What Causes Upper Back And Chest Pain
When upper back and chest pain occur together, the symptoms can vary widely depending on the cause or severity. Some people may experience mild discomfort or tightness while others may have sharp or intense pain. This pain may be one-sided or on both sides. Below are potential causes of upper back and chest pain appearing at the same time.
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This Is How To Tell If Your Back Pain Is Covid Doctors Say
There are numerous symptoms that could point to a COVID case, but some are more talked about than others. Common symptoms include cough, fever, and shortness of breath, but patients have also complained about more unusual symptoms, including rashes and eye pain. Recently, Ellen DeGeneres said she experienced a COVID symptom she doesn’t think is talked about enough: back pain. Of course, back pain is a very common phenomenon, but there are some telltale signs that can help you determine if what you’re experiencing is a coronavirus symptom. Keep reading to find out how to tell if your back pain is COVID, and for more symptoms you may be unsure about, This Is How to Tell If Your Upset Stomach Is COVID, Doctors Say.
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What Causes Acute Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is usually caused by a viral infection. This is most often the same viruses that cause colds and the flu. It may also be caused by a bacterial infection, or by physical or chemical agents that are breathed in. These may include dusts, allergens, and strong fumes, including those from chemical cleaning compounds or tobacco smoke.
Acute bronchitis may come after a common cold or other viral infections in the upper respiratory tract. It may also occur in people with chronic sinusitis, allergies, or those with enlarged tonsils and adenoids. It can be serious in people with lung or heart diseases. Pneumonia is a complication that can follow bronchitis.
How Is Walking Pneumonia Treated
Walking pneumonia is usually mild, does not require hospitalization and is treated with antibiotics . Several types of antibiotics are effective. Antibiotics that are used to treat walking pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae include:
- Macrolide antibiotics: Macrolide drugs are the preferred treatment for children and adults. Macrolides include azithromycin and clarithromycin . Over the past decade, some strains of Mycoplasma pneumoniae have become resistant to macrolide antibiotics, possibly due to the widespread use of azithromycin to treat various illnesses.
- Fluoroquinolones: These drugs include ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin . Fluoroquinolones are not recommended for young children.
- Tetracyclines: This group includes doxycycline and tetracycline. They are suitable for adults and older children.
Often, over-the-counter medications can also be taken to help relieve symptoms of nasal congestion, cough and loosen mucus buildup in the chest. If you have a fever:
- Drink more fluids
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How Is Acute Bronchitis Treated
Acute bronchitis is usually mild and does not cause complications. The symptoms often resolve on their own and lung function goes back to normal.
In most cases, antibiotics are not needed to treat acute bronchitis. Thats because most of the infections are caused by viruses. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses. If it has progressed to pneumonia, then antibiotics may be necessary.
Treatment is aimed at treating the symptoms, and may include:
- Avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke
- Cough medicine
- Pain relievers and fever reducers, such as acetaminophen
- Quitting smoking
Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your healthcare provider:
What Causes Lung Pain In The Back
If you have discomfort while breathing or feel a nondescript pain in your upper back or chest, you may worry that something is wrong with your lungs. A number of ailments can cause chest or back pain, some as simple as a strained muscle or seasonal allergy. It also could be a sign of a more serious condition like lung cancer. But while you’re determining where the pain is coming from, you would be surprised to learn that lung tissue does not actually have pain receptors. The nerve endings that have pain receptors are actually in the lung lining, called the pleura. An injury to the lining of the lung, inflammation due to an infection or invasion by cancer can all cause pain in the chest.
In the case of lung cancer, back or chest pain is caused by the tumor irritating the nerve endings in the pleura, as well as in the bone or muscles that the tumor is invading. Pain also can be the result when cancer growth limits the blood supply to an organ or triggers the formation of blood clots. Lung cancer can occur in locations throughout the chest, so there is no specific location that will indicate that the pain you’re feeling is due to lung cancer. However, lung cancer usually does not cause any symptoms in the early stages of the disease. Common symptoms of lung cancer, in addition to chest pain, include persistent coughing, shortness of breath, production of bloody phlegm, weight loss, weakness, fatigue and recurrent pneumonia.
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You Have Other Common Coronavirus Symptoms
Back pain can be a muscle ache symptom of the coronavirus, says Leann Poston, MD, a licensed physician and health advisor for Invigor Medical. However, it’s highly unlikely for this symptom on its own to be a sign that you have COVID. Instead, Poston says those infected should also expect to experience losing their sense of taste and smell, shortness of breath, headache, fever, and/or a dry cough. And for more on coronavirus complications, If Your Symptoms Appear in This Order, You May Have Severe COVID.
What Are The Signs Of Pneumonia In Children
When children have pneumonia, they can experience the same symptoms asadults including high fever, cough, difficulty breathing and pain in the chest,but they may also complain of stomach pain, ear pain, have a decreased appetiteand be more tired or irritable than usual. If a child has “walkingpneumonia” their symptoms may be milder and can appear like a cold. Someinfants may not appear to have any symptoms beyond being restless and adecreased appetite. In extreme cases of pneumonia, infants and small childrenmay have bluish fingernails, toenails, lips and mouth.
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When Back Pain Requires Immediate Care
A condition called malignant spinal cord compression may develop in some people who have lung cancer that spreads to the spine. These symptoms include worsening back pain, weakness in the legs, and sometimes loss of urinary or bowel control. This is a medical emergency, and immediate treatment is needed to prevent complications such as paralysis.
When To See A Doctor
If you have persistent symptoms, including pain in your back that concerns you, make an appointment with a doctor.
If your doctor thinks lung cancer might be causing your symptoms, they will typically use a physical exam, imaging, and lab tests to reach a diagnosis.
If they discover lung cancer, the treatment will depend on its type and stage. Treatment options include:
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When Back Pain Is A Symptom Of Lung Cancer
Research suggests that the time between the onset of symptoms and a diagnosis of lung cancer is around 12 months. This is often because a person does not recognize the symptoms, or because they hope that they’ll go away. Back pain is one such symptom.
It is not uncommon for people to have back pain with lung cancer, or even to have back pain as their first symptom. In fact, there are certain defining symptoms that point to cancer as the cause of back pain.
Chief among them are the location and types of pain, which may be quite different from your typical, chronic backache. All told, around 25% of people with lung cancer will report back pain as a symptom at some point in their disease.
This article looks at how back pain is linked to lung cancer, and how this pain differs from other kinds of back pain. It also explains why early treatment for back pain is so important.
Verywell / Hugo Lin
Bacteremia And Septic Shock
If bacteria caused your pneumonia, they could get into your blood, especially if you didn’t see a doctor for treatment. It’s a problem called bacteremia.
Bacteremia can lead to a serious situation known as . It’s a reaction to the infection in your blood, and it can cause your blood pressure to drop to a dangerous level.
When your blood pressure is too low, your heart may not be able to pump enough blood to your organs, and they can stop working. Get medical help right away if you notice symptoms like:
Your doctor can test your mucus or the pus in your lungs to look for infection. They may also take an X-ray or a CT scan of your lungs.
Your doctor will likely treat your lung abscesses with antibiotics. They may do a procedure that uses a needle to remove the pus.
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How Do You Treat Pneumonia
Treatment for pneumonia depends on the cause. If pneumonia is caused bya bacterial infection, antibiotics will be prescribed to kill the harmfulbacteria. If pneumonia is caused by a viral infection, time and restare best for recovery. Fever reducing medications and cough medicationscan help relieve symptoms and aid sleep.
Can You Catch Pneumonia More Than Once
Yes. Pneumonia is caused by many different microbes, and so getting it once does not protect you from getting it again. If you get pneumonia more than once you may need to have more investigations to understand why this has happened. It could be due to a problem in your chest or your immune system, and you may be referred to a specialist.
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You Have A Painful Dry Cough
The one common symptom you should really look out for to determine if you have the coronavirus is a dry cough. That’s because, according to Poston, the back pain one experiences during COVID is usually a result of their cough.
“Coughing can cause rib and diaphragm pain, which frequently radiates to the back,” she explains. And for more on your cough, This Is How to Tell If Your Cough Is COVID, Doctors Say.
Weird Causes Of Back Pain
Can a cold or flu really cause backaches? Here’s what experts have to say.
With the arrival of spring, Im looking forward to kissing an epic season of winter coldsand backachesgoodbye. For me, the two seem to go hand in hand. But can a cold or flu really cause back trouble?
To find out, I reached out to Mark Zawadsky, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. When youre sick with the cold and flu, Dr. Zawadsky explains, stress hormones can potentiate the feeling of pain. In other words, feeling sick can make you hyper-attuned to other aches and pains you might otherwise shrug off.
But theres more. When you have a cold, the body makes pyrogens, a byproduct of cell breakdown, says John Stamatos, MD, director of interventional pain management at Syosset Hospital in Syosset, New York. While these pyrogens create fevers and help your body fight infection, theyre also toxic to the body and contribute to that all-around achy feeling you get when youre sick, Dr. Stamatos says.
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Thats because pyrogens tend to gather around nerves that transmit pain, which can heighten those nerves ability to transmit the pain. So if youre already prone to an achy back, having a cold can worsen it.
Of course, Dr. Stamatos adds, the physical act of coughing puts a huge amount of pressure on the epidural space , which can impact the nerves and lead to pain.
1. Pneumonia
2. Kidney stones
3. Endometriosis
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What Is Walking Pneumonia
Walking pneumonia is a mild form of pneumonia . This non-medical term has become a popular description because you may feel well enough to be walking around, carrying out your daily tasks and not even realize you have pneumonia.
Most of the time, walking pneumonia is caused by an atypical bacteria called Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which can live and grow in the nose, throat, windpipe and lungs . It can be treated with antibiotics.
Scientists call walking pneumonia caused by mycoplasma atypical because of the unique features of the bacteria itself. Several factors that make it atypical include:
- Milder symptoms
- Natural resistance to medicines that would normally treat bacterial infections
- Often mistaken for a virus because they lack the typical cell structure of other bacteria
Why Does It Take So Long To Recover From Pneumonia
I was diagnosed with pneumonia in October. The doctor told me to rest, really rest. She told me to expect to feel better after a couple of days of antibiotics, but that I still must rest. She told me I would have good days, but they would be followed by bad days.
After a week of antibiotics, the bacteria causing my illness presumably Streptococcus pneumonia should have been dead. Also called pneumococcus, this pathogen is the most common perpetrator of community-acquired pneumonia, which is pneumonia that people get outside hospitals and nursing homes. The antibiotic I received, a common first-line treatment, covers pneumococcus as well as other bacterial invaders.
Yet my doctor told me to expect weeks to months of recovery. Friends with recent pneumonia experience confirmed this rather depressing outlook. Pneumonia can vary in severity so not everyone will need months to recover.
The scientific literature concurs with the anecdotal evidence I collected. One study followed 576 adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Thirty days after diagnosis, 65 percent of them reported fatigue, nearly half of whom said their fatigue was moderate to severe 53 percent reported cough and 36 percent reported shortness of breath. Ninety days after diagnosis, 51 percent reported fatigue, 32 percent cough, and 28 percent shortness of breath.
Why does it take so long to recover from pneumonia?
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Back Pain From Pneumonia
Back pain is a common symptom of pneumonia. In the last 15 years, I have personally treated thousands of patients hospitalized with pneumonia. Many of them had back pain. I am writing this article based on my personal experience as well as a review of relevant medical journals.
In this article, I will describe:
Can Pneumonia Cause Back Pain
Posted by Staff Writer
Can Pneumonia Cause Back Pain? If you are experiencing back pain and have been diagnosed with pneumonia, you may be surprised to learn that pneumonia can cause back pain. Take a look at this pneumonia symptom.
Pneumonia is an acute, chronic disease caused by chemical or physical irritants and bacteria or viruses that result in lung inflammation. Even parasites or fungal infections can cause pneumonia. At first, what may be diagnosed as back strain may be back pain, which is a symptom of pneumonia.
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Who Is At Risk
Some adults are more at risk of getting pneumonia than others. At-risk groups include:
- people older than 65 years
- heavy drinkers
- people who have chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes
- people taking acid-reducing medicines for conditions such as heartburn and
- people with weakened immune systems.
Questions About Your Symptoms
Bacterial pneumonia, which is the most common form, tends to be more serious than other types of pneumonia, with symptoms that require medical care. The symptoms of bacterial pneumonia can develop gradually or suddenly. Fever may rise as high as a dangerous 105 degrees F, with profuse sweating and rapidly increased breathing and pulse rate. Lips and nailbeds may have a bluish color due to lack of oxygen in the blood. A patient’s mental state may be confused or delirious.
The symptoms of viral pneumonia usually develop over a period of several days. Early symptoms are similar to influenza symptoms: fever, a dry cough, headache, muscle pain, and weakness. Within a day or two, the symptoms typically get worse, with increasing cough, shortness of breath and muscle pain. There may be a high fever and there may be blueness of the lips.
Symptoms may vary in certain populations. Newborns and infants may not show any signs of the infection. Or, they may vomit, have a fever and cough, or appear restless, sick, or tired and without energy. Older adults and people who have serious illnesses or weak immune systems may have fewer and milder symptoms. They may even have a lower than normal temperature. Older adults who have pneumonia sometimes have sudden changes in mental awareness. For individuals that already have a chronic lung disease, those symptoms may worsen.
When to call a doctor
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