Pain of the windpipe
Tracheal pain can have many different causes. One of the most common causes is inflammation of the airways. In the case of pain in the area of the trachea, the inflammation is most likely to be located in the area of the throat, larynx or upper trachea.
Possible pathogens are viruses, bacteria and, in immunocompromised persons, fungi. Smoking favors such infections, since the mucous membrane lining the airways is damaged and the penetration of the pathogens is facilitated. The pain of the windpipe is often felt as a burning sensation in the throat and behind the breastbone.
In principle, however, anything that can injure and irritate the mucous membrane of the larynx and trachea can cause pain. This is also the case when breathing in toxic chemical irritant gases, such as pepper spray. In patients with reflux disease, better known as heartburn, it is possible that not only the esophagus but also the trachea can be affected.
Particularly in pronounced cases and when lying down, for example while sleeping, the acid gastric juice can rise along the esophagus to the throat, from where it can enter the trachea and attack its mucous membrane. This also causes pain and hoarseness due to the affected vocal cords. Even completely healthy people can feel pain in the windpipe and lungs.
Everybody knows it during physical exertion in winter in cold air. The cold air is a minor inflammatory stimulus that affects the mucous membrane of the airways.Despite all this, physical stress at temperatures above minus 15 degrees is harmless to otherwise healthy people and the benefits outweigh the adverse inflammatory stimulus. Asthmatics should be more cautious when doing sports in winter temperatures, as the lungs are already under a chronic inflammation due to the disease and an additional stimulus can cause an asthma attack, which is also associated with pain, but here mainly in the chest area.
Burning pain in the windpipe is often caused by an inflammation of the trachea. In medical terminology it is called tracheitis. It is a rare disease that often occurs as a result of a pre-existing cold.
The mucous membrane of the trachea is pre-damaged by the viruses of the cold, or more rarely bacteria, which in turn allows bacteria to penetrate it and infect the trachea. However, the cold viruses are also able to descend into the trachea from the nose and throat and infect it directly. The disease occurs mainly in the winter months.
As a rule, tracheitis does not occur in isolation but in combination with an inflamed larynx (laryngitis) and inflamed bronchi (bronchitis). In addition to an infectious cause, irritant gases, for example, can lead to a burning and painful tracheitis. Tracheitis is a rare disease and complication of a common cold, but it should be treated by a doctor. If symptoms such as coughing, hoarseness and burning behind the breastbone persist for a few days, the use of an antibiotic is recommended.
