# pneumonia and coughing up blood?



## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

My brother-in-law apparently was at work yesterday carrying a ladder when he started coughing up blood. His boss sent him to the ER and they did xrays and admitted him. They said pneumonia but that they didn't like something on the xrays so wanted to order a CT scan to be safe. They apparently did that and sent him on his way saying it was just pneumonia but that what they thought might have been on the xray was an aneurism (they say it was confirmed not to be by the CT scan).

I'm wondering if my BIL is not being honest with us. We believe the pneumonia part as he was recently exposed to very cold weather that he's not used to (due to travel) and his sick dad. We just wonder if there's something else going on. He did not want his wife to come to the hospital while he was admitted so I wonder if he was just trying to protect her from her neurotic, paranoid self or if he's not telling us the whole story. Would they really admit you for just a few hours? Would pneumonia cause one to cough up blood? He and his wife are both heavy smokers and his dad is currently dying of lung cancer. We wondered if there might have been a tumor on those xrays and CT scan. We're not going to force the info out of him but it just makes us all go... "Hmmmmm..."


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## Pink_Carnation (Apr 21, 2006)

I don't know about coughing up blood, but they will just run the tests and send you home with medication if they can.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

It just surprised me that they admitted him at all vs. just having him wait in the ER...

I forgot to say he also has bronchitis.


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## Pink_Carnation (Apr 21, 2006)

Sometimes they prefer to do things with you admitted...I think it depends on where in the hospital the equipment is tied to. They also may have done that just until they could feel more sure of what ever was on the x-ray that concerned them.


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

My ex-husband's aunt found out she had lung cancer when SHE started coughing up blood


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

Pneumonia usually is a bacterial infection (it can be viral). I don't know for sure, but would expect the bacteria to eat away the lung tissue and that would cause bleeding. I have been told by medical folks that when you die of pneumonia it is from drowning in pus produced by the bacteria.


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

I've had bronchitis numerous times and coughed up blood-tinged crud with it. The one time I had pneumonia the same thing happened. Also when I had mono.

Granted, coughing up blood and coughing up blood-tinged crud are two different things. Which one resembles what's happening with your BIL?


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Thanks all.

Steve is much better. He had a mild rash as a reaction to the antibiotics they gave him but they switched his meds and he's nearly 100% now. His dad just died of cancer though so he's had a bit of a rollercoaster these past few months (as our whole family has with several health issues & deaths).


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