coughing cause headache

[nhelen79]

hi all,
it's been a tough week for me. i think i've been having a cold. it started with a mild fever. then now coughing with mucus and sore throat for 4 days. the back of my neck on the right is also tender. when i'm in a coughing spell, my head on the right side (same side) feel painful. the pain is not too bad but it radiate from back of neck to the front. it stops when i stop coughing. this gets me anxious because when i googled, cough headache especially one side is dangerous (brain tumor). i stopped googling after seeing that :)

Another problem is that I found out that i tested positive for pregnancy and waiting for HCG beta test results because the doctor cannot see anything on ultrasound. Hence, i dont' dare to take any cough suppression. Everything just came together at the same time and my anxiety is flaming.

I gave in and made appointment to see my doctor later today. is it normal to cough and feel headpain especially when the back of the neck on that side is already sore? i guess i'm just trying to calm down.

thanks

[Andrash]

hi all,
it's been a tough week for me. i think i've been having a cold. it started with a mild fever. then now coughing with mucus and sore throat for 4 days. the back of my neck on the right is also tender. when i'm in a coughing spell, my head on the right side (same side) feel painful. the pain is not too bad but it radiate from back of neck to the front. it stops when i stop coughing. this gets me anxious because when i googled, cough headache especially one side is dangerous (brain tumor). i stopped googling after seeing that :)

Another problem is that I found out that i tested positive for pregnancy and waiting for HCG beta test results because the doctor cannot see anything on ultrasound. Hence, i dont' dare to take any cough suppression. Everything just came together at the same time and my anxiety is flaming.

I gave in and made appointment to see my doctor later today. is it normal to cough and feel headpain especially when the back of the neck on that side is already sore? i guess i'm just trying to calm down.

thanks

It is not just normal, it is expected.

[nhelen79]

It is not just normal, it is expected.

thank you so much. so it's the tenderness of the back of the neck that cause the pain to go to the front of the head too?

i've been drinking lot of ice water to try to suppress the cough at work. i think i shall see my chiropractor

[Andrash]

thank you so much. so it's the tenderness of the back of the neck that cause the pain to go to the front of the head too?

i've been drinking lot of ice water to try to suppress the cough at work. i think i shall see my chiropractor

The tenderness of your neck is due to cold, which is also causing your cough. When you cough persistently, you put your head and neck muscles under strain , which causes headaches. Of course it is logical for your head to ache the worst when you are actually coughing - that is when the muscles are under most intense strain.

And I might sound like a pain in the arse (pardon my French), but I would not recommend a chiropractor. If your neck muscles remain stiff (again, that is nothing serious and completely treatable) I would recommend visiting your GP, not chiropractor which is a bit more than an ordinary quack.

[nhelen79]

i just went to the doctor. after the exam, she said it's viral so just hang in there. she didn't want to do a strep swab because it doesn't look too bad. i guess i have to learn to trust her expertise.


thanks

---------- Post added at 23:23 ---------- Previous post was at 23:22 ----------


The tenderness of your neck is due to cold, which is also causing your cough. When you cough persistently, you put your head and neck muscles under strain , which causes headaches. Of course it is logical for your head to ache the worst when you are actually coughing - that is when the muscles are under most intense strain.

And I might sound like a pain in the arse (pardon my French), but I would not recommend a chiropractor. If your neck muscles remain stiff (again, that is nothing serious and completely treatable) I would recommend visiting your GP, not chiropractor which is a bit more than an ordinary quack.

i have to confess. i've been going to chiropractor regularly and it helps a lot with tension relieve.

the doctor checked my neck and she thought it's from the cold like you said.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It's likely muscle strain. The same happens with your stomach muscles or lower back due to excessive coughing.