The cough radiates to the chest. What to do if you have a cough and chest pain

The occurrence of chest pain when coughing is always alarming, especially if there is no corresponding reason for this. Very often, such pain occurs due to inflammation of the human respiratory system with various respiratory infections. But there are cases when this condition characterizes completely different diseases.

To properly deal with pain in the chest, you need to explore all possible ways of its occurrence and try to prevent the onset of the disease. If there are any signs, you need to contact an experienced specialist as soon as possible and get information on how and with what to treat this disease.

Causes of pain

Pain when coughing cannot occur just like that, so it is a consequence of a disease that begins to develop in the body. For its rapid treatment, it is necessary to conduct a correct analysis, to establish the source of the disease. The reasons:

With inflammation of the respiratory system, colds usually occur. These include:

Flu.
SARS.
Bronchitis.
Pneumonia.

They are characterized by symptoms such as general lethargy, fever, runny nose, sore throat, wet or dry cough, with inflammation of the lungs, the temperature rise is instantaneous and does not pass, it can only be brought down with the help of medicines. This diagnosis is very dangerous and requires immediate hospitalization!

With a properly observed treatment regimen, these pains go away when the virus is defeated. The residual effect of coughing can be observed for several weeks after the acute phase of the disease.

When there is constant pain in the sternum in the middle, most likely, it indicates the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, for example:

Heart disease is characterized by heavy breathing, high heart pressure, stabbing pain to the left of the chest. Along with the cough, mucus and bloody sputum may be released. It is very difficult to independently determine diseases associated with the heart, this should be done by an experienced cardiologist, while conducting all the necessary studies.

The presence of pleurisy in the lungs can also cause pain when coughing. Dry cough prevails here, which is accompanied by a lot of sweating in the patient. This hurts the chest. The affected side of the lung is very sore and makes breathing much more difficult. Pleurisy should be treated quickly enough to avoid complications.

Consider the following diseases in which chest pain during coughing:

Types of pain and diagnosis

Depending on the location of the pain, the specialist will establish the correct diagnosis, as well as quickly prescribe a course of rehabilitation. It is worth noting that chest pain during a strong cough is the same in a child and an adult. Therefore, you need to clearly know the causes of pain, its main types:

Chest pain in the presence of a cough can be of a different nature and there are many reasons for its occurrence. It can be both cardiovascular diseases and many other pathologies.

If there is a characteristic pain in the chest when coughing, the doctor must quickly and correctly establish the diagnosis. It is best to use clinical and laboratory methods:

To accurately determine the cause of the pain, it is worth going through a series of the above procedures that the doctor will prescribe.

And only after that apply the prescribed treatment. It is worth remembering that research is typical for both an adult and a child.

Treatment and preventive measures

Depending on the established cause of pain, you can start treatment and take the prescribed drugs. Treatment methods for various diseases that cause chest pain when coughing are as follows:

Coughing is common. It can be triggered by various factors. When coughing hurts in the chest, it is necessary to determine the cause, conduct a diagnosis, and correctly prescribe treatment.

Causes of pain and symptoms

The causes of pain can be different. Someone mistakenly thinks that it is caused exclusively by colds, but there can be many factors that provoke a cough reflex. Why does a strong cough cause pain?

When small particles enter the respiratory tract - dust particles, bacteria, they are excreted using mucociliary transport - a protective system that includes mucus lining the respiratory tract and special ciliated cells. Their cilia fluctuate from the inside outward, constantly evacuating mucus with particles included in it from the respiratory tract. If the mucosa is inflamed due to an ongoing infectious process, the activity of mucociliary transport decreases, so the body shows a protective reaction. Cough is the very reflex-protective function.

Thus, cough is not a disease, but a symptom of a certain ailment that needs to be diagnosed. Chest pain with it indicates an urgent need for treatment.

Its main symptoms are:

burning;
difficulty breathing, especially during an attack;
frequent shortness of breath;
pain when inhaling / exhaling, even in a calm environment.

Important! Even a small pain syndrome cannot be ignored.

When the chest hurts when coughing, the main reasons for this are:

Bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma. These diseases are usually accompanied by a paroxysmal cough, which is not easy to get rid of. This constant pressure on the chest provokes the appearance of pain.
Other respiratory diseases. Adults tolerate them easier than children, chest pain with such infections is often found in babies. Dry cough is accompanied by shortness of breath, if discharge with sputum appears, the child may suffocate. All this is also the cause of chest pain.
Stress. For some, it is surprising that a cough can be triggered by feelings, stress, anxiety. In fact, with nervous disorders, people often experience suffocation, which causes a cough reflex with painful sensations.
Stretching of the intercostal muscles. It can be caused by various ailments: colds, tuberculosis, even lung cancer.
Other reasons. These include: intercostal neuralgia, chest injuries, pleurisy, other diseases, heart disease.

Important! Sometimes it is possible to detect lung cancer and other similar diseases at an early stage, thanks to a timely visit to the hospital with a complaint of acute chest pain when coughing.

in the middle

Pain in the middle of the chest is a sign of such diseases:

Diseases of the bronchi. Most often, bronchitis is manifested in this way, caused by an inflammatory process that began in the respiratory system as a result of an infection. Discomfort occurs when sneezing, coughing.
Angina. It is a disease of the cardiovascular system. The pain has a stabbing sensation, sometimes it can be so strong that a person is afraid to take a deep breath.
Costal chondritis (Tietze's syndrome). It is characterized by inflammation in the cartilaginous part of the ribs in the area of their attachment to the sternum.

Behind the sternum

Pain behind the sternum usually appears simultaneously with a strong burning sensation in this area. Especially aggravated when a cough attack occurs in a horizontal position. This phenomenon is called gastroesophageal reflux. This is the reflux of the contents of the stomach back into the esophagus due to the weakness of the sphincter at the border of these two organs. In this case, pain occurs due to the effect of hydrochloric acid contained in gastric juice on the mucous membrane of the esophagus.

Then gradually there is a cough. It happens that a person suddenly has a hoarse voice, shortness of breath, a coughing fit.

To eliminate these symptoms, it is usually recommended to take heartburn medications. Frequent chest pain caused by gastroesophageal reflux is dangerous because the systematic effect of acid on the esophageal mucosa may cause a malignant tumor.

Important! If, when coughing, there is severe pain behind the sternum, heartburn, you need to contact a gastroenterologist.

On right

Pain when coughing in the right side of the chest is usually associated with such diseases:

Liver and bile ducts. Painful sensations are usually dull, paroxysmal, associated with the intake of junk food. Attack of cough with chest pain begins after eating fatty, fried, smoked.
GIT. Diseases of the digestive system associated with the inflammatory process can also provoke a cough attack with severe pain in the chest, in its right side. They are gastritis, ulcers, others.
Pneumonia. Pain in the right side of the chest leads to the fact that it is difficult for a person to breathe, other symptoms appear: fever, weakness, muscle aches.

Less often, such a problem can occur with myositis, scoliosis, mental illness, complicated premenstrual syndrome.

Left

When pain occurs on the left side of the sternum, this indicates the presence of such diseases:

Pneumonia. Particularly acute pain is when inflammation of the lungs is complicated by pleurisy. Painful sensations are accompanied by fatigue, loss of strength, high fever.
Angina. Pain occurs in the region of the heart. Usually a person does not immediately understand what it can be. Some take Corvalol, other heart drugs.

Which doctor treats

You can determine which doctor to contact after visiting a general practitioner or family doctor. Considering that a cough with chest pain can be caused by completely different diseases, the therapist will give a referral to the right specialist. If the disease is a cold, he will take care of the therapy himself.

If it turns out that there are no signs of a cold, the patient will receive a referral for a cardiogram, it is required to exclude heart problems. You may also need the help of a pulmonologist, gastroenterologist, neuropathologist, otolaryngologist. An accurate diagnosis can be determined by the location of pain in the chest.

Advice! When visiting a therapist, be sure to describe in detail the nature of the pain when coughing, the frequency, the location, and other sensations.

It is important to carry out diagnostic measures as soon as possible, because a cough with chest pain can be a sign of serious ailments, up to lung cancer. Before the procedure, the doctor examines the patient, determines the area where pain is felt. After that, they can be assigned:

general analysis of blood, urine;
x-ray;
sputum analysis (with a wet cough);
bronchoscopy;
cardiography, others.

If cancer is suspected, a biopsy may be ordered.

Interesting! If the cough is without fever, the likelihood of colds, pneumonia is small. Therefore, before visiting a doctor, it is recommended to take the temperature several times during the day.

How to treat the disease

Pain in the chest is provoked by a cough reflex, therefore, in order to eliminate it, it is necessary to treat the disease. The choice of drugs depends on the cause of the cough. In most cases, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed, which are supplemented by taking medications against the underlying ailment.

For example, if a cough is provoked by bronchitis, drugs are prescribed that thin the sputum, accelerating its removal from the bronchi. Antibiotics are often used to eliminate pathogens in a short time. Syrups, potions, tablets, lozenges that have a softening effect are also prescribed.

Antibiotics are used to treat seizures that often occur at night. With a strong cough, a plentiful warm drink is recommended, home treatment with folk methods is also effective:

taking a drink from butter with milk;
herbal teas, preferably with lemon;
pure honey;
inhalations, especially herbal ones.

If there are chest injuries, intercostal neuralgia, which provoke a cough with painful sensations, it is dangerous to self-medicate. It is necessary to contact the relevant specialists. For some injuries, you have to undergo surgery, go for a massage, and do breathing exercises.

There are many reasons that can provoke a cough with chest pain. To determine the exact diagnosis, it is necessary to consult a doctor, describe the place of localization of painful sensations, and undergo a diagnosis. Treatment is prescribed based on the diagnosis, if the cough is caused by colds, you can supplement the main therapy with folk remedies.

An attack of coughing is often accompanied by pain in the chest. The reasons for this state of affairs are many. Chest pain when coughing can be a sign of a severe inflammatory process occurring in the lungs or in the pleura. But diseases of the respiratory system are not the only cause of possible pain in this area. Also, such a symptom may indicate problems in the field of the cardiovascular system, etc.

The reasons

Consider the most common causes of chest pain when coughing:

SARS, seasonal flu, etc.
Bronchitis, tracheitis, pneumonia.
Pleurisy.
Diphtheria.
Epiglottitis.
Bronchial asthma.
Allergic reactions.
Foreign body.
Pulmonary embolism.
Rib fractures.
Intercostal neuralgia.
Tumors of various origins (benign and malignant).
Tuberculosis.
Cardiovascular diseases.

Consider some diseases in which a similar symptom occurs in more detail.

Pleurisy

The pleura is a serous membrane that covers the surface of the lungs and the inner wall of the chest. Thus, between them there is a pleural cavity. When the pleura becomes inflamed, pleurisy occurs. It can be exudative, with accumulation of fluid in the pleural space, and dry.

Pleurisy is characterized by the following symptoms:

Dry cough, chest pain, shortness of breath.
Weakness and increased sweating, usually at night.
The temperature is subfebrile, rarely rises to high numbers.
If the patient lies on the affected side, then the pain sensations are slightly reduced, since the respiratory movements are limited.

With exudative pleurisy (in case of accumulation of fluid), shortness of breath increases. And if pleurisy turns into a purulent form, the temperature rises sharply.

Antibacterial therapy is used to treat this disease, and in the case of purulent contents, it is recommended to remove the fluid by pleural puncture.

Pneumonia

With this disease, chest pain when coughing is also characteristic. Especially if croupous pneumonia develops with damage to the lobe or The disease usually begins with a sharp rise in temperature. It can reach up to 40 degrees. Pain in the chest also appears with a deep breath. Shortness of breath occurs in the patient from the first days.

The patient's condition is deteriorating. In addition to the symptoms described - chest pain, cough, fever - red spots may appear that are visible on the face from the side of the lesion, as well as cyanosis (cyanosis) of the lips, if the cardiovascular system is involved in the pathological process. A strong heartbeat and heart rhythm disturbances may occur.

After a few days, sputum begins to be coughed up, at first transparent, then it becomes the color of rust.

Symptoms may worsen over two weeks. Then, with proper treatment, the crisis passes, and gradually the patient becomes better. is a very serious disease. It is treated with antibiotics only. Sometimes several antibacterial drugs are used at once. Before the advent of antibiotics, this disease was very often fatal.

Colds

Chest pain when coughing can be caused by colds caused by viruses or bacteria. These diseases include:

SARS.
Flu.
Whooping cough.
Tracheitis.
Bronchitis etc.

These diseases are characterized by the following symptoms: cough, chest pain, runny nose (with bronchitis and tracheitis it may not be). In addition, the patient is worried about weakness, chills, there is an increase in temperature, sometimes up to 38-39 degrees and above. Often patients say that they have a feeling as if someone is scratching their chest from the inside. With the start of treatment, these sensations gradually disappear. With bronchitis, the patient often suffers from pain in the chest, while it intensifies.

Antiviral therapy is used for influenza and SARS. In the presence of a runny nose, vasoconstrictor drugs (drops, sprays) are used. Antibiotics may be used to treat bronchitis and tracheitis.

Intercostal neuralgia

This disease is characterized by pain in the chest, which can occur as sharp exacerbations in the form of shots. They are aggravated by deep inspiration and may be unbearable, according to patients.

With intercostal neuralgia, it is important not to confuse this disease with angina attacks or other heart diseases.

chest injury

These include bruises and pain at the same time are pronounced, with any movement intensify. It is important not to confuse them with pain in osteochondrosis. For this, a chest x-ray is taken. Similar symptoms are sometimes given by injuries of the shoulder joint (subluxations, dislocations, fractures).

With fractures of the lungs or other injuries (knife or gunshot wounds, etc.) of the chest, pneumothorax can sometimes occur - this is the penetration of air into the pleural space around the lungs, which compresses the lung and prevents it from expanding when inhaled. This condition usually requires surgery.

Sometimes a small spontaneous pneumothorax can occur, it goes away on its own and does not require treatment.

Lungs' cancer

In this tumor process, uncontrolled growth of pathological cells in the tissues of the lung occurs. The process can also affect nearby organs. It is important to identify the pathology as soon as possible and take urgent measures. Therefore, all citizens are recommended to undergo fluorography or X-ray examination of the lungs at least once a year.

Statistics show that of all cases of lung cancer, 85% of patients are smokers. The remaining 15% are patients with aggravated heredity, living in ecologically unfavorable areas, working in hazardous industries, etc.

Pain in the chest with lung cancer is tingling, sharp. They can encircle the entire chest or be located only on one side, give to the neck, arm, shoulder blade. If the process has gone far, and metastases penetrate the spine or ribs, then the patient suffers from very strong, literally unbearable pains in the chest area, which are aggravated by any movement.

When such symptoms occur, the cause of discomfort and pain should be identified. To do this, you need to seek medical help. Only a specialist will establish their true cause and prescribe the correct treatment.

Symptoms such as: cough, chest pain , may indicate the presence of many inflammatory diseases, both in the lungs and in the upper respiratory tract. Let's try to figure out what is hidden behind the patient's complaint of coughing, chest pain.

Very often patients say: I have a cough, my chest hurts. What could it be? Possibly pneumonia? The answer is not always yes. Most often, chest pain when coughing occurs due to overstrain of the intercostal muscles. It has nothing to do with pneumonia. Just with a cough reflex, especially if the cough is protracted and not treated in time, the muscular frame of the sternum begins to experience constant tension. Myositis may occur.

Its main symptoms are:

pain when taking a deep breath;
pain when coughing;
pain on movement
pain when lying on the affected side of the chest.

Doesn't it sound like symptoms of pneumonia? Do not rush to conclusions. After all, there are distinctive signs of pneumonia from myositis. First of all, the pain that occurs when moving, inhaling and coughing is not concentrated at one point. It is, as it were, spilled over the entire chest from the affected side. The second difference is pain on palpation in the place where the patient indicates the presence of pain. If you feel the intercostal spaces in the focus of pain, then the patient experiences an attack of pain.

Therefore, coughing and chest pain are not always sure signs of pneumonia.

Cough, chest pain - what to do?

If you have a prolonged cough, chest pain, you should immediately consult a doctor. The specialist will conduct a series of studies, make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe an effective treatment.

Self-treatment in this case can bring great harm to health.

In particular, coughing, chest pain may indicate the presence of a tumor in the lung tissue. So, myositis is easiest to treat by heating the affected area. Warming ointments, compresses and rubbing can remove all painful symptoms in three days. However, in the presence of a tumor in the lungs, all these drugs are strictly prohibited. They can provoke its rapid growth and transition to a malignant state.

Symptoms of which diseases are cough and chest pain?

Cough, chest pain can accompany a huge number of bronchopulmonary diseases. These include:

tracheitis,
pharyngitis;
bronchitis;
pneumonia;
bronchiectasis;
emphysema;
pulmonary tuberculosis;
lungs' cancer.

All these diseases require careful attention and careful diagnosis. Even an experienced doctor will not be able to make a diagnosis on his own.

In order to completely eliminate serious damage to the lung tissue, the following is done:

detailed x-ray of the lungs in several projections;
a general blood test is taken;
sputum culture;
tuberculin test.

If cancer is suspected, a lung tissue puncture is necessary for histological examination. Only after that it will be possible to talk about what kind of disease you have.

In the presence of obvious symptoms of bronchitis, pharyngitis, tracheitis and SARS, X-ray of the lungs, tuberculin test and sputum culture are not performed. A detailed general blood test is sufficient. In principle, according to its indicators, it will be possible to judge the depth of the inflammatory process.

If you or your child is in pain in the sternum when coughing and having a cold, special care is required in relation to the removal of pain attacks and the complete cure of the inflammatory process. Pain in the sternum may be neuralgic in nature. In this case, they often become aggravated in the autumn-spring season. Such symptoms can cause inflammatory diseases or the influence of osteochondrosis. The treatment of such underlying causes varies, so a deliberate approach is required in finding and eliminating all risk factors.

Sensations and symptoms: scratching in the chest, sore throat, fever, pain disappear along with a cold.

The most common form is chest pain resulting from prolonged dry coughing and natural organ strain. This can occur as a result of acute respiratory viral infections, influenza, whooping cough, tracheitis, pleurisy and other infectious diseases in the bronchopulmonary department. Please note that whooping cough causes coughing fits, in adults it is mild, but also characterized by a protracted course and coughing fits.

With protracted colds in 26%, during a serological examination, pertussis bacteria are detected, therefore, the treatment of this type of infectious disease should be treated especially, achieving complete recovery and the absence of complications.

whooping cough cough symptoms are relieved by walking in the fresh air;
tea with linden and raspberries helps well;
for colds of the respiratory tract, the immunomodulator Likopid is often used, which can be taken by infants and during pregnancy;
for the relief of neurological attacks of coughing with whooping cough, brain peptides are used, for example, Cortexin;
to eliminate tonsillitis as a constant source of infection in the respiratory tract, immunoglobulin is used in the form of Octagam;
to relieve inflammation and swelling as a result of an infectious lesion, the homeopathic preparation Lymphomyosot can be used.

lingering chest pain after a cold

With ongoing or prolonged pain symptoms in the sternum after infectious diseases, a series of examinations will be required:

If it was not possible to reliably establish at this stage what it could be, we recommend doing CT with contrast and, if possible, PET-CT of the chest. The second examination is specially designed for early diagnosis of oncological diseases. In some cases, it is time to start the examination with a less accurate chest X-ray. Also an important examination is an ultrasound of the heart and a cardiogram, which allow to establish violations of the cardiovascular system, which can also be of an infectious nature.

Physiotherapy and folk methods for the treatment of chest pain as a result of a cold

If, with a prolonged and protracted cough, neoplasms of unknown etiology and heart disease that require caution, as well as tuberculosis, are not found, you can begin to treat the inflammatory process with the help of physiotherapy and folk remedies. Cough sometimes occurs periodically as a result of pulmonary fibrosis, this disease requires support and prevention.

The following physiotherapy can relieve the cough reflex that causes pain and coughing:

inhalation with hydrocortisone;
electrophoresis with novocaine and aloe.

At home, cough can be relieved by irrigating the pharynx with a mixture of wormwood essential oil (strictly no more than 1-3 drops) with base oil (for example, burdock - 1 dessert spoon). Wormwood oil contains thujone, which has a nerve-paralytic effect, but when taken in small doses or irrigated in the throat, it relieves cough and helps in relieving edema.

To relieve pain, proven folk remedies help:

rubbing the chest and back with an extract of Adam's root and red pepper, followed by tight bandaging with an elastic bandage - allows you to achieve fixation and restoration of organs damaged by coughing;
a mixture of red clay with kerosene as lotions: 1 kg of clay is poured into 1 tbsp. water and warm, add to a slightly chilled mass of 1 tbsp. l. kerosene.

You can also use pharmacy products:

mustard plasters;
ointments and gels Finalgon, Naftalgin, Vipratoks, Menovazin, Efkamon;
a compress of camphor alcohol (1/3 tbsp of alcohol to 2/3 tbsp of water).

chest pain during pregnancy

During pregnancy, pain in the sternum, in addition to the listed and a number of other reasons, can occur as a result of natural processes of displacement of organs, which causes pain, including on the right side. In this case, it is better to consult your doctor, who will prescribe adequate therapy and examinations. Most often, physiological chest pain during pregnancy is relieved by breathing exercises and special physical exercises.

Neuralgia in the chest

Intercostal neuralgic pain arising from osteochondrosis and other diseases of the spine are characterized as unbearable and shooting. They can be removed with the help of Chinese Asterisk balm, back massage, treatment of painful areas with Darsonval, home magnet therapy device. In part, osteochondrosis is treated only with long-term gymnastics, special stretching exercises help relieve pain within a week.