In the article we will consider why it hurts to cough. People say that this symptom is a watchdog that protects the body from any dangerous invasion. It is a defense mechanism that eliminates irritants from the respiratory system. It actually has a very powerful impact force, as the gust of air created in the presence of a cough is stronger than any hurricane. The speed of this phenomenon can reach one hundred and thirty meters per second. It is very useful, as it clears the bronchi and lungs of unwanted components, which helps people breathe easier. In some cases, it can be painful for a person to cough. What does this say?
Causes of a painful cough
The first step in differentiating a patient's cough is to determine its total duration. By this criterion, you can determine the cause of the symptom.
- The acute form of the disease can last up to three weeks. Causesits occurrence are colds along with sinusitis and pneumonia. Very often it hurts to cough.
- Chronic form lasts more than eight weeks, it usually occurs for three main reasons: bronchial asthma, acid reflux, rhinosinusitis.
Painful sensations occur most often due to the multiplication of pathogenic microflora in the respiratory system. In addition to the above reasons, other diseases can contribute to the appearance of a painful cough.
Next, we will take a closer look at what diseases it hurts to cough in the sternum, and also find out how treatment should be carried out in this or that case.
Bronchitis
The common cold can cause a dry cough in addition to the main symptoms like a runny nose, sore throat and nasal congestion. But if such a symptom dominates, then a person may experience acute bronchitis. As a rule, it is accompanied by sputum, but, unfortunately, it is difficult to determine by its color whether it is an infection or a virus, so analysis will be required. Basically, acute bronchitis is viral in nature, which means that antibiotics will not help the patient. The average cure time with proper therapy is eighteen days.
Pneumonia
Coughing often hurts with pneumonia. In this disease, patients have an acute cough with bloody or colorless sputum. This situation should be treated with antibiotics. Pathology may additionally be accompanied by a high temperature, it is not excludedfatigue, shortness of breath and chills. At the same time, such a symptom as a cough does not appear immediately, since in some cases the infection in the lungs can be so dense that it takes several days for the antibiotics to work to cough up. Pneumonia is easy to pick up like a cold or as a complication of another illness. When the symptoms of a common cold turn into signs of pneumonia after a few days, then it's time to start sounding the alarm and urgently call a doctor. He will most likely prescribe a fluorography.
Nasopharyngeal drip
This phenomenon is a common cause of chronic painful cough. Snot from the paranasal sinuses enters the throat instead of exiting the nose. When a person's mucus reaches the vocal cords, they cause irritation with a wet cough. Exacerbations of the disease are mainly felt at night due to the horizontal position of the body. People often wake up coughing up mucus. In the morning, perhaps, an upset stomach due to a pathogenic secret that has entered it. Sinus scanning helps to make a correct diagnosis in such a situation. Antihistamines are usually prescribed for therapy.
Asthma
Coughing can hurt with asthma. This is the most common cause of a chronic, painful cough that develops along with shortness of breath due to the contraction of the tubes through which air enters the lungs. There is even a separate rather rare type of pathology, in the presence of which cough is the only symptom. Asthma is usuallydiagnosed through breathing and lung function tests, as well as a test for airway hyperreactivity. With this disease, patients are prescribed medication.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
This is a fairly serious yet progressive disease that affects the respiratory tract, usually due to a long period of smoking or frequent inhalation of small particles like dust. There are two types of its course: emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
In the first case, the air passage is permanently inflamed, causing a chronic form of cough with phlegm. Emphysema damages the alveoli of the lungs, reducing the flow of oxygen into the blood. This can cause a dry, painful cough along with wheezing and shortness of breath. Treatment is similar to asthma therapy. Medications help manage symptoms, but the disease itself is considered incurable. Now let's find out what factors can influence the appearance of a symptom. Why does it hurt to cough in my chest?
Causes of chest pain
The causes of this disease and pain in the sternum are:
- Having pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the double membrane (pleural sheet) that surrounds the lungs and lines the chest. This pathological condition significantly complicates the work of this organ. Pleurisy aggravates the course of many ailments in the field of cardiology, pulmonology, phthisiology,oncology and rheumatology. Inflammation often accompanies pneumonia in patients. Even a small cough can cause extremely painful tingling in the sternum.
- Injured. As a result of the impact, cracks, fractures of the ribs, dislocations of the shoulder joint may occur. Pain is felt not only when coughing, but also against the background of a slight turn of the body, when walking.
- Development of dry pericarditis, which is an inflammation of the outer heart membrane (pericardium, pericardial sac). One of the reasons for its development is the application of a strong blow to the region of the heart, along with injuries from injuries and operations. The pain in the sternum is quite noticeable and can become even more intense when people cough. At the same time, the depth of breathing may fail, and shortness of breath increases significantly.
What to do when your throat hurts and it hurts to cough, we will tell below.
How to treat a cough in the throat?
There are the following treatments:
- Cough can be treated with tablets, lozenges or potions.
- When an ailment is provoked by irritation of the throat mucosa, you can rinse it several times a day with a solution of soda, which is made by dissolving two tablespoons of this substance in a glass of warm water.
- It is recommended to consume a large amount of warm liquid, it is advisable to combine it with honey, which will help soften the mucosa. You can, among other things, chew propolis, which works in the same way.
- Cough inthroat can be cured with the use of special medications that affect the sensitivity of the mucous membrane of the respiratory canals.
Why is it painful for a child to cough and how to treat the disease?
The most common cause of cough in children is acute respiratory infections. Catching a virus in a school or kindergarten costs nothing at all, especially when, for example, a flu epidemic begins in the city. The rapid development of pathogenic microflora against the background of the disease causes serious discomfort to children, and at the same time it becomes painful for them to cough in their throat or sternum.
What kind of symptom the baby will get in combination with snot and high fever is quite difficult to predict: the flu virus mutates every season. In the event that you are lucky, it will be easy for the child to cough, and the process itself will gradually come to naught during the production of antibodies in the body, that is, approximately by the third day of the disease.
But relying on simple luck when it comes to the he alth of the baby, of course, is not worth it, and therapy should be started from the first days of the onset of symptoms in order to prevent the development of complications. Most often, doctors prescribe the use of syrups from the first days of illness, which helps to relieve inflammation and ensure easy sputum discharge.
In addition, as part of therapy, you should drink as much liquid as possible, humidify the air and not overheat it, rinse your nose and throat with saline solutions. By agreement with the doctor (after five years), inhalations are done, and withthree years old, rub the nasal wings with therapeutic ointments with essential oils.
We looked at the cases in which it hurts to cough. This symptom should not be ignored.
