Abdominal Pain When Coughing: 14 Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment

Having abdominal pain when coughing can be really hurtful and make you worried. Let’s us explore in detail why abdomen hurts when we cough, how to diagnose it and how to treat it.

I coughed and instead of feeling a burning sensation in my throat, it was down there below my abdomen. I coughed, and my abdomen pained much. I had several diseases in mind. Typhoid topped the list. I thought of water-related infection.

I went to a pharmacy and inquired of their cures. I thought that I could be misusing drugs and opted for a physician. Well, the cause of my abdominal pain when coughing wasn’t any close or related to my suspected infections.

Abdominal pain when coughing is however associated with several infections. They vary in their range of intensity. Some abdominal pains could be centralized; some can be general pains in the abdominal and others can be mild.

If you have suffered from this condition, OTCs are not the best medications so far. It is best advised that you should go to a physician and have a prescription before buying any OTCs.

It is also important that when you are having a diagnosis of abdominal pain when coughing, you should remember to inform your physician the duration of your pain and the severity of the pain. They contribute widely to the diagnosis of the infection.

Most cases of abdominal pain when coughing are digestive system related, and they heal on their own without taking any medications. However, there are those cases of severe abdominal pain when coughing that doesn’t heal on their own.

Causes of Abdominal pain when coughing:

The causes of abdominal pain when coughing are varied. They are caused by quite a number of diseases; stomach infections tops. Amongst the other commonly known causes are;

Gas
Appendicitis
Kidney infections
Vomiting
Food intolerance
Constipation
Irritable bowel syndrome
Acid reflux
Stomach flu
Gastritis
GERD
Peptic ulcers
Celiac disease
Strained muscles
Crohn’s disease
Endometriosis

Abdominal pain when coughing doesn’t have a single entity as a cause. This is because the place of infection in the abdomen isn’t one. It should be noted that disorders related to organs of the body located in the abdomen contribute a lot to abdominal pain when coughing.

These organs of the body located in the abdomen whose infections can cause abdominal pain when coughing includes;

The liver
The kidney
The small/large intestines
Appendix
Spleen
Gallbladder
Stomach
The pancreas

Gas:

During digestion in the stomach, beneficial bacteria in the body breaks down food substances into simplex compounds for absorption. This process involves the release of gases. These gases when in large amounts exerts pressure which causes abdominal pain when coughing.

Diagnosis and treatments of Gas:

When one belch, a disgusting odor is noted. Treatments available for the conditions are home therapies and drugs. Medicinal tablets like antacids can help reduce the amount of gases in the body.

Appendicitis:

Our bodies are structurally adapted to perform the process of digestion in that; it has a structure called appendix. This structure is located at the tip of the large intestines. Indigested materials like roughages and sands in food are disposed of in the appendix.

When the appendix gets full, it causes a burning sensation.

Diagnosis and treatment:

Diagnosed through x-rays and treated by surgical removal of the appendix.

Kidney infections:

Kidneys are bean-shaped structures in the human body whose core function is to sieve unwanted contents in blood. When this organ is interfered with by infections or physical harming, it causes pain.

Some of these common infections in the kidney are; chronic kidney disease, acute renal failure, pyelonephritis and acute kidney injury amongst others. In these conditions when one has a cough, he gets the pain in the abdomen regions.

Peptic ulcers:

Peptic ulcers are raw sores that form in the stomach linings, and sometimes they extend the same infections into the small intestines. Some of the common symptoms of peptic ulcers are; frequently feeling nauseated, heartburns, bloats and severe stomach pain.

It is caused by; bacteria since it is a bacterial infection, food allergy, continuous use of some medications etc.

Diagnosis and treatment:

Vomiting and acute abdominal pains are symptoms of peptic ulcers.

Dietary restrictions can treat this condition. There are also medicinal cures for this infections, tablets, capsules and liquid suspension.

Peptic ulcers contribute to abdominal pain when coughing.

Acid reflux:

Acid reflux is a process that allows acids that are either meant for pH maintenance or digestive functions in the stomach to rise the esophagus. This process is known as hiatus.

The process at which hiatus takes place causes a lot of pain in the abdominal region. When acid reflux has happened and an individual coughs, he/she feels pain in the lower abdomen.

Constipation:

When we feed on more than what our digestive system can tolerate, we constipate. Our stomach becomes so full, and these cause pain in the upper abdomen. This condition slows down the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestines to the rectum.

This slowed movement would somewhat affect the state of out stool. The hardness and softness of stool is in turn affected. This causes abdominal pain when coughing.

Food intolerance:

When our body receives food with chemical substances that aren’t friendly to the stomach, the digestive system reacts to them. This a mechanism through which the body responds to different kinds of foods. The body can reject food substances such as lactose.

Some of these commonly rejected food substances are mostly foods rich in lactase, and they include; milk, cheese and ghee. Most foods rich in lactase are dairy products.

A common mean through which the stomach shows its repulsive nature to foods is puking. That Is throwing up of already chewed foods.

Common symptoms of food intolerance include; nausea, heartburn, bloating, vomiting, diarrhea and headaches. These causes abdominal pain when coughing.

Endometriosis:

What is endometriosis? That is the question that beats your mind immediately you saw the term. Well, endometriosis is in a simpler term known as the monthly menstrual cramps in women. When a woman is in her maturity, she is biologically enabled to give birth to a new baby.

Every month for a woman between the age of adolescence to early adulthood-45 years, she experiences menstruation unless upon conception. The ovum is released from the ovaries to the oviduct for fertilization. Failure to which the ovum is let off the body through a series of biological adaptations.

The oviduct contracts and releases blood to help wash out the ovum. The process of releasing an ovum is painful and leaves wounds in the reproductive system. When one coughs during the menstruation, she experiences pain in the lower abdomen.

GERD:

GERD is an abbreviation for gastroesophageal reflux disease. This is a biological term used to describe the irritation of the esophagus by acid reflux. When you cough and was suffering from irritations in the esophagus as a result of acid reflux, you tend to experience abdominal pain when coughing.

Celiac disease:

This is an immune system’s response to eating gluten. Gluten is one kind of protein found in rye, wheat and barley. When your body develops this kind of immunity, the response eventually ‘eats up’ the small intestines lining leading to poor absorption of food materials.

These would cause severe abdominal pain when coughing.

Gastritis:

Gastritis is a group name for all infections causing inflammation of the stomach linings. It is a bacterial infection.

Common causes of this condition include the persistent use of one painkiller over time and long-term consumption of too much alcohol. This condition causes abdominal pains when coughing since it leaves raw sores in the stomach linings.

Common symptoms of this disorder include; abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, nausea.

Stomach flu:

What is stomach flu? Stomach flu is also known as gastroenteritis is a common infection of the intestines and the stomach. It has its main cause as a virus though sometimes it is caused by a bacterium.

The disease is called the stomach flu doesn’t mean that it has stomach complications. Its symptoms are; pain all over the body, runny nostrils, throat sores and mild headaches.

When a stomach flu patient coughs, there is a replicate pain in the abdomen.

Strained muscles:

During vigorous activities, our body muscles are more involved than never before. They tend to contract and expand relatively to bring about force, stamina and movement. Too much of this vigorous activities cause muscle strain.

When these muscles are strained, they pain. Coughing with paining muscles would force strained muscle into expansions and contractions hence abdominal pain when coughing.

Crohn’s disease:

This is an IBD- inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation in the bowels. Difficulty in breathing, anxiety, pain, depression, and fatigue are all the most common symptoms of Crohn’s disease.

Its cause is still in research. It is however agreed at a higher taught that it could be caused by an abnormal reaction of the body’s immune system. Though scientifically it has not been proven.