Suggest treatment for chest infection
Patient: im 21 weeks pregnant and have had a virus that ended in a nastey chest infection, i have had horrendous pain in my left rib and whilst coughing last week i felt a pop in my ribs, i now have a pop sensation when ever i breath and am in pain when i wake in the mornings if led on left hand side. lifting my left arm high causes discomfort what have i done Doctor: Hello dear, thanks for your question on HCM. I can understand your situation and problem. Since you are pregnant,  chest x ray to confirm lung infection,  is contraindicated in your case.Treatment of chest infection is based on isolation of causative organism.So get done sputum culture and sensitivity. Culture is needed to isolate the causative organism and sensitivity will be helpful in guiding appropriate antibiotic treatment. By this, we can avoid haphazard antibiotic use.Antibiotics in pregnancy should be used cautiously as they can damage fetus.So better to get done sputum culture and sensitivity to guide appropriate antibiotic treatment.