Category Archives: Bronchitis

Bronchitis And Pregnancy: How To Handle or Avoid?

Posted on December 13, 2008 | Leave a comment

Pregnancy is a delicate time for mother and the unborn child, and it is important to avoid getting sick to the extent possible.

Of course things like common cold etc keep happening, but its the bigger things you have to guard against.

Is it true that pregnancy tend to contract bronchitis?

Yes, it is likely for pregnant women to get bronchitis, because during pregnancy, the uterus expands to provide more room for the growing baby.  However, this causes other organs, such as the lungs, to be compressed/pressured.  This often leads to more sinus infections in pregnant women—and sinus infections can lead to bronchitis.

  • The simultaneous occurrence of bronchitis and pregnancy often inhibits the woman’s ability to breathe, which is dangerous for the baby’s health and development.
  • Usually antibiotics or drugs would be the quick fix for this situation.  However, pregnant women must be careful about which drugs they take, because these too can damage the baby’s health.
  • Anytime a pregnant woman is considering taking medicine of any kind, she needs to work very closely with her doctor to determine what is best for her health.

How To Avoid Bronchitis During Pregnancy? 

Here are some steps to take. First of all, women who are pregnant should avoid being around people with colds or bronchitis.  This means think twice before getting into crowded metros. Additionally, if a woman is pregnant during the flu season (December through March), then she should get the flu vaccine to protect herself from serious cases of pneumonia or influenza.

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Posted in Antibiotics, Asthma, Bronchitis, Immune System, Immunity, Lungs, Pregnancy, Respiratory System, Womens Health

Bronchitis and Pneumonia Symptom and Treatment

Posted on September 25, 2008 | 1 Comment

Bronchitis and pneumonia has some of the same symptoms so therefore, many people believe that treating bronchitis and pneumonia will also share some of the same remedies. This theory is true up to a point, but you have to understand first the type of bronchitis and pneumonia that you might have. Those illnesses caused by a virus will be treated differently than those that are caused by bacteria.

The basic difference between bronchitis and pneumonia is that bronchitis is primarily an inflammation of the air passageways called bronchi that lead from the trachea to the lungs. With pneumonia, there is an actual infection of the lungs with the alveoli (air sacs) filling up with fluid or pus, causing breathing problems.

Understanding the Differences in Bronchitis and Pnemonia

  • Both bronchitis and pnemonia can start out innocuous enough from a cold or even an allergy.
  • With bronchitis, you may develop a dry cough in the beginning but within a day or two you could have a moister cough which may bring up clear, yellowish or green phlegm.
  • With pneumonia, the cough comes up from the lungs and may be green or spotted with blood.
  • In terms of fever, you may get a mild one with bronchitis but pneumonia will usually cause you to have a higher fever of about 101?F or higher.
  • In addition, the best way to determine pneumonia is to have a doctor x-ray your chest area. Bronchitis will present clear lungs while pneumonia will show signs of infection.

In treating bronchitis and pneumonia, it is also important to know whether they were caused by a virus or bacteria.

  • Often, the doctor will test the mucus for signs of bacteria as well as conduct a blood test to verify things. When it comes to a bacterial infection, treating bronchitis and pneumonia will usually be through various forms of antibiotics.
  • The blood and phlegm test will help doctors pinpoint what type of bacteria is present so that the proper antibiotic treatment can be chosen.

Treating Bronchitis and Pnemonia when Caused by a Virus

When a virus is the cause of these respiratory illnesses, there is no drug that can help so the infection has to run its course.

With bronchitis, it may take a week or two to clear up the infection and start feeling more normal. However, with pneumonia, the time frame could be several months because lungs take longer to heal.

  • Treating bronchitis and pneumonia caused by viruses usually boils down to the symptoms. You can treat the symptoms and provide yourself some relief while the illness runs its course.
  • Some remedies that can be used when treating bronchitis and pneumonia include breathing in steam several times a day either through a shower or vaporizer and drinking plenty of fluids like water, juice and soup which work to thin the mucus so that it can be expelled easier.
  • Oxygen treatments may be necessary for viral pneumonia sufferers when breathing becomes labored or difficult.

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Posted in Allergies, Antibiotics, Asthma, Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Lungs, Mens Health, Respiratory System, Womens Health

How to Identify Bronchitis vs Common Cold vs Pneumonia?

Posted on September 12, 2008 | 5 Comments

Almost everyone gets a cold in their lifetime, and many people will get cold at least once every year.

And there are times when a cold may become something worse, so the question of the day is how do you know you have bronchitis instead of a lingering cold.

Question: How Do You Know You Have Bronchitis? What are the Key Symptoms?

Often, a cold is the first step in developing bronchitis so some cold symptoms will also be present in bronchitis. Identifying the current cough as something more than just a part of a cold — is the complex part of detecting if you have bronchitis.

  • With colds, your cough may be rather dry with no expulsion of phlegm or mucus. However, with bronchitis, the coughs are moist, producing yellow or green sputum.
  • Another symptom for bronchitis is wheezing and chest pain — ie behind the sternum (breast bone). When your bronchial tubes are inflamed, they are producing mucus which creates a rattling, wheezing noise when you breathe. Of course, the pain in the chest occurs from repeated coughing as well as from the bronchial tube inflammation.
  • Fatigue and fever are two additional signs that can show how you know you do have bronchitis. Chronic coughing can take a toll on your body causing tiredness while fever is common when you body is fighting an infection. Of course, these two symptoms are also prevalent in pneumonia as well.

Question: How do you know you if you have bronchitis instead of pneumonia?

For that you can get chest x-ray or “Bronchoscopy” at the hospital or doctor’s office. The x-rays will reveal clear lungs with bronchitis, but infection is will be visible in the lungs of a pneumonia patient.

Question: What are the Treatment Options?

Once you know that you do have bronchitis, specific treatment can be started.

  • If the cause is a bacteria, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics. A blood test and sample of the phlegm/sputum can show how you know you do have bronchitis caused by bacteria.
  • If the cause is a virus (and this seems to be more common) you can’t solve it with antibiotics (as you may know already), and you just have to wait and let the illness run its course. However, you could still ease your symptoms like the inhalation of steam, consuming plenty of fluids and taking a pain reliever for those body aches.

Question: How can I prevent it from coming in future?

That’s very difficult give that we live in a society and we have to constantly interact with people. Even if your body is able to Once you have become better, think about future. The best defense is preventative maintenance like hand washing and avoiding disease prone areas. Regular exercise can keep your respiratory system in good shape for

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

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Causes & Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis

Posted on January 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

Please read this as a guide and not as a medical opinion on your case.

Definition: Chronic Bronchitis is the result of inflamed air passageways but its similarity to acute bronchitis ends there. The chronic bronchitis can lead to disability and sometimes death when not treated properly or not diagnosed early.

Causes of Chronic Bronchitis

The cause of chronic bronchitis is the inhalation of substance in the air by the patients.

  • The most common of these substances is smoke from cigarettes or tobacco.
  • Other irritants to the bronchi and trachea that may lead to the chronic kind of bronchitis are air pollution, molds, dust and chemical fumes.

Medical practitioners usually diagnose an individual with chronic bronchitis by observing the patient’s symptoms and listening for indications of narrowed passageways in the lungs through a stethoscope.

Another way of diagnosing chronic bronchitis is to have a sputum culture to be able to identify the bacteria found there. This will help the doctor determine the course of action he will take to give the patient treatment to kill the bacteria.

A lung function test can also determine how much of your lungs you are using. The test can enable the medical practitioner to know how much air gets into your lungs. It is a painless test that is delivered very quickly with the use of a spirometer.

Treating chronic bronchitis may depend on the stage of the disease and the presence of other sickness or problems.

Patients are usually directed to stop smoking and to avoid second hand smoke and other pollutants and anti-inflammatory drugs are given to the patient to improve air passage to the lungs.

Changing to a healthy diet can also help improve the patient’s overall health and immune system.

If the lung function is anywhere below 80 percent then it is a good indication of chronic bronchitis or some other form of lung disease.

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Posted in Bronchitis, Cough, Lungs, Respiratory System

Causes & Symptoms Of Acute Bronchitis

Posted on January 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

In this post, we will share the common causes & symptoms Of Acute Bronchitis.

Please read this as a guide and not as a medical opinion on your case.

After a few days of that dry, wheezy cough, you will realize something is not right. Though this could be the symptom of many diseases or illnesses, it is most commonly a symptom of acute bronchitis.

Knowing what the symptoms of acute bronchitis are can help you to recognize your illness sooner, and prevent it from progressing into the more serious chronic bronchitis.

When To Expect The Symptoms Of Acute Bronchitis

It is good to know when symptoms of acute bronchitis usually occur. This will help you to look for warning signs of acute bronchitis. The symptoms typically begin about three to four days after an upper respiratory infection. If you have recently had a cold or a nasty case of the flu, then you should be on the look out for symptoms of acute bronchitis.

So What Are The Symptoms?

There are several common symptoms of acute bronchitis. The symptoms usually last for about two to three weeks. The main symptom of bronchitis is a cough. The cough might start out dry, but after a few days the cough usually progresses into a productive cough. This means it is bringing up mucus from the lungs, which may be yellow, green, or clear.

Although a cough is the main symptom of acute bronchitis, there are other symptoms as well. These symptoms include: fatigue, a mild fever, hoarseness, feeling short of breath, a tight or painful feeling in the chest, and wheezing.

When The Condition Becomes Chronic

Typically, acute bronchitis goes away after a few weeks by itself. However, if the case of bronchitis does not go away, then this means it might have progressed into chronic bronchitis. A form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis is typically found in smokers and people with other health problems.

Preventing Complications

If the symptoms of acute bronchitis are not recognized, the condition could develop and lead to other health complications. There are several complications that could possibly result from an undiagnosed and untreated case of acute bronchitis, including: pneumonia, sinusitis, cystic fibrosis, and repeated episodes of bacterial acute bronchitis.

A Mild Case

It is easier to diagnose a condition if you have some idea of what the symptoms are. Knowing the symptoms of acute bronchitis will allow you to recognize your condition and seek treatment before the condition becomes chronic or complicated.

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Posted in Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Cough, Lungs, Respiratory System