Can Asthma Cause Chest Pain On One Side

Chest Tightness In Asthma Symptoms

When you have chest tightness due to your asthma, you may feel like you can’t easily push air in and out of your chest. With asthma, mild chest tightness can be present all or most of the time, but it may worsen in response to asthma triggers and in the hours or minutes before an asthma exacerbation.

Not all people who have asthma experience chest tightness. But there is a type of asthma described as chest tightness variant asthma in which this symptom is especially frequent.

Symptoms of chest tightness include:

• A feeling that your chest is constricted, as if there’s a band around it
• A sense that you’re trying to push against your chest from the inside as you breathe
• A struggle to fully exhale
• Difficulty inhaling

When the feeling of chest tightness triggers anxiety, your sense of not being able to move air through your lungs can worsen.

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Know The Asthma Symptoms In Children

Asthma affects as many as 10% to 12% of children in the United States and is the leading cause of chronic illness in children. For unknown reasons, the incidence of asthma in children is steadily increasing. While asthma symptoms can begin at any age, most children have their first asthma symptoms by age 5.

Not all children with asthma wheeze. Chronic coughing with asthma may be the only obvious sign, and a childâs asthma may go unrecognized if the cough is attributed to recurrent bronchitis.

For more detail, see WebMDâs Asthma in Children.

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My Experience With Chest Tightness And Asthma

I have never worn a corset, however, that is what I imagine happening in my chest when I experience chest tightness. I describe it as a corset to others because it feels like a physical barrier, holding my chest in as I try to inflate my lungs. As if I were being hugged too tightly as I try to inhale. Often, the constriction tightens with each attempted breath, spurring a counter-productive panic.

I dont always experience this symptom with my asthma, its a secondary symptom, mostly. When I do experience it, its usually accompanied by stress or anxiety, as an exacerbation to my initial flare. Im thankful for this, because, in all honestly, its terrifying.

My biggest fears to this day are drowning and suffocating, the feeling of not being able to breathe stemming directly from the tightness of my chest during an asthma attack. I like to understand my fears, I find it helps me to rationalize and reduce anxiety. So, I dove into a bit of research and this is what I found.

Who Can Get Asthma

Anyone can develop asthma at any age. People with allergies or people exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to develop asthma. This includes secondhand smoke and thirdhand smoke .

Statistics show that people assigned female at birth tend to have asthma more than people assigned male at birth. Asthma affects Black people more frequently than other races.

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Bacterial And Viral Infections

Infections such as the flu, acute bronchitis, and pneumonia can cause your airways to make extra mucus, which youll often cough up. It may be green or yellow in color.

The new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 doesnt usually cause mucus in the chest. But complications from the virus can include pneumonia, which does involve chest congestion.

When To See The Doctor For Chest Pain

When in doubt, call your doctor about any chest pain you have, especially if it comes on suddenly or is not relieved by anti-inflammatory medications or other self-care steps, such as changing your diet.

• A sudden feeling of pressure, squeezing, tightness, or crushing under your breastbone
• Chest pain that spreads to your jaw, left arm, or back
• Sudden, sharp chest pain with shortness of breath, especially after a long period of inactivity
• Nausea, dizziness, rapid heart rate or rapid breathing, confusion, ashen color, or excessive sweating
• Very low blood pressure or very low heart rate

• Fever, chills, or coughing up yellow-green mucus
• Problems swallowing
• Severe chest pain that does not go away

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History And Physical Examination

Your physical examination will include checking your vital signs, such as your temperature, pulse, and breathing rate. A fever can be an indication of an infection. Rapid breathing or a rapid heart rate can be a sign of a severe infection or an impending asthma attack.

Your doctor will listen to your breathing sounds with a stethoscope, which will help determine whether your congestion is on one side of the lungs or both.

• Generally, with asthma and allergies, congestion affects both lungs.
• Congestion can be limited to one lung or one section of a lung when there is another cause, such as an infection.

What Are Asthma Symptoms

The first early warning sign of asthma is arguably the one most commonly associated with the disease: wheezing, or that squeaky sound in your chest when you have trouble breathing.

You might first only hear wheezing when youre breathing out, but as the asthma attack worsens, you might also hear wheezing when breathing in. Its also important to note that during a severe asthma attack, you might not hear any wheezing, which means not enough air is moving through the airways.

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People with asthma can have one of any number of symptoms, says Neeta Ogden, M.D., an asthma specialist and immunologist in New York City. The most common tend to be chest tightness, shortness of breath, or feeling like you cant get in a good breath of air.

Heres a little bit more about what to expect from the signs and symptoms of asthma:

Shortness of breath is an obvious complication that happens when you cant get enough oxygen due to the way your airways and their surrounding muscles are reacting to asthma triggers, Sadia Benzaquen, M.D., a pulmonologist and associate professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, tells SELF.

When your airways narrow, you dont have as much space through which to breathe. As a result, you can experience wheezing, which may sound similar to the whistling sound you might hear if you were to breathe through a straw.

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What You Can Do At Home

To control or loosen mucus at home, you can try the following remedies:

Drink lots of fluids. Drink plenty of water and other fluids, but not things that can dehydrate you, such as coffee and alcohol.

Humidify. Try a cool mist humidifier or hop into a steamy shower to keep your airways moisturized.

Dont smoke or vape anything. Whether from tobacco or , smoke is an irritant and can cause your body to make more mucus.

Try a teaspoon of honey. Though honey doesnt get rid of mucus, it can calm your cough temporarily.

Check air filters. Other irritants in the air can make mucus production worse, so make sure your heating and cooling system filters are clean and up to date.

Take an expectorant. Some cough medicines contain guaifenesin, which loosens mucus so you can cough it up.

Q: What Happens To The Lungs During A More Severe Case Of Covid

Dr. Connolly: For some people, the infection becomes more serious and the lung tissue itself becomes swollen and filled with fluid and debris from dead cells which is clinically referred to as pneumonia.

This fluid build-up can affect a persons oxygen levels, and pneumonia can be mild, moderate, severe or even life-threatening, depending on how impaired gas transfer becomes and how difficult it is to breathe.

If the transfer of oxygen into the blood stream is reduced, a person will often need supplemental oxygen and very close monitoring in a hospital setting.

In very serious cases, a person may need to be placed on ventilator support in the ICU.

Early on during the pandemic, there were a lot of unknowns about how contagious the virus could become during various medical interventions. Time and experience has taught us a lot about this virus, and now were able to more safely use several noninvasive breathing and oxygen devices, as well as techniques such as prone positioning before we have to resort to full life support with a ventilator.

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Causes Of Right Side Chest Pain And When You Must See A Doctor

Jenny Hills, Nutritionist and Medical Writer Health

Pain in the right side of your chest should never be ignored because it could be a sign of a serious health condition. Thankfully, pains in the right side of the chest arent usually connected with heart problems, although in rare instances right-side chest pain occurs during a heart attack.

Some common causes of right side chest pain are lung infections, gallbladder disease, pancreatitis, rib fracture, or shingles. These conditions can cause pain ranging from a mild dull pain to sharp stabbing pains that cause chest discomfort. If any type of chest pain persists, its important to see your doctor for a checkup.

The right-hand side of your abdominal and chest area contains many vital organs. For example, your gallbladder, pancreas, and liver are on your right side protected by the ribcage in your chest. Any inflammation or infection in these organs can cause pains in your chest, upper abdomen, and back. Because your heart is located in the center of your chest towards the left-hand side, generally cardiac heart disease symptoms dont affect the right side of your chest.

In this article, I will look at the various causes of chest pain that are felt on the right side of the chest. You will also find out when the chest pain is serious enough to call a doctor.

Pulled Chest Muscles Rib Fracture Or Broken Rib

One of the most common causes of rib pain is an injury to your rib cage. This could be something as simple as a pulled muscle or as serious as a rib fracture or broken rib. Of course, pulled chest muscles are usually nothing to worry about, however, a fractured or broken rib may need to be examined by a medical professional.

Pulled chest muscles. Your chest contains muscle groups referred to as your pecs which support your rib cage and upper body. Overstretching your arms, sudden jerking movements, or overuse injuries can pull, strain, or tear chest muscles. Dr. William Shiel on eMedicineHealth says that some symptoms of pulled muscles in your chest include:2

• Pain in your rib cage when you are resting
• Swelling, bruising, or redness around the affected area
• Muscle spasms or cramping in your upper chest
• Weakness in your arms

Pulled or injured intercostal muscles. The Intercostal muscles are found between each of your ribs and provide support to your upper body and assist in breathing. Sudden jerking movements or overstretching can strain the intercostal muscles resulting in mild to severe pain in ribs. The pain can wrap around the ribs and spread to your back causing rib pain in the back.

Fractured or broken rib. A more serious injury to your chest that can cause rib pain on the left side or right side is suffering a broken, fractured or bruised rib. Your chest contains your ribs, sternum, and xiphoid process.

Other symptoms of a cracked or broken rib include:

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Tips To Sleep Better With Severe Asthma At Night

Nocturnal asthma is associated with poor sleep quality. This condition of sleeplessness and its effects are worse for children. The average total sleep quality score of children affected by asthma is 51, which is above the clinical cut off of 41, but it indicates the pervasive sleep disturbances among this population.

Here are a few tips that can help you sleep better with asthma at night:

Fast Facts On Left Lung Pain:

• Left lung pain can be a symptom of many different conditions.
• Symptoms may not be a medical emergency, but they could represent an underlying problem.
• Treatments for left lung pain will depend on the underlying cause.

The following are examples of some of the more common causes of lung pain, including left lung pain:

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Intrinsic And Extrinsic Eosinophilic Disorders

Uncommon asthma masqueraders include tropical eosinophilia, Loefflers syndrome, hypereosinophilic syndrome and allergic angiitis. A detailed history and examination and appropriate laboratory investigations will usually reveal the appropriate underlying diagnosis.

Tropical pulmonary eosinophilia

This is a rare syndrome, characterized by a persistent or recurrent cough worse at night and is associated with generalized weakness, shortness of breath, weight loss, low grade fever, and splenomegaly. Wheezing may be an associated symptom. It is caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, a filarial infection, most frequently found in Asia. The diagnosis is established by a history of exposure, the presence of peripheral eosinophilia and increased titers of anti-filarial antibodies. Chest radiograph abnormalities include diffuse miliary lesions, cavitation or patchy consolidations and reticulonodular infiltrates. A good response to diethylcarbamazine, an inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism in microfilaria, is very supportive of the diagnosis .

Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis

Hypereosinophilic syndrome

Loeffler Syndrome

Loeffler syndrome is characterized by transient pulmonary infiltrates associated with dry cough, dyspnea, low grade fever, rales, wheezing and fleeting migratory eosinophilia in patients infected with helminth larvae such as Ascaris and Strongyloides This condition typically resolves spontaneously within 4 weeks .

When To Worry About Chest Pain

• /
• When to Worry About Chest Pain

Sometimes chest pain is just chest pain. Sometimes it’s only a muscle strain, heartburn or bronchitis. More often than not there are benign reasons, but you should be evaluated by a healthcare professional if you’re worried.

Chest pain can signal a serious condition, heart-related or otherwise. Here’s when you should call a healthcare provider if you’re having chest pain.

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Know The Early Symptoms Of Asthma

Early warning signs are changes that happen just before or at the very beginning of an asthma attack. These signs may start before the well-known symptoms of asthma and are the earliest signs that your asthma is worsening.

In general, these signs are not severe enough to stop you from going about your daily activities. But by recognizing these signs, you can stop an asthma attack or prevent one from getting worse. Early warning signs of an asthma attack include:

• Frequent cough, especially at night
• Losing your breath easily or shortness of breath
• Feeling very tired or weak when exercising

If you have these warning signs, adjust your medication, as described in your asthma action plan.

Heart Attack Symptoms Vary Widely

Dr. Rimmerman emphasizes that the symptoms of heart attack or angina can vary greatly from person to person. Some people experience no symptoms at all. Others experience crushing chest pain. Others may feel only arm, throat or jaw discomfort.

But the discomfort is usually unrelenting, typically lasting five minutes or more.

Regardless of where the pain is, people typically cant find a position that relieves the pain, Dr. Rimmerman says. Nor do they find relief by taking a drink of water, popping antacids or taking deep breaths.

And that means its time to call 911.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Rib Pain

Rib cage pain can occur anywhere below your ribs, in your upper or lower chest, or above your belly button. Sometimes, the dull to sharp pains may radiate to other parts of your body like your shoulder blade, left arm, or back. Very often you will just feel pain on one side of your rib cage.

According to Dr. Jennifer Robinson on WebMD, some symptoms of rib cage pain include:1

• Sharp aching pains in the center of your chest
• Squeezing pressure in the center of your rib cage because of cardiac-related issues
• Sharp stabbing rib pains when you breathe deeply or lie down
• Burning sensation in the center of your chest especially after eating
• Feeling of fullness under your rib cage
• Tenderness around your sternum
• Sudden severe pains under your ribs

Depending on the cause of your rib pain, you may also experience nausea, dizziness, cramping abdominal pains, shortness of breath, or a fever.

What Types Of Asthma Are There

Healthcare providers identify asthma as intermittent or persistent . Persistent asthma can be mild, moderate or severe. Healthcare providers base asthma severity on how often you have attacks. They also consider how well you can do things during an attack.

Asthma can be:

• Allergic: Some peoples allergies can cause an asthma attack. Molds, pollens and other allergens can cause an attack.
• Non-allergic: Outside factors can cause asthma to flare up. Exercise, stress, illness and weather may cause a flare.

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Symptoms And Signs Of Bronchial Asthma

Classic bronchial asthma symptoms and signs

* Bronchoconstriction caused by a CO2 deficiency* Inflammation of airways * Increased sensitivity of the immune system to innocent triggers * Excessive production of mucus in airways