Question

My sister is currently in the hospital, she has fluid on the lungs and her white blood cells are high. She does have auto-immune disease, however the doc stated that her secretions are up, and I'm trying to understand what that means. I believe they will be going in and draining some fluid out of her lungs.

Answer 1

Pnuemonia is a common respiratory infection caused by excess fluid in the lung sacs. The purpose of white blood cells are to fight off infections. When the white blood cell count in higher than normal, this means the persons body, in this case your sister, is fighting off an infection. Secretions are the body's way of clearing mucus out of the lungs. The two main ways to clear the mucus out of lungs are the mucocilary systems and basic coughing. Her body has a higher amount of secretions directly due to the respiratory infection. Draining fluid out of her lungs is the best option now if medications are not helping. The way to drain the fluid is by a nasal tube inserted through her nasal cavity typically done while one is put asleep by general anesthesia.