Loss of appetite, nausea.

• Unexplained weight loss.

• Anemia.

• Chest pain is frequent and increases in pain.

• Dry cough becomes severe, coughing up blood.

Hazard Level of Pulmonary Hemorrhage

Is pleural effusion dangerous? Pleural effusion is one of the manifestations of a dangerous respiratory tract disease. Pleural effusion depending on the cause of the disease will cause a mild to severe impact on the patient's health.

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Pleural effusion is extremely dangerous to the health of the patient

Pleural effusion is the cause that directly affects the patient's respiratory system. When the pleural effusion is not handled in time and properly, it will reduce the ability to breathe, compress the lungs, threatening the patient's life.

In the case of severe pleural effusion, although it is an emergency, it also leaves complications because the amount of oxygen supplied to the brain is severely deficient in the long term.

Currently, pleural effusion is divided into two main categories:

Pleural effusion is uncomplicated: Since the amount of pleural fluid is still not much, it does not pose any serious danger, and the signs and symptoms are easy to recognize and handle.

Complicated pleural effusion includes:

• Pleural effusion type 1: Chyme maintenance.

• Pleural effusion type 2: TB pleural effusion.

• Pleural effusion type 3: Outflow due to malignancy.

Pleural effusion will become even more dangerous when it comes from lung cancer or tuberculosis disease. Although the patient has been properly treated, the pleural effusion is still able to return many times.

Lung cancer: People with lung cancer often develop symptoms of pleural effusion. For the elderly patients, who regularly smoke cigarettes, the pleural effusion often occurs very quickly, difficult to control, causing dangerous complications.

Tuberculosis: The age of having pleural tuberculosis is usually between 25 and 35 years old. Thanks to the X-ray pleural effusion, doctors will diagnose the patient has had pleural effusion or not to have timely treatment measures, to avoid the disease from developing rapidly into pulmonary tuberculosis.

Pleural Drainage And The Path Of Infection

Is pleural effusion contagious? This is definitely the question of many people to take appropriate precautions.

If pleural effusion comes from pleural tuberculosis, it will be spread through the respiratory tract. When we come in close contact with a patient with pleural effusion it can infect their secretions and become infected.

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Pleural effusion originates from pleural tuberculosis that can be transmitted through the respiratory tract

Thus, not all patients with pleural effusion are also contagious. Pleural effusion is essentially caused by a patient with pulmonary tuberculosis.

However, before we can find out the exact cause of the pleural effusion, we need to take protective measures in close contact with the patient to prevent the risk of infection.

Is Pulmonary Fluid Curable?

Pleural effusion is now completely treatable. However, depending on the degree of pleural effusion, if detected early and the patient's health is good, the treatment will be effective and have little effect on the patient's health.

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X-ray picture of a patient with pleural effusion

Conversely, if the disease is detected in a late-stage, the health effects are inevitable. Besides, the treatment time will also be longer. Depending on the patient's condition, he or she will have to perform methods such as surgical extraction of fluid and using special medicines.

What Should Pleural Hemorrhage Eat?

In addition to adhering to the treatment regimen and regular re-examination, patients with pleural effusion also need to pay attention to the daily diet that helps to improve the disease, reduce the risk of recurrence.

According to scientific studies, fruit juices are very good for patients with pleural effusion. However, it is important to drink beverages at a reasonable level to avoid accumulating too much fluid in the body.

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The fruit juices are good for patients with pleural effusion

Get full of nutrients from fresh foods. Avoid eating fast foods. Eat 3 main meals and 2 snacks a day to help control lung fluid in the best way.

Avoid foods that can irritate coughs such as crabs, shrimps … if the patient suffers from respiratory diseases.

Thus, pleural effusion causes serious health risks if not detected early and treated promptly. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand what pleural effusion is and the early symptoms of the disease to help patients get treatment immediately, reducing the incidence of fatal complications.

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The site cannot and does not contain medical advice. The medical information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals.