What are the symptoms of pneumothorax?
Patient: I was getting a nerve block in my left rib cage about 2 1/2 months ago at the doctor punctured my long and caused a up I was in a lot of pain when that happened but and spent three days in the hospital then I came home and I felt a lot better but slowly that left rib cage is starting to hurt again and I am worried that it’s I I’ve had x-rays and the x-rays don’t show anything but I’m afraid that pneumothorax is cause some kind of infection or something is that possible Doctor: Hi,  Pneumothorax is a condition in which the space between the pleura in the lungs fills up with air.   The pleura is a lining of the lungs that is just below the rib cage and just above the lungs. There is a space between 2 pleura.  When there is a puncture in the pleura and it is communicating with the outside, there can be air entering into the pleural cavity. This is known as pneumothorax or air in the thorax.   Some symptoms of this include pain in the chest, pain while breathing, difficulty in breathing, coughing, and pain while coughing.   Most pneumothorax is very easily detected in an X-ray. There are, however, other diseases which occur with a needle prick that enters too deep and these can cause chest pain and breathing difficulty as well.  Getting another opinion may be a good idea in case the pain persists. Rarely, an abdominal or cardiac cause may cause chest pain and getting those systems checked may help.  Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.  Take care  Regards, Dr Vignan Rachabattuni, General & Family Physician