Cold Icy Feeling Inside Chest & The Real Meaning

Have you ever experienced cold icy feeling inside chest? If you have, then you must be familiar with the cold sensation somewhat moving from the head to the chest – resulting in the term chest cold sensation. Well, such a sensation does have its own medical term. It’s called acute bronchitis, which is an airway irritation (or inflammation). Your see, your lungs have tubes where the air would pass through, known as bronchial tubes. When they are infected, they will swell and thick fluid (known as mucus) would form inside the tubes. This will cause the airways to go narrow, which makes it more difficult for you to breathe.

It is the same virus responsible for the flu or the common cold that is responsible for the acute bronchitis. The virus may affect the throat, sinuses, and nose first before traveling to the bronchial tubes. The medical issue can also be caused by an irritant within the air (such as cigarette smoke or fumes) or a bacterial infection.
cold feeling in chest

The Symptoms

The symptoms are often similar to cold, which makes it difficult to spot or diagnose. It includes a sore throat, sinus pressure, and stuffy nose. Other symptoms that may follow include:

  • Tightness in chest
  • The difficulty when taking deep breath
  • Persistent cough that has greenish-yellow mucus
  • Wheezing (especially when lying down)
  • Occasional (low grade) fever that is usually less than 102 degrees Fahrenheit

These symptoms are considered mild when you don’t have any lung conditions, such as asthma, or chronic immune system issue. If you don’t smoke and you basically have a good health, then the health issue will go away on its own.
cold sensation in chest

The Treatments

Since this issue is caused by virus, there is no use of antibiotics – they are only used to deal with bacterial infections. If the cases are mild, the problem should go on its own after 7 to 10 days. But it is possible that the cough will stay even after the symptoms have dissipated.

There are some things that you can do to deal with it:

  • Use a humidifier to loosen the mucus. If you don’t have it, you can try the hot shower and breathe in the steam.
  • Get a lot of rest and sleep
  • Drink a lot of water. This will help thin out the mucus as well as making you stay hydrated
  • Avoid any exposure to smoke, even to secondhand smoke
  • You can consider using the expectorant OTC (over the counter) to help relieve the chest congestion. It usually goes with the name guaifenesion
  • You should prop yourself up whenever you sleep. Use the extra pillows to do so. Not only it will relieve your breathing, but it will also ease the chest congestion and coughing

It is possible that you have secondary bacterial infection. It happens when the bacteria grows in the already infected airways (caused by the virus). If this happens, then you may be given antibiotics. Your doctor may suggest some extra treatments for the recovery. So, now if you have the cold icy feeling inside chest, you know what is happening to you and the possible treatments.

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