Acute bronchitis is an infection on the large airways-the bronchi. Acute bronchitis is usually due to infection with a virus and is common to most individuals. A less common cause is infection with germs (bacterial infection).
Acute bronchitis is an infection on the large airways-the bronchi. Acute bronchitis is usually due to infection with a virus and is common to most individuals. A less common cause is infection with germs (bacterial infection).
Symptoms of acute bronchitis include:
Symptoms usually peak after 2-3 days then gradually clear. On the other hand, it normally takes 2-3 weeks for the cough to disappear totally after the other symptoms have gone. Since inflammation in the airways is caused by the infection, it may take some time to settle.
DIAGNOSIS
The following are the diagnosis on acute bronchitis:
Acute bronchitis is an acute infection of the tracheosbronchial tree and its common symptom is a productive cough. The cough in 50% of patients lasts for less than 3 weeks, but for more than 1 month in 25% of patients.
Several doctors have questioned whether bronchitis is a clear diagnostic entity or maybe it is just a cold on the chest. The appearance of the sputum cannot be used to predict whether an infection is bacterial or viral.
The diagnosis of acute bronchitis is basically a clinical one for there are no reliable diagnostic signs or laboratory tests.
There is considerable clinical overlap between acute bronchitis and the other acute respiratory infections, pneumonia and asthma.
Acute bronchitis overlaps with asthma in spirometry; in almost 60% of people with acute bronchitis, forced expiratory volume in 1 second and peak flow rate decline.
According to the results on some studies, 85% of patients will improve without specific treatment.
TREATMENT
As your immune system clears the infection, the treatment’s main goal is to ease symptoms. The most helpful treatments include:
Taking ibuprofen, paracetamol, or aspirin to lessen high temperature (fever) and to ease any pains, aches, and headaches. However, children under 16 years old should not take aspirin.
Drink a lot if you have a fever to avoid mild lack of fluid in the body or dehydration.
If you are smoking, trying to stop is great. Bronchitis, serious lung diseases, and chest infections are more common in smokers.
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