Can you "injure" yourself from coughing?

[Khimaira]

Not really injure, but not sure what the right word is. I've had a cough for over a week now, not constantly, but once it's starts its hard to stop and hard to breathe. It comes mainly from a change e.g. Sitting to lying down, going outside, going inside. But yesterday it's like I've pulled a muscle or something (is that even possible?) when I breathe in deeply or cough I have a pain in between my ribs. It's not constant and not when I breathe shallowly.
Is the anything I can do for this? Cream or take painkillers - what would be best? (Still Bf DD once a day if that's important). I have to take DS to toddler gym in an hour and need to be able to breathe and lift him.

You can pull a muscle coughing but You might have a chest infection. They can really hurt.

Sorry, posted before I was finished.
I think you should get it checked out. Sounds like you are struggling to breathe.

Definitely. My mum broke arib. I got a massive bloodshit eye once.

Do get checked OP. My friend developed a heria through coughing. Do hope you feel better soon.

Not really sure it's worth a doctors trip. I can't turn up and say I've taken an appointment because I have a cough!
Is there anything I can do myself except take painkillers and try not to cough?

You can turn up and take an appointment for a persistent cough which means you're struggling to breathe and is causing discomfort between the ribs.

If it is a chest infection, you might need antibiotics and if it's something like whooping cough (which a friend had a couple of winters back) you could be infecting other people.

If you have a cough bad enough so that you find it hard to breathe it sounds like that is worth a visit to the GP. You could have pleurisy which makes it painful when taking a deep breath.

My sister broke a rib from coughing.

Sounds a bit like whooping cough to me.

I would go to the dr. And I practically never say that.

You can definitely turn up to the GP saying you have a cough and are having difficulty breathing.

Urgh. Don't like doctors. I've took some paracetamol, stopped at the chemist on the way to gym and they said to take some ibuprofen. It's not touching it. I'm going to have to go to the doctors aren't I? What will they do though if I say I don't want antibiotics? Is there anything they can do?

Yes, of course you can hurt yourself from coughing - hernia, abdomindal horribleness, bruised and broken ribs, burst blood vessels in throat or eye.
Why won't you take ABs if you have a chest infection? They don't hand them out like sweeties anymore!

I burst a disc in my lower back from coughing. Maybe you should get checked out? Hope you feel better soon

Yes. I had this last year. Pulled all my intercostal muscles (really painful). Tried to ignore it by dulling it with painkillers - ended up in hospital having had an asthma attack (never had one before) and they said i had pnemonia. Go to the drs asap.

When I was 8 months pregnant I had such a bad cough that I bruised my ribs. Breathing and moving about hurt, coughing was agony!
Breathing in steam helps I think?
I would get it checked out - I have a GP in the family so got them to check and listen to my breathing.

Oh god, I hate, hate, hate going to the doctor.

I never knew you could get so many injuries from a cough! If it still hurts tomorrow morning, I shall make an appointment, is that a good enough compromise?

Yes I pulled a rib following a particularly nasty cough. Took 4 weeks for pain to subside. Just going now!

Did you really say you were on the way to the gym?

Yep. It sounds like you've torn an intercostal muscle. It's quite painful but will repair. I've done it twice. :(

I did - mother and toddler gym. For once I was grateful I have an uncooperative DS. He refused to do the running at the start and then didn't want to climb on the wall bars/horses/swing on the hoops he just wanted to crawl through a tunnel of mats! So I didn't have to do any rescuing :) it's not getting any better, I'll have to see tomorrow. Does anyone know if it's really ok to take ibuprofen whilst bf?

Go to the GP and get them to rule out pleurisy.
"just a cough" can be a nasty old business.

I broke a rib.

There was a massive, loud crack which people heard the other side of the room.

No cracks here! That sounds awful, hope you are all recovered now. Thanks for the advice. I had a "bad" night, didn't manage to sleep for a while then woke a few times. Makes a change that it wasn't the DC's! It still hurts today but not the same. There are a couple of positions where it doesn't hurt and I think I can breathe a bit more normally. I called the doctors today and the doctor eventually called me back. She argued for five minutes that I wasn't one of her patients (had my name spelled wrong in her file) and then just told me to take max three painkillers a day, said she didn't need to see me. Phew.

glad it's getting better