Chest pain when coughing in an adult

Contents

Physiology of women and men
Causes of chest pain when coughing
Treating chest pain when coughing
- Diagnostics
- Modern treatments
Prevention of chest pain when coughing at home
Popular questions and answers

Chest pain when coughing can be a symptom of a variety of diseases – from bronchitis to coronary heart disease. We learn from experts when chest pain when coughing should alert, and when you need to urgently see a doctor

Chest pain when coughing in adults is most often associated with respiratory diseases. However, it also happens that pain occurs for completely different reasons, for example, against the background of problems with the heart and spine. But in any case, chest pain when coughing is a symptom that is common in men and women, causes concern and many questions that our experts will answer.

Physiology of women and men

The structure of the internal organs of the chest in women and men is the same. Therefore, the causes of chest pain when coughing are almost identical, although there are still exceptions. If a woman’s chest pains appear not only during a cough, the doctor must exclude benign tumors and breast cancer. These are very common diseases, so doctors always keep oncology alert.

Causes of chest pain when coughing

Chest pain when coughing is weak and intense, sharp and aching. Also, the pain is often accompanied by other symptoms – shortness of breath, sputum, fever, chills and a feeling of weakness. The combination of these signs will tell the doctor what the cause may be.

Acute and chronic bronchitis

Acute and chronic inflammation of the bronchi is almost always accompanied by a cough, which is long, dry, hacking and causes serious discomfort.¹. During bouts of coughing, chest pain can also be observed. Most often, the pain is diffuse, that is, it spreads to the entire chest. Bronchitis is also characterized by a sore throat, hoarseness, fever, weakness and malaise.¹.

Pleurisy

This is an inflammation of the serous membrane – the pleura, which “envelops” our lungs.². Pleurisy most often develops as a complication of other diseases.²:

viral and bacterial pneumonia;
pulmonary tuberculosis;
rheumatoid arthritis;
systemic lupus erythematosus;
ischemic heart disease;
thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery;
malignant tumors of the respiratory system.

With pleurisy, chest pain is often very strong, sharp, cutting, localized on one side, forcing you to bend in this direction and does not allow you to breathe deeply.

Pneumonia

The inflammatory process may affect one or both lungs. Depending on this, a person experiences pain in the left and right half of the chest or in the entire chest. Characteristic signs of pneumonia are acute cough, shortness of breath, sputum production, weakness and excessive sweating³. Chest pain can occur not only when coughing, but also when breathing³.

Tuberculosis of the lung

Pain in the chest when coughing is also observed in pulmonary tuberculosis. By external signs, this disease is very similar to SARS and bronchitis, because it is accompanied by cough, weakness, subfebrile temperature (37–37,5 ° C), shortness of breath and night sweats⁴. The main difference is that these symptoms persist for a long time, and the person’s condition does not improve with standard treatment.⁴.

Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine

With this type of osteochondrosis, aching dull pains in the chest often occur, which are aggravated by coughing, movement and breathing. Pain is often disturbed when walking and while driving a car. Sometimes there is a feeling of numbness and burning in the chest.

Coronary artery disease (CHD)

In a person with coronary artery disease, the blood supply to the myocardium is impaired. Because of this, the heart regularly experiences a lack of oxygen and cannot fully perform its work.

Disorders in the work of the heart are manifested by shortness of breath and chest pain, which can be given to the left shoulder, arm and shoulder blade. With coronary heart disease, pain occurs both with and without coughing. IHD is dangerous for its complications, primarily myocardial infarction.

Treating chest pain when coughing

Chest pain when coughing is caused by various diseases, so the methods of treatment will also be very different. Therapeutic treatment usually has two goals: to reduce pain and eliminate the cause that caused it.

Diagnostics

Examination and history taking are the first stages of diagnosis. An experienced doctor will be able to make a preliminary diagnosis after examining the patient and listening to his complaints. Laboratory and instrumental methods of examination will help to more accurately diagnose the disease:

complete blood count, C-reactive protein analysis;
radiography and computed tomography of the lungs;
radiography and computed tomography of the thoracic spine;
electrocardiogram;
Ultrasound of the heart.

In most cases, these methods are enough to find the cause of chest pain when coughing. But the doctor may prescribe other examinations. For example, FGDS for suspected stomach disease, or bronchoscopy to differentiate (distinguish from each other) pathologies of the respiratory system.

Modern treatments

Medicines, physiotherapy, and surgery are used to treat chest pain when coughing. The therapeutic regimen is selected depending on the type and severity of the disease:

acute bronchitis is treated with antiviral and antibacterial drugs, antitussives and expectorants¹;
patients with pneumonia are prescribed antibiotics, antiviral drugs, antipyretics and painkillers, oxygen therapy³;
in coronary heart disease, it is recommended to take drugs that thin the blood, dilate the coronary vessels, and normalize the heart rhythm;
pulmonary tuberculosis is treated with specific anti-tuberculosis drugs: isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol⁴;
with osteochondrosis, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, therapeutic massage, and physiotherapy are prescribed.

In some cases, you can not do without surgery. Surgery is often required for people with coronary artery disease. The operation is done to restore the patency of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle.

Prevention of chest pain when coughing at home

To prevent chest pain when coughing, it is necessary to treat the disease that caused these symptoms in a timely manner. To reduce irritation of the respiratory tract, it is necessary to regularly ventilate and humidify the air in the room where the sick person is located.

A plentiful warm drink helps to alleviate a cough – weak tea, homemade fruit drink, rosehip broth, milk with honey, if these products do not cause allergies.