Category Archives: Bronchitis

Bronchitis vs Sinus Infection

Posted on January 24, 2008 | 6 Comments

When you are sick, sometimes you can have a problem determining what exactly you have such as determining between a cold and bronchitis or even between bronchitis and pneumonia.

While Bronchitis and Sinus Infection may share a few symptoms, for the most part, these illnesses occur in different parts of the body and therefore can be quite distinctive.

Bronchitis or Sinus Infection – The Differences

With bronchitis, your airways, also known as bronchial tubes, which lead from the trachea to the lungs, become inflamed due to irritants and infection. Bronchitis typically produces a cough in which phlegm is expelled. If a virus is the cause then no drugs are available to fight the viruses off. Occasionally, bacterial infections can be blamed for causing bronchitis.

In determining bronchitis or sinus infection, a sinus infection occurs when the hollow cavities around your eyes and cheekbones called sinuses become inflamed. This inflammation is typically due to inadequate drainage of mucus and fluids due to colds, infections, allergies and even physical deformities of the nose like a deviated septum. The primary symptoms of a sinus infection include some coughing when drainage occurs in the back of the throat as well as discolored nasal discharge, tenderness in the eye and facial area, aching teeth, fatigue, eye swelling, headaches and more.

Similar Treatment works for Bronchitis or Sinus Infection

When a bacterial infection is the cause of bronchitis or sinus infection, both conditions require a course of antibiotics as treatment. In addition, some of the home remedies used to ease the pain and discomfort of bronchitis or sinus infection will be the same too.

With both conditions, the inhalation of steam from a hot shower or a vaporizer alleviates some symptoms, only in different ways. The steam loosens the mucus lining the bronchial tubes to ease breathing and coughing in bronchitis whereas with sinus infections, the steam helps loosen nasal congestion so that you can blow your nose and expel the mucus in that manner.

For bronchitis or sinus infection, you could also eat spicy foods to help loosen and thin mucus thereby giving your body an easier way of expelling it. With bronchitis, the mucus is loosened in the chest area while mucus in the head area is loosened in sinus infections. And paying more attention to cleanliness by washing your hands and avoiding other sick people can go a long way in preventing both illnesses.

As you can see, there is little confusion in determining bronchitis or sinus infection. While each condition afflicts different parts of the body, similar treatments can help clear up both conditions.

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Posted in Bacterial Infections, Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Common Cold, Cough, Lungs, Respiratory System, Viral Infections

Bronchitis in Children: Symptoms & Treatment

Posted on January 24, 2008 | 5 Comments

When a cold leads to the addition of a cough, child could be developing bronchitis, a respiratory condition where the lining the trachea and the bronchial tubes leading to the lungs and become inflamed, producing an abnormal amount of mucus. The development of a cough is the first in a line of symptoms of bronchitis in children.

How Bronchitis Occurs

As mentioned above, bronchitis often manifests itself on the tail end of a cold and therefore is most likely caused by a virus rather than bacteria. When a viral infection is the cause of bronchitis, antibiotics do not help this condition. In children, symptoms of bronchitis present themselves after a cold or even the flu and can even be the result of the measles or whooping cough.

Prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke from cigarettes and other tobacco products can lower the immune system of children, inviting more colds, thus inviting bronchitis as well. Heavy allergens in the air and even air pollution can be contributing factors of this respiratory illness.

Symptoms of Bronchitis in Children

Symptoms of bronchitis in children typically start with the common cold, so sore throat, coughing, mild fever and runny nose are all signs. You will also notice that with the cough that accompanies a cold, it may start off dry but as it turns moist, it could be a sure sign of bronchitis developing.

Other symptoms of bronchitis in children include shortness of breath and even some wheezing. Keep in mind however that asthma also shares these symptoms so only a doctor using a stethoscope to listen to the child’s lungs can make an accurate diagnosis.

Treatment and Recovery for Children with Bronchitis

With the onset of symptoms of bronchitis in children, you should immediately make an appointment with the doctor to determine that bronchitis is indeed the culprit. In many cases, a virus is the cause so you should do what you can to ease the symptoms of bronchitis in children to make them more comfortable, which in turn speeds up the recovery process.

Fluids such as water, juice and warm soup are all great at soothing the cough as well as thinning the mucus secretions so that they are easier to expel. Occasionally, body aches and mild fever could occur so a children’s pain reliever could be administered.

Steam from a shower or vaporizer also eases the symptoms of bronchitis in children and can be administered several times a day as needed.

For the most part, bronchitis clears up within five days to a week. However, if the symptoms of bronchitis in children last longer or recur frequently, a doctor can determine if there is an underlying condition which could be contributing to the problem.

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Posted in Bacterial Infections, Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Childrens Health, Common Cold, Cough, FAQ, Lungs, Respiratory System, Viral Infections

Drug Treatment Options for Acute Bronchitis

Posted on January 24, 2008 | Leave a comment

Acute bronchitis is the inflammation of the bronchial tubes that lead from the trachea to the lungs. Infection is the typical reason that acute bronchitis occurs and the illness often follows a cold or even the flu.

A drug treatment of acute bronchitis may not work if the infection was caused by something viral. In this instance, the only thing you can do is alleviate the symptoms and make yourself comfortable while the virus-caused acute bronchitis runs its course.

The only way to determine whether this respiratory illness was caused by bacteria is for the doctor to run a blood test or even test some of the phlegm that was coughed up.

Drug Treatment of Acute Bronchitis

If indeed your bronchitis was caused by bacteria, there are a few options in regards to your drug treatment of acute bronchitis.

For children, milder antibiotics such as amoxicillin and zithromax are prescribed by the doctor. This drug treatment of acute bronchitis in kids is gentler to the stomach than heartier antibiotics that are prescribed to adults.

For the adults, tetracycline, biaxin, augmentin and erythromycin are among the antibiotic types that are typical in drug treatment of acute bronchitis.

It all depends on the causative bacteria as to which antibiotic in particular is prescribed by the doctor. In some instances, a hearty strain of bacteria may be taking up residence in your bronchial tubes and therefore requires a stronger antibiotic. When this situation occurs, the drug treatment of acute bronchitis is gemiflaoxacin, a drug that targets antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

For both children and adults, decongestants may be prescribed to speed up the process of loosening up mucus for expulsion.

Another drug treatment of acute bronchitis is the prescription of bronchodilators. This family of drugs is often in the form of an inhaler and works much like medications for asthma – they help open the constricted, swollen airways going to the lungs.

Other Treatment Options

Of course, non-drug treatments exist for acute bronchitis as well. These treatments include the use of a vaporizer to breath in steam which helps loosen swollen bronchial tubes. You might try adding eucalyptus, lavender or orange essential oil to the vaporizer as these do help in promoting easier breathing.

Many non-alcoholic and decaffeinated drinks and soups are also on the non-drug treatment of acute bronchitis. The fluids help loosen the mucus so that you can expel it from your body.

In all, there are a variety of treatment options to try and only your doctor can help you with a drug treatment for acute bronchitis caused by bacteria.

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Posted in Antibiotics, Bacterial Infections, Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Common Cold, Cough, Lungs, OTC Medications, Respiratory System, Viral Infections

Asthmatic Bronchitis Information

Posted on January 24, 2008 | Leave a comment

It has been found that asthmatics are prone to developing asthmatic bronchitis in the event that their prior asthma condition turns persistent as well as severe which leads to non-temporary obstruction of the respiratory tract.

And someone with chronic bronchitis and even those with asthma can get asthmatic bronchitis.

It is also usual for asthmatic bronchitis patients to show signs and symptoms of chronic bronchitis and whatever prior treatments may have been taken to treat asthma will turn out ineffective and airways will continue to stay clogged and mucus will still gather in them.

Diagnosis

Even physical examinations undertaken in a clinic can fail to establish the proper diagnosis based solely on the symptoms of asthmatic bronchitis, because there are common symptoms for a number of conditions including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and also asthmatic bronchitis that can lead to confusion when diagnosing.

Therefore, the best means of diagnosing the problem would be through testing in the laboratory and also by carefully making physical examinations.

  • Asthmatic bronchitis is also likely to occur amongst patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
  • In addition, the disease is also caused due to being exposed to irritants that are outside of the body rather than because of internal viruses and also bacteria.
  • Sometimes, extreme cases of respiratory problems that occur during childhood coupled with a poor immune system and also hyperactivity affecting the respiratory tract is other factors that cause an onset of asthmatic bronchitis.
  • And smokers that have a chronic bronchial condition can be at risk of developing this disease and the usual symptoms of such a condition include coughing, breathlessness, wheezing and also feeling discomfort in the chest when trying to breathe.

Since this disease does cause respiratory tract obstructions, it follows that any treatment given to the patient should be effective in freeing the airways from the blockage within, and to also combat internally the bacteria that may have caused the problem in the first place.

The treatment recommended most often is known as bronchodilators which are effective in making clogged airways become decongested and gets rid of the mucus.

Asthmatic bronchitis can also lead to grave complications that are known as pulmonary bacterial infections which will require a prolonged and on going treatment regime, and if you suffer from such a malady, you should make it a point to keep away from irritants such as smoke from cigarettes, chemical, pollutants, dust and also alcohol vapors.

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Posted in Asthma, Bacterial Infections, Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Cardiovascular, Lungs, Mens Health, Respiratory System, Viral Infections, Womens Health

Viral Bronchitis Information & Risk Factors

Posted on January 24, 2008 | Leave a comment

It can be hard to tell the difference between the two forms of bronchitis-Viral bronchitis and Bacterial bronchitis – since both most often develop during or after a cold or other upper respiratory infection.

Viral bronchitis may be caused by a number of different factors, and is quite common among the general public.  Viral bronchitis is similar to regular bronchitis conditions but there are a few very significant differences as well.

  • One of the most noticeable differences is that viral bronchitis is usually accompanied by a fever, whereas other types are not.
  • Also, little to no mucus or phlegm is coughed up from the lungs in the beginning, whereas with bacterial forms of bronchitis this is one of the most major and noticeable symptoms.

In most normal/healthy people, both bacterial and viral bronchitis will usually get better with simple home treatment, however if your condition is especially serious or has been left untreated for quite some time, then your doctor may have to recommend more severe methods of treatment.

The Risk Factors:

  • Although there is no way to prevent yourself from bronchitis in general, there are certain risk factors that are involved, which you should try to avoid in order to prevent as best as possible your body from developing the condition.
  • You generally have a higher risk of developing bronchitis if you have had a recent illness or viral respiratory infection, or if you have chronic lung problems.
  • You are at much higher risk if you are a smoker, and it is also important to realize that if you smoke and you do end up developing bronchitis, it will be much harder for your body to fight off the disease and you will have a much lengthier recovery time as well.
  • The best thing you can do then is try to maintain as healthy a lifestyle as you possibly can, and quit any unhealthy habits that you may have, namely smoking and excessive drinking.  Again you will not be able to prevent yourself from ever getting bronchitis 100%, but you will be guarding yourself against it as best as possible and making yourself healthier in general at the same time.

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Posted in Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Cardiovascular, FAQ, Viral Infections