Expert: Gary - 6/15/2005

Question
I'm a teenage girl and in good health. Lately I have been getting random pains in the left side of my chest. They last a few seconds to a minute, and vary in pain. Its only on the left side, and seems to have something to do with my lung since my breathing effects the pain I feel when it hurts. I was wondering if it was something I should talk to a doctor about or if it is nothing to worry about.

Answer
Hi Addie

The likelihood is that it's nothing serious and will go away in time. It could be something as benign as a pulled muscle, for example. However, there's always the remote possibility that it's something you need to see your doctor about. That doesn't mean it's serious though. It might be a little bit of pleurisy following a chest infection. Have you had a bad chest recently?

I would suggest seeing how it is after a week and if it's no better then, go and see your doctor.

I'd be very surprised if it's anything serious, but it would be worth having things checked out if it fails to get better by itself.

hope this helps

regards

Gary