Bronchitis

What is Bronchitis?

Bronchitis involves inflammation of the bronchial tubes, the airways that carry air to your lungs.

You cough when your trachea and bronchi, which are your airways, swell up and fill with mucus due to irritation. Your cough may persist for a few days or even weeks. It is the primary bronchitis symptom.

The most frequent cause of acute bronchitis is viruses. Both acute and chronic bronchitis can be caused by smoke and other irritants.

Pathophysiology

The most prevalent causes of acute bronchitis are viral infections, allergens, pollutants, and other stimuli that cause acute inflammation of the bronchi. Mucosal thickening, epithelial-cell desquamation, and basement membrane destruction are all consequences of bronchial wall inflammation.

A viral upper respiratory infection can occasionally develop into a lower respiratory tract infection, which leads to acute bronchitis.

Types of Bronchitis

There are mainly two types of bronchitis

• Acute Bronchitis
• Chronic bronchitis

Acute bronchitis, an infrequent illness that causes coughing, is typically meant when a person says bronchitis. Some individuals get bronchitis so frequently that it is referred to as chronic bronchitis.

Acute bronchitis

Acute bronchitis usually results from a viral infection and goes away on its own in a few weeks. The majority of persons with acute bronchitis do not require therapy.

Chronic bronchitis

If you have a cough that produces mucus on most days of the month for three months of the year, you have chronic bronchitis. This continues for a minimum of two years.

You might develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) if you have chronic bronchitis. Consult your healthcare practitioner about getting a COPD test.

Who is affected by bronchitis?

Although bronchitis may occur to anyone, you have a higher risk if you:

• Smoke or are in close contact to someone who does.
• Having COPD, asthma, or other respiratory disorders.
• Have chronic acid reflux disease (GERD).
• Having an inflammatory disease, such as an autoimmune disease.
• Are in close contact to air contaminants, such as chemicals or smoking.

What are the physical effects of bronchitis?
Your immune system causes your airways to expand and fill with mucus when they are irritated. To try to get clear of the mucus, you cough. You will continue to cough as long as your airways are inflamed or filled with mucus.

Signs and symptoms of bronchitis

The primary sign of bronchitis is a chronic cough that lasts one to three weeks. When you cough with bronchitis, you often produce mucus, but you may experience a dry cough instead.
Additionally, you may wheeze, which is a whistling or rattling sound made as you breathe.

Other symptoms that you may experience include:

• Dyspnea (Shortness of breath)
• Fever,
• Runny nose,
• Fatigue or tiredness

Causes

Bronchitis is usually caused by a virus. But it can be caused by almost anything that irritates your airways. The following are both infectious and noninfectious causes of bronchitis:

• Viruses: Adenovirus, rhinovirus (the common cold), coronavirus, influenza (the flu), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are among the viruses that cause bronchitis.
• Bacteria: Mycoplasma pneumonia, Chlamydia pneumonia, and Bordetella pertussis are among the bacteria that cause bronchitis.
• Either smoking or cigarettes.

Oher Causes:

When your airways enlarge and fill with mucus, you have bronchitis. Close contact with someone who has bronchitis such as shaking hands, hugging, or touching the same surfaces, can expose you to the bacteria and viruses that cause the illness. You can spread a virus to someone else who gets bronchitis without having bronchitis yourself.

The air you breathe contains additional irritants, such as pollution or tobacco.

Is it possible to spread bronchitis?

Although bronchitis, or inflammation of the airways, is not communicable, the bacteria and viruses that can cause it are. For example, you may also get bronchitis if you have the flu. However, unlike you, your friend’s airways do not get inflamed when they contract the flu from you.

Testing and Diagnosis

How may bronchitis be Diagnosed?

Based on your medical history and symptoms, your doctor can make a clinical diagnosis of bronchitis. They will check your breathing and listen for any indications of congestion in your lungs. You may be tested for viral infections such as COVID-19 or the flu.

In order to diagnose this medical condition, what tests will be performed?

Although bronchitis cannot be diagnosed with precise testing, you may be evaluated for other illnesses. Among the potential tests are:

A nasal swab: Your doctor may test for viruses like COVID-19 or the flu by inserting a soft-tipped stick, or swab, into your nose.

Chest X-ray: A chest X-ray may be necessary to rule out more serious diseases if your cough persists for an extended period of time. Your doctor will use a machine to take images of your lungs and heart. They will search for indications of other illnesses that might be causing your symptoms.

Blood examinations: Using a needle in your arm, your doctor may do blood tests to check for infections or assess your general health.

Sputum examination: You might be asked to cough and then spit into a tube by your healthcare practitioner. We’ll check your sample for bacteria or virus activity.

Testing for pulmonary function: Your doctor may use a machine to examine your lung function if they believe you have chronic bronchitis.

Differential Diagnosis

Particularly if the cough lasts more than three weeks, other causes of acute cough should be taken into account.

• Asthma: About one-third of patients who present with an acute cough are misdiagnosed with acute bronchitis.
• Chronic or acute sinusitis
• COPD and bronchiolitis
• GERD
• Viral Pharyngitis
• Heart Failure
• Pulmonary Embolism (PE)

Treatment

What is the treatment for bronchitis?

Medication is typically not used to treat acute bronchitis. Your doctor could recommend antiviral medication to help you recover from the flu more quickly if your symptoms began within the last two days.

Antibiotics won’t help you recover from bronchitis and may potentially make it worse because germs rarely cause it.

Which drugs are prescribed to treat bronchitis?

It’s unlikely that your doctor will recommend medicine to treat your bronchitis. Medication may be used in some situations to address the underlying cause or to help with symptoms, such as:

Antiviral drugs: Your doctor may recommend an antiviral drug, such as Tamiflu, Relenza, or Rapivab, if your bronchitis is due to the flu. You may recover more rapidly if you begin taking antivirals as soon as your symptoms appear.

Bronchodilators: If you’re experiencing problems breathing, your doctor may prescribe a bronchodilator, which is a medication that helps open your airways.

Drugs that reduce inflammation: To lessen inflammation, your doctor may recommend corticosteroids and other drugs.

Suppressants for coughing: A persistent cough may be relieved by over-the-counter or prescription cough suppressants, often known as antitussives. This includes benzonatate and dextromethorphan (Robitussin, DayQuil, PediaCare).

Antibiotics: Antibiotic treatment for bronchitis is extremely rare unless your doctor believes you have a bacterial infection.

Treatment for asthma and COPD: Your doctor could prescribe extra drugs or breathing therapies for chronic bronchitis if you have asthma or COPD.

For bronchitis, should I take antibiotics?
No, most of the time, using antibiotics won’t help you recover from bronchitis. The purpose of antibiotics is to eliminate the microorganisms that cause illness. In 95% of cases, bronchitis is caused by a virus. A virus cannot be eliminated with antibiotics.

Physical Therapy

Maintaining open and healthy airways is the primary goal of physical therapy. Physical therapist can accomplish this using a variety of methods, including:

Postural Drainage: This can be done while side-lying or in a prone position at a 45-degree inclination. As required, this must first be approved by the institution, taking into account any potential contraindications such a head injury.

Manual Techniques: To mobilize secretions and help in expectoration, utilize vibrations, shaking, and percussion. Precautions and contraindications must be followed once more.

Breathing exercises: To mobilize secretions, one can use the Active Cycle of Breathing Technique (ACBT). To promote oxygenation and avoid respiratory distress, teach diaphragmatic breathing and calm breathing practices.

Emphasizing full thoracic expansion will help in oxygenation: Throughout the day, the patient should be encouraged to cough and breathe deeply in order to help in the mobilization of secretions.

It is important to let the patient and their family know that they should rest and stay away from bronchial irritants as much as possible. However, this does not release the patient from engaging in physical therapy exercises.

Education Teaching: In order to stop the spread of infection, it is crucial that people blow their nose into a tissue, avoid swallowing the secretions, and dispose of the tissue properly after blowing their nose.

It is important to inform the patient and their family/caregiver that a dry cough may continue after free bronchitis has cleared up because to inflammation of the respiratory tract. By saturating the air that is inhaled, a humidifier placed at the bedside may help counteract the adverse after effects.

Treatment Plan and Home Treatments: Depending on the severity of the illness, treatment should be administered three to four times each day. Treatment should begin as soon as possible if an upper respiratory tract infection is recurrent in order to stop it from progressing to bronchitis or other serious problems.

Early symptoms of acute bronchitis should be easy for the patient and/or family to identify and report right away.

Prevention

The greatest strategy to lower your risk of bronchitis is to prevent being sick from viruses and other causes of lung irritation:

• Try to avoid being near other people if you or they are unwell. When people stay indoors during the cold, this is particularly true.
• Avoid irritants like smoke.
• Avoid any triggers, such as dust, pollen, and dogs, if you suffer from asthma or allergies.
• Turn on a humidifier. Your lungs are less likely to become irritated by moist air.
• Make sure you get enough sleep.
• Consume a nutritious diet.
• Use soap and water to wash your hands frequently. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if you are unable to use soap and water.
• Verify that you have had the most recent COVID-19, flu, and pneumonia vaccinations.

FAQs

Reference

• Bronchitis. (2025, January 6). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/3993-bronchitis

• Bronchitis – Symptoms and causes. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bronchitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355566