Why does my left chest hurt when I cough?

For friends who have pain in the left chest when coughing, they really want to know the cause of the pain in the left chest when coughing. So what is the cause of the pain in the left chest when coughing? Next, this article will introduce you to the relevant content about why you feel pain in your left chest when you cough, for your reference only. Friends who want to know more about this can take a look! Please see the detailed introduction below.

Why does my left chest hurt when I cough? Coughing and pain in the left chest are mostly caused by pneumonia. The main clinical symptoms of pneumonia are fever, cough, sputum, blood in the sputum, which may be accompanied by chest pain or difficulty breathing.

The disease has an acute onset, often with triggers such as rain, cold, and fatigue. About 1/3 of patients have a history of upper respiratory tract infection. The natural course of the disease is 7 to 10 days.

1. Chills and high fever

Typical symptoms are sudden chills and high fever, with body temperature as high as 39℃~40℃, presenting as a prolonged fever type, accompanied by headache, muscle aches all over the body, and poor appetite. The fever pattern after using antibiotics is atypical, and the elderly and weak may only have a low fever or no fever.

2. Cough and sputum

In the early stage, it is an irritating dry cough, followed by coughing up white mucus or bloody sputum. After 1 to 2 days, mucus, bloody sputum, rust-colored sputum, and purulent sputum may be coughed up. During the dissipation period, the amount of sputum increases, and the sputum becomes yellow and thin.

3. Chest pain

There is often severe chest pain, which is like a needle, aggravated by coughing or deep breathing, and may radiate to the shoulders or abdomen. Lower lobe pneumonia can irritate the diaphragmatic pleura and cause abdominal pain, which can be misdiagnosed as an acute abdomen.

4. Difficulty breathing

Cyanosis, chest pain and dyspnea occur due to insufficient ventilation, gas exchange disorders and decreased arterial oxygen saturation caused by pulmonary consolidation.

5. Other symptoms

A few people have gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension or diarrhea. In severe cases, confusion, irritability, drowsiness and coma may occur.

If pneumonia is confirmed, in addition to bed rest, drinking plenty of water, oxygen inhalation, and active expectoration, the most important part of pneumonia treatment is anti-infection. Treatment of bacterial pneumonia includes both pathogen-directed therapy and empirical therapy. The former selects antimicrobial drugs that are sensitive in in vitro tests based on the results of sputum culture and drug sensitivity tests; the latter mainly selects antimicrobial drugs that may cover the pathogens based on the epidemiological data of pneumonia pathogens in the region. In addition, the selection of antimicrobial drugs and routes of administration are based on factors such as the patient's age, underlying disease, severity of the disease, and whether there is aspiration.

The above is an introduction to what causes pain in the left chest when coughing. I believe that after reading the above introduction, you already know why you have pain in the left chest when coughing. From the above introduction, we can know that pneumonia is the main cause of pain in the left chest due to coughing. Therefore, for friends who have symptoms of pain in the left chest due to coughing, do not take it lightly!