Bronchitis Symptoms
What Is Bronchitis?
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the airways that carry oxygen from your windpipe, or trachea, into the lungs. These are called the bronchial tubes. When irritated, the bronchial tubes produce excess amounts of mucous which triggers the most common of all bronchitis symptoms, a productive cough.
There are two types of bronchitis: acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis. Bronchitis symptoms are the same for both; they differ only in the amount of time a patient has been experiencing symptoms.
Acute bronchitis is extremely common, occurring often during the course of respiratory illnesses like the common cold or influenza. The majority of these illnesses are caused by viruses. Acute bronchitis generally resolves without treatment although the cough may linger for as long as two weeks.
Acute Bronchitis
Chronic bronchitis, on the other hand, is considered by physicians to be a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It’s defined as a productive cough for at least three months out of every year that the patient has experienced for two years or more. Most often, chronic bronchitis develops as a response to the inhalation of something that irritates the airways. Cigarette smoke is the most common culprit, followed by air pollution and the inhalation of environmental chemicals. Many specialists believe that the condition is initially triggered by an infection of some sort.
It’s been estimated that one in twenty Americans suffers from bronchitis symptoms related to chronic bronchitis. Women are more at risk for developing chronic bronchitis than men are. Typically, chronic bronchitis sufferers are smokers over the age of 45. Certain occupations such as welding, coal mining and work around asbestos-containing materials have also been linked to chronic bronchitis.
Bronchitis Symptoms
A deep, productive cough is the chief symptom associated with bronchitis. Mucous and phlegm are expectorated. Because unexpectorated mucous narrows the airways, wheezing and pulmonary congestion are also common symptoms.
Acute bronchitis associated with respiratory infections often starts out as a persistent, nonproductive cough, but in matter of hours or days the cough begins producing thick mucous. Often the mucous has a yellowish or even green tinge. Other acute bronchitis symptoms may include wheezing, chest pain, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue and a low-grade fever. These symptoms generally last between four days and a week. A fever above 38.5°C (101°F) is suggestive of a respiratory illness caused by bacteria, such as pneumonia, and ought to be checked out by a physician.
Chronic bronchitis symptoms are characterized by an intractable, productive cough that brings up large amounts of thick mucous that can actually block the airways, making breathing problematic. A common nickname for chronic bronchitis is “smoker’s cough.” If treatment is not sought in the early stages, chronic bronchitis can damage the lungs permanently, developing into full blown chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD.) COPD patients suffer from a chronic inability to oxygenate fully, which leads to signs like clubbed nail beds and cyanotic lips. Since breathing is problematic, COPD sufferers are not able to live an active lifestyle and become increasingly sedentary. They are also prone to developing serious secondary infections, since the excess mucous in their airways is a good breeding medium for viruses and bacteria.
Chronic bronchitis symptoms can exacerbate for no apparent reason. If the medication a chronic bronchitis patient has been given no longer appears to be effective, that patient is advised to see his or her primary health care provider as soon as possible.
Bronchitis Diagnosis
Acute and chronic bronchitis are diagnosed on the basis of both a physical examination and a patient history. The physical examination will be done with a stethoscope, which enables the diagnostician to hear the congestion in the lungs. The patient history will allow the diagnostician to differentiate between the causes of acute and chronic bronchitis.
In the case of chronic bronchitis, the diagnostician may order imaging studies such as an x-ray as well, to see if the chronic bronchitis has progressed to a more serious disease such as emphysema. Occasionally, sputum samples may be obtained as well and analyzed for the presence of bacterial organisms.
Bronchitis Treatment
Treatment for acute bronchitis focuses on managing bronchitis symptoms. Most of the medications used to manage these symptoms are over the counter. Fever and sore throat can be controlled effectively with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) while the productive cough will be treated with expectorants that loosen mucous trapped in the patient’s airways. A decongestant may also be recommended if a patient is suffering from nasal congestion.
Chronic bronchitis is also treated with a view to managing bronchitis symptoms. Wheezing and dyspnea will be treated with bronchodilators to relieve bronchospasms, while edema of the respiratory epithelial cells will respond to corticosteroid treatments. In severe cases of chronic bronchitis, patients will require supplemental oxygen, usually delivered via nasal cannula attached to an oxygen tank.
The most effective way of preventing chronic bronchitis from worsening is to avoid smoking cigarettes.
Comments
Tuesday i woke up to a constant irritating cough now Wednesday my chest is tight and im hacking up bright yellow nasty tasting phlegm and the cough is deep and sometimes i cough hard enough to make my head hurt. I had chills, feverish, achy everywhere and so on so i think i need to make a trip to the doctor’s office.
don’t wait, go the dr. or emergency clinic … help your lungs and your life.
coming from someone who went to a doctor today and found out the news regarding bronchitis
i am 46 years old……i m suffering from this disease from a long many years ……. doctor says that it is in me from birth……. i have tried my best for its treatment……bt nt able in gtng rid of it ////// so can please tell me what should i go for………….(thanks in advance).
I started having the symptoms of Acute Bronchitis about 2 days ago and now my chest hurts, it’s hard to breathe. My head and chest hurt after a cough, and it’s very painful to sneeze. My mother and younger sister have a form of Bronchitis but I’m not sure which one. My mother is brushing it off as a common cold, but could this be Acute Bronchitis? I was recently at a friends house and her parents smoke very heavily. I’m 17 if that helps any.
i’ve got a cold yesterday . My chest hurt . I’ll cough usually at night . Do i suffer from bronchitis ? I’m 17 and i do suffer from asthma .
I have been dealing with this for almost a week now. Started off with my thoart hurting and a cough.
Now my left ear is hurting, my thoart feels like it is on fire and when I cough it hurts so bad that I want to cry. My chest is also hurting. Feels like I have a semi truck and trailer sitting on it.
I have been to the Drs and they tell me to let it run its course but I can’t stand it. Makes it hard to sleep at night.
Any ideas on what I should do, please? Thank you
hi im vivienne and i have a small cough but whenever i cough it hurts my chest it hurts alone but when i cough or take a deep breath it hurts and ive been having headaches and hot and cold flashes. ive also have fatigue ive have not seen a dr. yet but i will soon im 12 can any body help me?
My best friend had a sore throat an it swelled up so i dont know what is gonna happen her mom smokes so thats another thing but my other best friend and i drank off her water an we are experiencing a migrane and nausous i puked already and ended up puking up blood so idk whats going on do anyone know what i have
I have almost every year around Jan/Feb two to three weeks of coughing with fatigue, weakness, sweating – I take the Grandma´s medicine: a lot of hot tea with lemon, honey and shot of rum, calvados or sliwowitz, or a steaming hot milk with big spoon of honey and butter.
At my office and on the street I try to get good anti-cough sirup.
Also, when I get back to normal shape, I try to follow the healthy life-style:
- at least once a week or once a fortnight, go to sauna
- commute daily to my job (5-6 miles one way) only by bike (we have decent biking lanes at my neighborhood) and/or by walking/jogging (for this purpose, we have fortunately locker room with showers at my job)
- spending my longer vacations in an active way (i.e. daily swimming, hiking, biking, etc.)
- no smoking (except occassional cigar:-).
I would like to suggest to all of you complaining about bronchitis: try to get back to normal state with the help of medicines, tea, sirups etc., and then do you utmost to be active as much as possible EVERY DAY for at least two hours, devote weekends to sauna, and during vacations, double the effort: YOU RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!
I have viral bronchitis and it sucks. I’ve been chunking up this nasty white gunk and my nose has been really congested. It randomly starts pouring out like a fossit. Both my ears hurt like they did when i had my tonsils removed, and I’ve had a nonstop headache. I have a very painful cough and my heart rate is well over 100 bpm, though my blood pressure feels very low. I have asthma and that doesn’t help at all. I have a slight fever at about 99.7 when i am usually about 97. I have tremors and malaise which makes me feel awful. I am very cold, but sweating at the same time. My throat is also very sore. I feel out of breath right now and the best part is, i have to go to school tomorrow and do a speech. Then i have football practice. Lucky me -_-
I have bad chest pain and l ot of mucis that comes out when I snee and I cough. I cough everu 5 min and when do cough I choke as I cough and it hart to stop coughing and there a firey but sharp pain in my chest please I need help.and thank for reading :0
I am 12 years old and i have Chronic Bronchitis and believe me it is not fun i have been out of school for weeks. Be happy with what you have.
I have al the symptons of acute bronchitus listed here but I also ahve has extreme nausia with it for 6 days , Is this common?
I have had extreme naus ia for 6 days along with allthe symptons of bronchitus. I have toforce myself to eat what little I do. Is nausia also a sympton of broncitus.
I think i have Acute Bronchitis, I am 16 and dont smoke. Is this Contagious?
I have this and I’m 16 I do not smoke at all I’ve had this since Thursday it began with cough and mucus and fever than Friday came same thing and Saturday I lost the fever and began to lose my voice so Sun-Tues I’ve had cough, mucus, and either no or low voice is this normal?
I always end up with a little cough from running indoors (it’s soo dry) and it now includes this nasty phlegm that is so common with bronchitis. I’m pretty sure that’s what it is again. It’s been a week so it’s probably on it’s way out.
I’m real interested in chinese reflexology and I noticed a blister on the bottom of my left foot. The interesting part is that it’s on the spot of the foot that correlates with the lungs/bronchial tubes. Coincidence? maybe!
You guys seriously try go to the hospital and have a check up.
am 42yr old nd i hve pain in my chest what 2 do? is it bronchitis?
Friday i woke up to a constant irritating cough now Saturday my chest is tight and im hacking up bright yellow nasty tasting phlegm and the cough is deep and sometimes i cough hard enough to make my head hurt. I had chills, feverish, achy everywhere and so on so i think i need to make a trip to the doctor’s office. I still have all the symptoms except the weezing what should i do?
Nauesa is common because you have gunk running down your throat into your stomach. Headaches are normal. I get bronchitis every year around october. Something with the weather. It goes away on its own. Its pretty common. its contagious without antibiotics. Its contagious for the first 24 hours with antibiotics. Its from a cold. Can be treated in two steps. 1.)go to doctor 2.)fill prescriptions. Not a biggie if you do those two things. Talk about health and drama queens will appear.
Blood vommited looks like coffe grounds. It is caused by internal bleeding not a cough. A little bit of blood in mucus is normal its scratching your throat. No different than scratching your arm. And if you did truely puke up blood, I would seriously hope your first move was to go to the e.r. not play on the internet a day later.
coughing up blood from coughing is common if you are forcing a hacking cough.. the lining of your throat will shed some blood in the spit. but if you are seriously throwing up blood.. like heritis stated, it looks like coffee grounds and is commonly due to a stomach problem internally, for me it was an ruptured ulcer several years ago.
majority of you are quite young to be googling your symptoms, best suggestion would be to consult your parent if under 18 and seek medical attention if you truly belive this to be problematic.
when i feel a cold coming on, i increase rest, drink clear juices (apple juice, grape juice) avoid milk and take some echinechia and vitamin c. both will help boost your immune system
GOOD LUCK
The 18rh was my birthday so my husband took me on a trip to Reno wen we came back on Monday I started a cough that only got worse I am a smoker so listing to my husband n step son I made a drz apt for this morning the doctor informed me out have bronchitis bt did not tell me all these facts n I feel n look lyk a zombie from walking. Dead so point being I hate when my husband is right bt happy I listened to him n our son cuz I could have gotten worse n thanks tl this article ill be able to know now wat it is exactly I’m dealing with
1 month baby, symptoms of accute bronchitis ,what is the treatment
i had a fever of 101.5 for 3 days and this is the 8th day ive had these symptoms. It went away in the morning but in the evening it came back. I have a huge cough and it is hard to breathe. You can hear like a wheezing or something when i exhale. I have never smoked and never will… i don’t really know how i got this cold or whatever else it is. Im deciding if i should see a doctor or if it will just go away…
Hi. i am 12 years old and i think i have acute bronchitis. I have a terrible cough and my chest is really tight. I have a borderline fever and a lot of wheezing. should i go to school? I have already days of school. Also, i am very weak and sometimes i can barely get out of bed. What should i do?
My son has been complaining of colds, headache, pain in his throat, low fever and sweats at night. What would this be?
My nose all the time releases plain water, it is not thick,green or yellow, thick Cough comes out several times from mouth passage.bottom of the feet alwaysremains num,cold & gives a electric sensation.inspite of heavy antibiotics,it is not going.sometimes feel feverish.
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