Can you smoke with pneumothorax?

Written by Han Shun Li

Pulmonology

Updated on December 31, 2024

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After suffering from pneumothorax, patients often experience symptoms such as chest pain, chest tightness, and coughing. Can patients smoke after suffering from pneumothorax? It is advised against smoking after suffering from pneumothorax, as smoke and harmful substances directly irritate the respiratory tract, worsening the patient's symptoms. Additionally, smoking produces a large amount of carbon monoxide, which, when absorbed by the body, can cause hypoxia, thereby exacerbating symptoms of breathing difficulty. Therefore, patients with pneumothorax should not smoke, and it is also recommended to quit smoking even after recovery from pneumothorax, as smoking is harmful in many ways and particularly damaging to the respiratory system.

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Written by Zhang Zhi Gong

Cardiothoracic Surgery

1min 5sec

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How to check for hemothorax and pneumothorax?

Actually, the examination methods for hemothorax and pneumothorax are quite simple. From their definitions, we know that hemothorax means the abnormal presence of blood in the pleural cavity, and pneumothorax means the presence of gas in the pleural cavity where it shouldn't be. Therefore, the simplest examination is an X-ray, a standard frontal and lateral chest X-ray, which usually costs about 52 yuan, can detect whether a patient has pneumothorax. As for hemothorax, of course, it involves the use of a syringe. After injecting some lidocaine local anesthesia into the patient, if blood is withdrawn from the pleural cavity, then it indicates a hemothorax. Thus, the first step in examining for hemothorax and pneumothorax is to perform an X-ray to check for the presence of gas. If gas is detected, then it is pneumothorax. If liquid is found, a syringe under ultrasound guidance can be used to withdraw it. If the withdrawal yields fluid, it indicates pleural effusion; if blood is drawn, then it indicates hemothorax.

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Written by Li Hu Chen

Imaging Center

53sec

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How to Read a Pneumothorax X-ray

Pneumothorax has typical manifestations on a chest X-ray. Normally, the pulmonary markings on both sides are quite clear and visible. However, when a pneumothorax occurs, the part of the lung tissue with these markings tends to be compressed due to the accumulation of a large amount of gas in the surrounding pleural cavity, pushing the lung to contract towards the center. Around the periphery, these lung margins, which are outside the lung, meaning inside the pleural cavity, display the gas as very uniform and fine, without any markings. This is because it is pure gas, simply air, hence it is impossible for it to have markings. There is a particularly distinct demarcation line, a thin line, between this part of the pleural cavity and the lungs. Through these features, one can determine the presence of a pneumothorax.

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Written by Zhang Zhi Gong

Cardiothoracic Surgery

1min 23sec

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Foods to avoid with pneumothorax

We know that the lung tissue of a normal person is like a balloon. When breathing, this balloon expands and contracts, and there are about hundreds of millions of small structures in the lungs like balloons, which we call alveolar tissue. This structure also continuously expands and contracts, expelling carbon dioxide and inhaling oxygen. For certain reasons, such as infection or due to the body shape of tall, thin young people, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchitis in elderly people, this alveolar structure can rupture, causing some alveoli to merge into a large bulla. Of course, if the large bulla eventually ruptures, the break in this balloon-like surface will leak air into the pleural cavity, causing a pneumothorax. As for the nutrition from food, we believe that patients should not refrain from certain foods, but should instead increase their intake of protein, such as eating three to four egg whites daily. If worried about high cholesterol, discard the yolk, consuming only one yolk per day, but ensuring adequate protein intake. Therefore, for patients with pneumothorax, it is not about avoiding certain foods, but about eating more of those foods to which they are not allergic, such as shrimp and beef, rather than restricting their diet.

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Written by Zhang Zhi Gong

Cardiothoracic Surgery

1min 10sec

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Pneumothorax should be seen by which department?

If it is the patient's first pneumothorax occurrence and they are relatively young with no obvious lung bullae on the surface of their lungs, then seeing the emergency department should be sufficient to resolve the issue. Generally, if less than 20% of the lung is compressed, the patient can simply breathe oxygen at home or at a community hospital to gradually recover. However, if the patient is older and the degree of pneumothorax exceeds 20%, even reaching above 30%, it is advisable to insert a small tube between one and two millimeters into the pleural cavity to extract the air. At this point, it is recommended to consult thoracic surgery. After the air is released, a CT scan is also necessary to check for obvious lung bullae or small tears on the lung surface. If a small tear is found, it is best to use minimally invasive thoracoscopy to suture or seal the tear to prevent recurrence. Therefore, if possible, directly consider consulting thoracic surgery for pneumothorax; if thoracic surgery is not available, then consider seeing the emergency department.

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Written by Yuan Qing

Pulmonology

58sec

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Pneumothorax clinical manifestations

Pneumothorax is primarily caused by various factors, both internal and external to the lungs, leading to a significant accumulation of gas within the chest cavity. Patients exhibit symptoms such as chest tightness, breathlessness, including coughing, chest pain, and other related symptoms, which are collectively referred to as pneumothorax. Patients with pneumothorax can be classified into mild and severe types. Generally, after the onset of pneumothorax, patients who only experience symptoms like panting, chest tightness, chest pain, or coughing, but maintain stable blood pressure and heart rate, are considered to have a mild condition. However, if in addition to these respiratory symptoms, the patient clearly exhibits a drop in blood pressure, a decrease in oxygen saturation, or a reduction in heart rate, these conditions are considered severe and require urgent treatment.