How can I tell the difference between dangerous chest pain and a muscle pull/strain?
OK. First, the disclaimer. I’m not a doctor, and even if I were, I wouldn’t offer a diagnosis without examining you. There are probably 100 different things that could be causing this pain, and if you want to be sure, you should see a doctor. I’d think you could probably rule out causes of chest pain like hiatal hernia and reflux disease, although liver/gall bladder problems, pleurisy (an infection in the lining around your lungs), or some type of atypical cardiac event are all possibilities. I will give you a guess, though. I used to be a nurse, and not only have I seen those exact symptoms before, I’ve also had them. It sounds an awful lot to me like you’ve got costochondritis, which is the inflammation of the cartilage that attaches your ribs to your breastbone. It causes agonizing pain that stabs you when you move, breathe wrong or sneeze and can easily be right-sided as opposed to left. It also hurts in your ribs rather than in the organs underneath.