Two days ago, I started having some pain in my ribs. The pain was sharp, and breathing didn't make it worse. It didn't last more than a couple of minutes at a time. I've also been getting a strange rattling sensation in my chest when I breathe. It doesn't happen every time, though. Last night, I went to the ER because I was having some trouble breathing.
A while after I was admitted, the doctor came in and listened to my lungs and heart. He said they sounded perfect. I told him about my symptoms and was diagnosed with pleurisy. He prescribed me an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory medicine, and I got released.
From what I've read in books and on the Internet, people usually get pleurisy after they've had pneumonia or some other respiratory infection, certain cancers, blood clots, etc. I haven't had any of those things wrong with me.
I haven't been having any chest pain at all today. I'm still a little bit short of breath, but that might be because of my anxiety disorder. As for the chest rattling, it's gone too. What's weird is, it went away after I ate.
So here are my questions:
1. Is it possible to have pleurisy without any chest pain at all?
2. Can somebody get pleurisy from having allergies? (Hay fever, specifically)
I'm trying to decide whether I should get the medicine or go to my regular doctor and get a second opinion.