• Difficulty breathing
• High fever
• Signs of infection like redness, pus, and increased swelling at the rib joints
• Persistent or worsening pain despite taking medications

If you experience difficulty breathing or any of the following symptoms, it's essential to visit the emergency department, as these symptoms are generally not associated with costochondritis:

• High fever that doesn't respond to fever-reducing medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil)
• Signs of infection at the tender spot, such as pus, redness, increased pain, and swelling
• Persistent chest pain of any type, along with symptoms like nausea, sweating, left arm pain, or generalized chest pain that isn't well localized. These could be signs of a heart attack. If you're unsure about your condition, always go to the emergency department.

Self-Care and Treatment

Treatment involves conservative local care and the judicious use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen or naproxen, as needed.

Applying local heat or ice may help relieve the symptoms.

Avoid unnecessary exercise or activities that worsen the symptoms. Refrain from contact sports until your symptoms improve, and then gradually resume normal activities as tolerated.

Prevention

Since the exact cause of inflammatory costochondritis is unknown, there's no specific way to prevent it.