Chest pain with coughing

Chest pain when coughing can be caused by diseases that a person does not even suspect. The most common causes are diseases of the area near or around the heart or in its middle wall, which manifest as pain. Pain during breathing and coughing can be signs of respiratory diseases, although they can easily be confused with heart diseases. Such pain is most often localized on the side of the chest - on the right or left. They can be sharp, stabbing or, conversely, dull, pulling. What specific diseases does chest pain when coughing indicate?

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More about the causes of chest pain when coughing

Causes of chest pain when coughing, in addition to diseases of the heart, blood vessels and respiratory system, can be infections. They cause coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath and other symptoms that are not very pleasant for a person and prompt him to immediately consult a doctor. Here is an incomplete list of the most common causes of chest pain when coughing.

• Colds, seasonal flu (influenza), swine flu, ARVI (acute respiratory viral infection).
• Epiglottitis (swelling of the epiglottis), tracheitis, acute or chronic bronchitis, pneumonia and diphtheria
• Tuberculosis
• Respiratory tract infection
• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary emphysema.
• Smoke inhalation
• Allergy
• Foreign body
• Tumors
• Pleurisy, which can cause chest pain and coughing when breathing deeply
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Heart failure.
• Pulmonary embolism

What conditions cause chest pain when coughing?

Let's take a closer look at the conditions that can cause chest pain when coughing.

Inflammation of the membrane (pleurisy)

There is a special membrane in the chest cavity and lungs that acts as a kind of bedding. If this membrane becomes inflamed, a person may develop a cough - dull and barking or dry, persistent. This disease is most often diagnosed as pleurisy or dry pleurisy. Most often, it is a consequence of pneumonia.

Symptoms

If a person is affected by dry pleurisy, he may experience the following symptoms.

• Rolling over onto the side that hurts may help reduce the pain.
• It is difficult to breathe, especially on one side of the chest, where pain occurs.
• Breathing may be weakened, especially if the person tries not to strain the painful side of the chest.
• When listening to breathing, the doctor can detect noises in the chest and lungs - this occurs due to friction of the pleural membranes.
• Subfebrile body temperature may occur (37.5 – 38 degrees Celsius)
• Chills and night sweats, as well as rapid breathing and fatigue.

Destruction of the rib frame

With this disease, a person may also experience chest pain when coughing.

Symptoms

The rib cage or thoracic spine can be destroyed or damaged as a result of an injury, which makes it less mobile than before. In this case, a person can also suffer from pleural tumors or a disease called pericarditis. Chest pain in such cases becomes stronger during coughing, basic movements, running, even walking. Shortness of breath occurs, and the pain during shortness of breath can either be severe or weaken at times.

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Too short interpleural ligament

If the interpleural ligament is shorter than physiologically necessary, a person may cough and have chest pain. The ligament is called interpleural because it is located between two parts of the pleura - parietal and visceral, which are located near the so-called roots of the lungs. This ligament provides resistance to the lungs when the diaphragm is displaced by any effort. The displacement of the interpleural ligaments can indicate that there are problems with the lungs. For example, they shorten when pneumonia develops.

Symptoms

Cough and chest pain are aggravated when a person talks, takes deep breaths, breathes actively, and exerts himself more than usual. He may experience chest pain in the form of tingling when running or walking.

Intercostal neuralgia

This disease is characterized by severe chest pains in the form of shots. They bother a person so much that he can scream in pain. It is important not to confuse intercostal neuralgia with attacks of heart pain, because the symptoms are similar.

Symptoms

Chest pain with intercostal neuralgia intensifies sharply as soon as a person coughs or if he simply inhales sharply.

Renal colic

This disease can cause pain not only in the back area where the kidneys are located, but also chest pain when coughing. Renal colic can occur due to impaired urine flow, which develops due to poor functioning of the urinary tract and kidneys.

Symptoms

Pain under the ribs on the right side of the chest increases with coughing and movement. Pain with renal colic can also bother under the spoon (a common symptom) and a person also has pain in the entire abdomen. Pain with renal colic can radiate under the shoulder blade on the right side or to the right forearm. If a doctor examines a patient and checks the functioning of the gallbladder by palpation, pain can bother there as well. The tenth and twelfth thoracic vertebrae can especially signal pain.

Chest injuries

They can also cause chest pain that gets worse when coughing. Chest injuries can include rib fractures or bruises, as well as dislocations and subluxations of the shoulder joint.

Symptoms

Pain from chest injuries is usually sharp, shooting, and increases with each movement. It is important not to confuse such pain with osteochondrosis. With this disease, chest pain also increases with coughing, but is treated completely differently.

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Chest pain when coughing due to cold

Causes of chest pain when coughing can be colds caused by viruses or bacteria. The diseases themselves are flu, acute respiratory viral infections, whooping cough, inflammation of the trachea (tracheitis) and other cold-related diseases.

Symptoms

• A dry cough that doesn't go away for a long time
• Chills
• Sore throat
• High temperature
• Rapid fatigue
• Feeling as if someone is scratching the inside of the chest

As a rule, such pain goes away as soon as a person eliminates the source of the disease - bacteria or viruses that caused the pain and cough.

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in the tissues of the lungs. If the cancer is not treated, this growth can spread beyond the lungs (metastasis) to nearby tissues and other parts of the body. The most common cause of lung cancer is long-term exposure to tobacco smoke. It is important to know that non-smokers account for 10-15% of lung cancer cases, and doctors often attribute these cases to a combination of genetic factors. The remaining 80-85% of lung cancer cases are the result of smoking.

Symptoms

The nature of chest pain when coughing, which occurs due to lung cancer - sharp, tingling, encircling the entire chest. The pain may bother a person only in one part of the chest or radiate to the arm, stomach or neck. If metastases penetrate the ribs or spine, a person experiences very strong, unbearable chest pain, which intensifies with the slightest movement.

Pneumothorax

A collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, is a pocket of air in the space around the lungs. This accumulation of air puts pressure on the lungs so they cannot expand as much as they need to for normal breathing. A collapsed lung occurs when air escapes from the lungs and fills the space outside the lungs, inside the chest. This condition can be caused by a gunshot or knife wound to the chest, broken ribs, or medical procedures. In some cases, a collapsed lung occurs for no reason. This condition is called spontaneous pneumothorax.

Symptoms

Unbearable chest pain that sometimes goes away on its own, and sometimes requires surgery. Chest pain can be moderate, but it gets worse when coughing or making sudden movements.

Diagnosis of chest pain when coughing

To completely rule out serious damage to lung tissue or to find out that the causes of chest pain when coughing are heart and vascular diseases, the doctor may prescribe the following diagnostic methods

• detailed radiograph of the lungs in several projections;
• complete blood count
• sputum culture
• tuberculin test
• ECG
• blood test for bacterial or viral infection

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

If there are obvious symptoms of bronchitis, pharyngitis, tracheitis and acute respiratory viral infections, an X-ray of the lungs, a tuberculin test and a sputum analysis are performed. The doctor may also prescribe a comprehensive general blood test. Its results will allow one to judge the depth of the inflammatory process in the respiratory organs.

Chest pain when coughing, as you already understood, can occur due to various diseases. Therefore, the treatment in each case is different. The method of treating chest pain when coughing completely depends on the qualifications of the doctor, so it is important to find a specialist whom you can completely trust.

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