Bronchitis Facts
Facts You Should Know About Bronchitis
Bronchitis facts can help you understand the disease and how to deal with it.
• There are over fourteen million cases of acute bronchitis yearly. Over twelve million of those cases are in the United States. There are about 400 deaths per year in the United States from bronchitis.
• Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi – the air passages - that lead to the lungs. Bronchitis facts conclude that it affects the lungs, the respiratory system and the bronchi. Acute bronchitis causes cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. It generally goes away on its own.
• Bronchitis generally includes most of the following symptoms: symptoms similar to those of a cold; dry cough in early stages (productive cough in later stages); throat pain; pressure behind the breast bone; fever; trouble breathing; painful cough; wheezing; chest pain; coughing up pus in sputum and generally feeling unwell.
• There are three types of acute bronchitis – facts list them as acute bacterial bronchitis, acute viral bronchitis and chronic bronchitis. Of the three, chronic bronchitis is also classified under the heading of COPD. The chronic type is diagnosed when you have excessive mucus secreted in your airway, and you are symptomatic for months over a period of one or two years.
• Chronic bronchitis can be caused by lung cancer, COPD, heart disease or several other lung disorders. It causes a great deal of trouble getting air into the lungs. The most common cause is cigarette smoking. You can treat the symptoms, but chronic bronchitis never fully goes away; the symptoms may come and go, but they will keep coming back.
• Symptoms of bronchitis, facts say, are similar in children and adults. Although bronchitis generally clears up without treatment, you may want to seek medical help if you have: wheezing, severe coughing, prolonged fever or if you are coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum.
• Prescription cough medicines can help ease your coughing when you have bronchitis. Albuterol can clear up your wheezing, and Tylenol will help with your chest pain. A vaporizer can help relieve the effects of bronchitis on your lungs, and drinking fluids will help you to stay hydrated. Antibiotics are not effective treatment against bronchitis, because bronchitis is a viral infection.
• Medical treatments for more serious cases of bronchitis, facts say, may include medications to help relieve your cough or loosen mucus. Also included could be inhalers to help open your bronchi, and help with your wheezing. If you have difficulty breathing that doesn't respond to any medications, you may need to be hospitalized. But this is generally due to a complication of your disease, not the bronchitis itself.
• To prevent further bouts of bronchitis, there are several things you can do: stop smoking, avoid exposing yourself to airborne irritants and avoid long periods of exposure to pollution from cars, and second-hand smoke. This should help you avoid a recurrence of bronchitis.