Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Bronchitis

DEFINITION: Inflammation of the mucous membrane in the bronchial tubes. It typically causes bronchospasm and coughing. A cold or the flu runs its course in a couple weeks, if you’re lucky. After that, you’re back to normal. But sometimes you may get bronchitis, too.

That’s when your bronchial tubes, which carry air to your lungs, get infected and swollen. You end up with a nagging cough and a lot more mucus. You can get bronchitis in other ways, too, and there are actually two types of it:

Acute bronchitis: This is the more common one. Symptoms last for a few weeks, but it doesn’t usually cause any problems past that.

Chronic bronchitis: This one is more serious, in that it keeps coming back or doesn’t go away at all. It’s one of the conditions that makes up what’s called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

CAUSES: Most often, the same viruses that give you a cold or the flu also cause bronchitis. Sometimes, though, bacteria are to blame.

In both cases, as your body fights off the germs, your bronchial tubes swell and make more mucus. That means you have smaller openings for air to flow, which can make it harder to breathe. If any of these things describe your situation, you have a bigger chance of getting bronchitis:

You have a weaker immune system. This is sometimes the case for older adults and people with ongoing diseases, as well as for babies and young children. Even a cold can make it more likely since your body’s already busy fighting off those germs.

• You smoke or live with a smoker.
• You work around substances that bother your lungs, such as chemical fumes or dust. (Examples: coal mining, working around farm animals).
• You live in or travel to a place with poor air quality or lots of pollution.

 

SYMPTOMS: You’ll definitely have a cough, and you may have various problems with breathing, such as:

Chest congestion, where your chest feels full or clogged

A cough that may bring up a lot of mucus that’s clear, white, yellow, or green

Shortness of breath

A wheezing or a whistling sound when you breathe

You may also:

• Have body aches and chills
• Feel “wiped out”
• Run a low fever
• Have a runny, stuffy nose
• Have a sore throat

Even after the other symptoms are gone, the cough can last for a few weeks while your bronchial tubes heal and the swelling goes down. If it goes on much longer than that, the problem might be something else.

DIAGNOSE: Your doctor usually can tell whether you have bronchitis based on a physical exam and your symptoms. She’ll ask questions about your cough, such as how long you’ve had it and what kind of mucus comes up with it. She’ll also listen to your lungs to see whether anything sounds wrong, like wheezing.

That’s usually it, but in some cases, your doctor may:

• Check the oxygen levels in your blood. This is done with a sensor that goes on your toe or finger.
• Do a lung function test. You’ll breathe into a device called a spirometer to test for emphysema (a type of COPD in which air sacs in your lungs thin out and are destroyed) and asthma.
• Give you a chest X-ray. This is to check for pneumonia or another illness that could cause your cough.

Test your mucus to rule out diseases caused by bacteria. One of these is whooping cough, which is also called pertussis. It causes violent coughing that makes it hard to breathe. If your doctor suspects this or suspects the flu she’ll also take a nasal swab.

TREATMENT: Most of the time, bronchitis goes away on its own within a couple of weeks.If yours is caused by bacteria (which is rare), your doctor may give you antibiotics.

If you have asthma, allergies, or you’re wheezing, she might suggest an inhaler. This helps open up your airways and makes it easier to breathe.