Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Does scar tissue from pneumonia go away?

I had pneumonia pretty bad when I was about 5 and was wondering if it would still show up on a ct scan? I'm now a 32 year old male.
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
The reason I ask is because, I had a ct w/contrast of the head and neck. The Doc said that I have shotty nodes in the neck area. Did not specify what region. She didn't seem concerned about them so much. She then stated that the ct showed somthing in the upper lobes of the lungs and asked if I had ever had a bad case of pneumonia. When I was about five I told her. She had me schedule another ct on my chest, that's in about a week. I originally went to the ENT because of a persistant pain in my right throat that causes irritation to my right ear for three months now. It comes and goes but I feel it every day. I also feel noduals in the throat area and on the back of my head and neck. I have no symtoms of infection and feel good. So I was curious if what she saw could still be scar tissue of is these are symtoms of somthing more serious. I have Gurd for several years now and am taking Prilosec for a few weeks. The Doc says maybe Gurd is whats causing the refered ear pain. Thanks for the response, I'm just trying to figure this out and move forward.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello,
Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. When an infection develops, there is an inflammation of the air passages beyond the windpipe. Part of our immune response results in the formation of mucus and catarrh, which takes a couple of weeks to clear. If the attacking bacteria or virus is particularly aggressive, or we are run down and immuno-suppressed, the bug may multiply rapidly to invade a whole area of lung tissue. This may occur in an entire lobe of the lung or be scattered throughout both lungs in bronchopneumonia. When the lining (pleura) of the lung becomes affected, the infective process will cause the lung to adhere to the pleura to produce the pain of pleurisy. Then, as the condition becomes walled off by our defending white blood cells, the inflammatory response will sometimes result in scarring. It is equally likely that an area of infection within the lung will be contained by the body's immune response and that scar tissue will develop. These changes will often produce an appearance of thickening, or scarring, on an X-ray of the chest.
In time, the infection and inflammatory response will subside. The scarring will diminish steadily as time goes by in most of cases but in some cases it does not entirely disappear throughout the life or most of the life. Hope  it helps.Regards.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Undiagnosed Symptoms Community

Top General Health Answerers
363281 tn?1643235611
Nelson, New Zealand
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
19694731 tn?1482849837
AL
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
In this unique and fascinating report from Missouri Medicine, world-renowned expert Dr. Raymond Moody examines what really happens when we almost die.
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
When it comes to your health, timing is everything
We’ve got a crash course on metabolism basics.
Learn what you can do to avoid ski injury and other common winter sports injury.