Battling Bronchitis

You have been coughing for weeks now. You cough up yellowish phlegm. Your chest aches. You may have bronchitis.

Bronchitis is inflammation of the lining of your bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from your lungs. People with bronchitis often cough up thick mucus that is discolored. Bronchitis can be either acute or chronic.

Acute bronchitis develops from a cold or other respiratory infection. As a result, acute bronchitis is fairly common. Chronic bronchitis, the more serious condition, is a constant inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes often from smoking.

Acute bronchitis referred to as a chest cold, usually improves within a week to 10 days without lasting effects, but the cough may be persistent for weeks.

If you have several episodes of bronchitis, you may suffer from chronic bronchitis and you may need to see your doctor. Chronic bronchitis is one of the conditions included in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Some of the symptoms for either acute or chronic bronchitis may include cough, production of mucus (can be clear, yellowish-gray, or green in color, sometimes streaked with blood), fatigue, shortness of breath, slight fever and chills, and chest discomfort.

If you have acute bronchitis, you may have cold symptoms, such as a mild headache or body aches. These symptoms usually improve in about a week. You may have a nagging cough that lasts much longer than that.

Chronic bronchitis is defined as a productive cough that lasts about three months, with recurring bouts occurring for two consecutive years.

If you suffer from chronic bronchitis, you may have periods where your cough worsens. At those times, you may have an acute infection on top of chronic bronchitis.

Basically, you should see your doctor if your cough lasts longer than three weeks, if your cough prevents you from sleeping, is accompanied by a fever higher than 100.4 F (38 C), produces discolored mucus, produces blood, and is associated with wheezing or shortness of breath.

Acute bronchitis is usually caused by viruses, typically the same kind that causes colds or flu. Antibiotics don’t kill viruses, so this type of medication isn’t useful for this condition.

The most common cause of chronic bronchitis is cigarette smoking. Air pollution, dust, or toxic gases in the environment or workplace may contribute to the condition.

Other risk factors that may cause bronchitis are a weakened immune system, exposure to irritants on the job, and gastric reflux (severe heartburn may irritate your throat and make you prone to bronchitis).

Reducing your risk for bronchitis is as easy as some tips to follow like avoid cigarette smoking, get vaccinated, wash your hands frequently (or use hand sanitizer if needed), wear a surgical mask if necessary.

In order to get diagnosed, your doctor will begin by listening to your chest with a stethoscope to see whether or not your lungs are affected. Your doctor may suggest tests like a chest X-ray to determine if you have pneumonia or other condition that you can attribute to your cough; sputum tests to check out the mucus that you cough up from your lungs for illnesses that can be helped with antibiotics and to test for allergies; a pulmonary function test where you blow into a device called a spirometer that measures how much air your lungs can hold and how quickly you can get air out of your lungs.

Most cases of acute bronchitis get better without treatment within a couple of weeks. Most cases of bronchitis are caused by a viral infection therefore antibiotics aren’t really effective for treating this condition. Your doctor may recommend other medication such as cough medicine, an inhaler and other medications if your condition is complicated by allergies, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

If you suffer from chronic bronchitis, pulmonary rehabilitation, which is a breathing exercise program, may be beneficial. In this type of program, a respiratory therapist teaches you how to breathe more easily and improve your ability to exercise.

Some other measures that can be taken to improve your condition are avoiding lung irritants by wearing a mask in polluted areas, using a humidifier, and wearing a face mask if outside.

And if you have any questions regarding bronchitis, please speak to your doctor.