There are many reasons for vague stabbing pain in chest when breathing, which may be caused by intercostal neuritis, spontaneous pneumothorax, pleurisy, pericarditis and bronchopulmonary cancer.
1. Intercostal neuritis: the most prominent symptom of intercostal neuritis is pain, which is tingling or burning pain, and the pain is aggravated when coughing, deep breathing or sneezing.
2. Spontaneous pneumothorax: mostly occurring in tall, thin young adults, often manifested as pneumothorax, tearing pain on one side of the chest, aggravated by coughing or breathing.
3. Pleurisy: such as tuberculous pleurisy, bacterial pleurisy, etc., in the inflammation of the exudate is small, the patient manifests as breathing or coughing chest pain or dull pain aggravated, the exudate is larger when the pain symptoms can be alleviated, but accompanied by respiratory difficulties.
4. Pericarditis: such as rheumatic pericarditis, viral pericarditis, etc., manifested as sharp pain in the retrosternal and precordial area, which can be radiated to the left shoulder, arm and neck, and can also reach the epigastric region. The pain is related to thoracic movement, often aggravated by coughing, deep breathing, position change or swallowing.
5. Bronchopulmonary cancer: when the cancer invades the pleura or chest wall, it often causes continuous, fixed and severe chest pain, which can be aggravated when coughing and breathing.
In addition to the above reasons, there may be other reasons for vague stabbing pain in chest when breathing. It is recommended to go to the hospital for perfect examination so as to clarify the cause of disease and timely treatment.