Why Does My Chest Hurt When I Cough?

Coughing is an ordinary symptom of the common cold, flu, and even seasonal allergies. However, when coughing is accompanied by chest pain, it may spark fears of a more concerning medical condition.

So, why does my chest hurt when I cough? We’re here to answer this question in detail, offering insights into chest pain while coughing and when to seek professional care.

What Are the Causes of Chest Pain When Coughing?

The possible causes of chest pain when coughing include muscle strain from persistent coughing, certain infections, bronchitis, pleurisy, asthma, and COPD.

Muscle Strain

Muscle strain is the most common cause of chest pain when coughing, especially if your cough is severe or lasts several days. Coughing too aggressively can strain the intercostal muscles (the muscles that link the ribs in the ribcage), causing chest and rib pain.¹

Infections

Infections like the common cold, flu, and even pneumonia can cause chest pain while coughing.

More common viral infections, like colds and the flu, can trigger chest pain if you cough too hard or if your cough lasts for several days or weeks. Sometimes, coughing from a simple cold can last for as long as eight weeks.² If your cough lingers beyond this timespan, you should see your doctor for an evaluation, as you may need more intensive treatment.

Pneumonia is a lung infection caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi. With this condition, the lungs’ air sacs (called alveoli) fill with fluid, causing symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing, and a persistent cough, often with chest pain.³

Oftentimes, viral pneumonia is mild and can go away with at-home care alone. But if you experience severe pneumonia symptoms that don’t improve with home care, you may need to visit the hospital for more intensive care.⁴

Bronchitis

Bronchitis occurs when the bronchial tubes in your lungs become inflamed, often due to a viral or bacterial infection or environmental irritants, like pollution. Symptoms can include a deep cough, chest pain, wheezing, and nasal congestion. Acute (short-term) bronchitis often goes away with at-home care, but chronic cases can require professional treatment with lifestyle adjustments and medications.⁵

Pleurisy

Pleurisy develops when the pleura (the layers of tissue that cover the lungs’ exterior and line the chest cavity) are inflamed. Friction occurs between the swollen pleura every time the lungs expand, causing sharp chest pain, coughing, and difficulty breathing.⁶Pleurisy is most often caused by respiratory infections, like pneumonia, and can be resolved by treating the underlying cause.

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic condition that causes the lungs’ airways to periodically swell and narrow. Around one in 13 people in the U.S. has asthma, and it usually begins in childhood.⁷ Common asthma triggers include exercise, pollen, cold air, and viral infections, and they can lead to asthma attacks.

During an asthma attack, you may experience shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing.

COPD

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) results from damage to lung tissue. It’s a group of diseases that causes inflammation in the airways, resulting in symptoms like shortness of breath, persistent coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness that causes pain while coughing or breathing.⁸

Lung Cancer Risk

It’s worth noting that while much rarer than the conditions listed above, chest pain when coughing is a possible symptom of lung cancer, particularly if the pain is chronic and doesn’t have a clear trigger, like a cold or flu infection. Additionally, chest pain from lung cancer often occurs with various other symptoms, like wheezing, fatigue, weight loss, and shortness of breath.⁹

If you experience these symptoms or any chest pain that worries you, visit your doctor for an evaluation.

How Can Chest Pain From Coughing Be Relieved?

Chest pain from coughing can be relieved by treating the underlying cause. For muscle strain, this may include over-the-counter pain medication. For coughing from the common cold or flu, cough medication can give your chest muscles a chance to heal.

Simple Home Remedies

The first step to alleviating chest pain from coughing is understanding its underlying cause. Certain conditions, like pneumonia, bronchitis, pleurisy, COPD, and asthma, require professional medical treatment and can’t be resolved with home care alone. But if you’ve strained your chest muscles after coughing from a cold or flu, simple home remedies may be enough to bring you relief.

Rest

It’s simple but effective: Resting, rather than pushing through an infection by going about your normal activities, can help calm cold and flu symptoms. It gives your body the chance to focus all of your energy toward recovering.

Sipping warm beverages

Sipping a warm cup of tea or water with lemon may temporarily soothe a cough with chest pain. The warm liquid can calm a sore throat and loosen mucus, helping to break up the congestion that can exacerbate a cough.¹⁰

Inhaling steam

Inhaling steam can help calm a cough by breaking up mucus in the sinuses. This can help you breathe more easily if you’re experiencing congestion from a cold, flu, or allergies.¹¹ You can take a warm shower or bath, or pour boiling water into a bowl, place a towel over your head and the bowl, and breathe deeply.

Over-the-counter medications

Over-the-counter medications can help reduce chest pain from coughing caused by intercostal muscle strain. Additionally, if your chest pain stems from a cold or flu-related cough, over-the-counter medicine can help reduce coughing. Cough suppressants like dextromethorphan block the cough reflex in the brain, helping to prevent the cough that’s causing you pain.¹² [Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]If you struggle with a nighttime cough, over-the-counter cough suppressants can help you get the sleep you need to recover. These medications can help calm your cough so you can get the sleep you need. Some cough medicines, including Delsym Nighttime Cough Liquid, also contain pain medicine (like acetaminophen) to alleviate minor aches and pains associated with a cold or flu.

Medical Treatments and When to Seek Help

Medical treatments for chest pain while coughing will depend on the underlying cause. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience sudden or severe chest pain, chest pain with no clear cause, or chest pain accompanied by other concerning symptoms, like shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, and pain that radiates into the left arm or jaw.