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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Fluid on the lung
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Fluid on the lung
by Chanice, Nov 09, 2003 12:00AM
My father has previously had bowel cancer and had surgery which he has overcome. He is a diabetic and is almost 76 years old but he has been screened for liver problems and kidney and he has had procedures done for increase flow rate for urine. He has been told he has a leaking heart valve which is not huge but he has an inflammed heart. He takes heart tablets which do make him cough but following a flu jab he has been done with a fever like state i.e. cold/flu and has now been told by emergency doctors that he has fluid on the lung which is currently being treated with antibiotic tablets. Both my sister and myself feel that something more should be being done but I am not sure if draining the fluid is a natural choice or tablets? Can anyone advise us as it is a worry and my father is not a young man so as he is currently at home with my mother who is also trying to recover from this flu/cold bug any advise would be most useful.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-RCJ, Nov 09, 2003 12:00AM
Chanice,
Thanks for the post.
Firstly, seeking care from emergency room physicians for a non-emergency is a good way to get poor care. If you are worried in the middle of the night about a new cough, fever, or whatever -- fine, take your father to the ER. But you need to follow-up the next day with his primary doctor. ER physicians are not well-suited, or trained, to take care or more sub-acute problems in someone with your father's extensive history.
If you and your sister are concerned, it is probably with good reason. Seek attention from your father's internist. "Fluid on the lungs" can mean many things: pneumonia, heart failure, pleurisy, etc. An internist can help you sort through this illness.
Good luck.
Thanks for the post.
Firstly, seeking care from emergency room physicians for a non-emergency is a good way to get poor care. If you are worried in the middle of the night about a new cough, fever, or whatever -- fine, take your father to the ER. But you need to follow-up the next day with his primary doctor. ER physicians are not well-suited, or trained, to take care or more sub-acute problems in someone with your father's extensive history.
If you and your sister are concerned, it is probably with good reason. Seek attention from your father's internist. "Fluid on the lungs" can mean many things: pneumonia, heart failure, pleurisy, etc. An internist can help you sort through this illness.
Good luck.
I don't want to be an alarmist but I also want my father treated correctly and I am not convinced this is happening at the moment as his own GP/Doctor is telling him to take heart tablets in the morning and then other doctors are saying it is evening. Who do you believe.