What are the symptoms of bullae? Three major symptoms of bullae

Bullae refers to bullous emphysema, which is a localized emphysema. The alveoli are highly inflated, and the alveolar walls rupture and fuse with each other. It is usually caused by valve obstruction of small bronchi. Symptoms of bullae include:

Symptoms of bullous pulmonary disease

When the volume of bullae increases, the surrounding lung tissue is compressed and causes lung displacement. The compressed lung tissue appears as a shadow with increased density around the bullae on the chest X-ray. The above three types are all seen in chronic bronchitis. Centrilobular emphysema is not complicated by bullae. Lower lobe bullae are common in coal miners with complications of pneumoconiosis and confluent silicosis.

Symptoms of bullous pulmonary disease

Small bullae themselves do not cause symptoms, and patients with simple bullae often have no symptoms. Some bullae may remain unchanged for many years, and some bullae may gradually increase in size. The enlargement of bullae or the appearance of new bullae in other parts of the body may cause lung function disorders and gradual symptoms. Giant bullae may make patients feel chest tightness and shortness of breath. Sudden enlargement and rupture of bullae may produce spontaneous pneumothorax, causing severe dyspnea and chest pain similar to angina pectoris.

Symptoms of bullous pulmonary disease

Patients with bullae often have concurrent chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and emphysema, and the clinical symptoms are also mainly caused by these diseases. However, after the formation of bullae, the clinical symptoms further worsen, and secondary infection of bullae can cause cough, sputum, chills and fever, and cyanosis in severe cases. If the drainage bronchus is blocked, the bulla cavity will be filled with inflammatory substances, which may cause the cavity to disappear. Clinically, the infection symptoms may disappear after treatment, but the bulla shadow on the chest X-ray may persist for weeks or months.