Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of the lung called the pleura. The usual risk factor includes exposure to asbestos. Because of this, the timeline for development of this cancer from time of exposure is usually very long( usually in terms of decades after). Typical symptoms include dyspnea , cough that fails to resolve, chest pain and weight loss.

Thank you for your question. I’m sorry to hear that your mother is suffering from a prolonged and problematic cough which can be a complex condition. Coughing is a reflex that protects your upper airway and lungs from irritants such as excessive mucous and foreign bodies. When persistent, it is often a symptom of a condition, ranging from conditions arising from the nose & sinuses (e. g sensitive nose, sinus infections), lungs (e. g asthma and bronchitis), throat and stomach (e. g. acid reflux from the stomach) to side effects from medications or smoking.

Thank you for your question - and a great one it is! My colleagues have given you excellent answers and I certainly wont repeat them, but the one thing I might add is it might be worth seeing a respiratory/sports physician who is experienced with runners. You see, sometimes breathing difficulties can also be due to exercise-induced asthma. If you are having a runny nose and congestion, you will most likely have an element of atophy (asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis). Sometimes, this can manifest in exercise-induced asthma too. Seeing someone and being assessed for this might be helpful!

Cough is a reflex that protects your upper airway from foreign materials and irritants. However, when persistent, it can be a troublesome symptom. The cause of a chronic or prolonged cough can range from conditions arising from the nose (e. g. Rhinitis and Sinusitis), stomach (e. g. acid reflux from the stomach to the throat, medically known as Laryngopharyngeal reflux or LPR) and lungs (e. g. Asthma, Bronchitis etc) to side effects from medications (e. g. blood pressure medications) and smoking.

It can be quite common for a cough to persist for a while, after recovering from bronchitis. As for the next steps to take, you may want to check out these 2 similar questions that were previously answered by our colleagues here: How do I get rid of a persistent cough? What could be the cause of a persistent dry cough? What could be the cause of chronic cough at night and in early morning? How can I stop the cough? In most instances, your cough will gradually get better over time, with some of the symptomatic medication that your GPs would have prescribed.

I am sorry to hear about your symptoms. Essentially, the clinician would take a thorough medial history, examine you and then determine if further investigations are needed. This might include a chest X-ray and ECG in the first instance and further tests might include blood tests, CT scans etc It does sound like your symptoms may be anxiety/stress related, nevertheless chest pain and difficulty breathing should not be ignored and I would certainly arrange to see a general physician, cardiologies or exercise specialist. I hope this helps.

There are many reasons that smoking is detrimental to health, including an increased risk of lung cancer, increased risk of thrombosis (clots) in the heart and legs and unfortunately, for most is additive. It also increases the risk of developing chronic airways diseases. There maybe others out there who are might be like you and your grandfather, but for most people, smoking is an unhealthy and damaging activity.

Hi, Some uncommon causes of such pain, after ruling out more threatening causes, include costochondritis ( pain being more in front) and slipping rib syndrome ( pain being more at the side). Muscular causes may be considered in event there was any prior trauma. While it may be managed with medication, a single injection with local anesthetic and steroid helps to reduce the pain, wash out any inflammation and provide an expansion effect to any nerve compression. Do consult your friendly orthopedic or pain doctor for a better assessment!

Smoking reduces blood flow and reduces the ability of your immune system to tackle infections. Both of these important functions will be impaired if you are recovering from a dental surgical procedure (such as an extraction). Smokers are at increased risk of developing a dry socket (Where a normal blood clot fails to form in the extraction socket, leading to superinfection of the exposed bone by oral bacteria. This is an extremely painful condition that takes a long time to heal.) take longer to heal, and are more prone to infections of the surgical site.

Thanks for your question - it is certainly a common problem for people who have been experiencing a chronic cough and is mainly due to an overload of the intercostal muscles, or in more severe cases, a localised stress reaction of the bone. Often, there are no externally visible changes but lying down on the side and taking deep breaths can trigger off the pain. Simple measures usually include anti-inflammatories, heat packs and topical rubs.

Thank you for your question. The throat can be medically divided into the pharynx and larynx. The pharynx is broadly divided into three parts: Nasopharynx (the area at the back of your nose) Oropharynx (the area behind your mouth) Hypopharynx (the throat area just around and above the voice box) The larynx, is the voice box which sits on the top of the windpipe (trachea). It is responsible for voice production and helps protect to the windpipe (trachea) and lungs.

Wheezing is a situation whereby a patient’s airways go into spasms, resulting in the patient feeling short of breath and a high pitched “whistling sound” develops, which seems to come from the lungs. My patient usually complains that they feel tight in the chest and can hear a whistling sound and find it hard to speak in full sentences. It can be due to a variety of causes, with the most common causes being asthma attacks and infections of the airways or lungs.

Thank you for sharing your situation with us. May I offer a few suggestions. Firstly, it will be good to make a distinction between fatigue and sleepiness. For someone who is fatigued or tired, some rest may help. For someone with sleepiness due to insufficient sleep or poor sleep quality at night, then a nap in the afternoon may be useful. Secondly, it will be good to consider the onset of your daytime sleepiness. For many normal individuals, in a 24 hour period, there are two periods where a person will feel especially sleepy.

Blood in the spit can originate from different sources including: Nose and sinuses Mouth and oral cavity (including the teeth, gums and throat region) Lungs For each area/part of the above-mentioned anatomy, there are many possible causes ranging from infection, inflammation, trauma, tumour etc. It is not possible to discuss all possible causes of blood in your spit in this Q&A session. However, if this is your only symptom and you do not have any chest symptoms (e. g.

If your infant is choking, this is an emergency. If you are trained to do a chest thrust and back thrust, you can do that. Otherwise, bringing the child to a nearby clinic and calling 995 might be a good idea.