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Should I be worried about the lung cramps I've recently been experiencing in the same spot?

should I go to a doctor about it? Why I’m worried: I’m 19 and I’m a bit of a smoker. Haven’t been smoking for long though. Off and on in my teenage years, but i quit during my senior year of high school. Now that I’m a freshman in college, I’ve picked it up again. I’ll have maybe one or two cigarettes a day, but I can go weeks without smoking with no physical side effects (as I am doing during break with the family). So although I may like them, I dont physically depend on them. What’s going on: I have always had lung cramps (when a sharp pain in a particular spot in the lung prevents you from breathing suddenly, it eventually goes away but only after a few minutes of very shallow breathing until the pain goes away), my dad has them too at times, but lately they have been far more regular and in a specific location most of the time. My main question: should I wait it out and see if they go away since im not smoking right currently, or should I just go straight to a doctor?

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Answer #1

With your history of smoking it is unlikely that is the cause…

Are you perhaps asthmatic? History of allergies?

If this is something that prevents you from doing ‘normal’ activities, then yes, see a doc.

Answer #2

it forces me to stop doing what ever i am doing at the time and just not move until it goes away, but i havent had a history of asthma nor allergies. im pretty healthy compared to most; lucky really. i mean, the only health issues ive had are chronic migraines and this. i just kinda tend to worry when something’s off and i’d rather ask then continue to worry about it, you know?

Answer #3

The pain you are describing sounds very familiar to a problem I have, myself - it’s when the lubricating layer between the ribs and the lungs thins out and causes the lungs to chafe against the rib bones … it feels like a stabbing pain and makes you want to hold your breath. I’m not a smoker - never have been, but if this is the same thing, there’s not much you can do about it. In the end, we’re not qualified to diagnose you and we can’t very well run tests on you, so any time you have unfamiliar pain, you should see a doctor.

Answer #4

Yup, Colleen is right it could be pleurisy- I had it once and it can hurt like h*ll- (mine was from a broken rib playing hockey). I would guess that the most common cause is infection and that Colleen’s (lack of surfactant) is pretty rare. Sounds to me like it is time for the doctor.

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