Why does the lower right side of my chest hurt?

For friends who suffer from pain in the lower right side of the chest, they really want to know the reason for the pain in the lower right side of the chest. So what is the cause of the pain in the lower right side of the chest? Next, this article will introduce you to the relevant content about what causes pain in the lower right side of the chest, for your reference only. Friends who want to know more about this can continue reading! Please see the detailed introduction below.

What causes pain in the lower right side of chest? Pain in the lower right side of your chest may be caused by costochondritis. Costochondritis is a common disease, which is divided into nonspecific costochondritis and infectious costochondritis. The most common type in clinical practice is nonspecific costochondritis, which accounts for more than 95% of outpatient visits. It is a nonspecific, non-suppurative inflammation of the costal cartilage. It is a non-suppurative costochondritis lesion of unknown cause occurring at the junction of the costal cartilage and the sternum, and is a self-limiting disease characterized by localized pain and swelling. It is more common in adults aged 25 to 35 years old, mostly women, but the elderly can also get the disease. Infectious costochondritis, also known as suppurative costochondritis, is a rare surgical infection.

Symptoms of costochondritis include:

1. Nonspecific costochondritis

In the early stage of the disease, patients feel chest pain. After a few days, swelling, bulge, dull pain or sharp pain appear in the affected costal cartilage. The site of occurrence is mostly the 2nd to 4th costal cartilage beside the sternum, with the 2nd costal cartilage being the most common, and occasionally it can also occur in the costal arch. This disease often affects a single rib, but occasionally multiple ribs or both sides of the ribs are affected at the same time. There is obvious local tenderness, and the pain radiates severely to the scapula or side shoulder, upper arm, and armpit of the back, and is aggravated by deep breathing, coughing, and activity. Because the lesion is located in the upper part of the breast, there is also referred pain in the breast on the same side, and female patients mistakenly think they have breast pain and seek medical treatment. The course of the disease may last for several hours or days, but it may relapse and usually heal itself within a few months, but in some cases it may last for several years.

2. Infectious costochondritis

The local skin will become red, swollen, hot and painful, with chest pain being the main symptom. Most of the symptoms are of this type first, with varying degrees of severity. Patients are afraid to take deep breaths or cough due to chest pain, which can easily lead to lung infection. Soft tissue necrosis can form abscesses, and rupture of abscesses can form sinus tracts. Patients often have obvious systemic infection symptoms.

Treatment for costochondritis is as follows:

1. Nonspecific costochondritis

(1) Costochondritis is generally treated only symptomatically, such as taking analgesics, hot compresses, physical therapy, or local blockade with procatheter. Systemic or topical administration of corticosteroids may also help relieve symptoms. Erythromycin and morphine can be taken in the acute phase. Alternatively, you can use hormones such as prednisone or dexamethasone. For those with severe pain, 5 ml of lidocaine plus triamcinolone can be injected directly at the painful point.

(2) If the pain fails to be relieved by long-term drug treatment, affects the patient's mood and work, or local malignant tumors cannot be ruled out, costal cartilage resection may be considered.

2. Infectious costochondritis

Perform conservative treatment first, use targeted antibiotics to effectively control infection and provide symptomatic analgesia. When the above methods are ineffective, surgical treatment is required.

The above is an introduction to what causes pain in the lower right side of the chest. I believe that after reading the above introduction, you will have a very clear understanding of the causes of pain in the lower right side of the chest. In fact, costochondritis is the main cause of pain in the lower right side of the chest. Therefore, for friends who have pain in the lower right side of the chest, it is important to seek timely treatment!