You can catch more of the steam by tenting a towel over your head while bending over the water. Breathing in the steam from a sink or pot filled with hot water.Because of that, many physicians recommend at least one of the following for people with bronchitis: Warm, moist air also can loosen sputum and make coughing and breathing easier. People diagnosed with acute bronchitis will be told to rest and drink plenty of fluids to keep the mucus thin, watery and easy to cough up. Most cases of acute bronchitis do not require medical treatment. However, the risk of bronchitis and complications can be reduced by not smoking and by getting flu shots to reduce the risk of getting the flu, which can lead to acute bronchitis. There is no way to prevent all cases of acute bronchitis.

Chronic bronchitis occurs most often in current and former smokers. When bronchitis comes back frequently or occurs most days of a month for at least three months of a year for two years, it is called chronic bronchitis. Inhalers can help to treat the cough in these cases. In some cases, coughing continues for weeks or even months after the infection is gone because the bronchial linings are still irritated and may become narrow, as in asthma. Most cases of acute bronchitis go away without treatment within five days, although coughing usually lasts seven to 10 days. If your health care provider hears any suspicious lung sounds during the physical examination, or if your oxygen level is lower than normal, he or she may order a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia. The level of oxygen in your blood may be tested using a small device that closes gently over a finger. Your doctor also will listen to your chest with a stethoscope to try to detect sounds of wheezing and airways clogged with mucous.

To diagnose acute bronchitis, your health care provider will ask about your medical history, especially whether you recently have had an upper respiratory infection. Other symptoms can include wheezing, chest tightness or pain, shortness of breath, sore throat, nasal congestion, fever and tiredness. The sputum may be clear, cloudy, brown, yellow or greenish. The cough can be dry or it can produce sputum, the mucus-like substance brought up from the lungs. The main symptom of acute bronchitis is a cough. Most cases of acute bronchitis are caused by viruses, although the condition also can be caused by bacteria. Pneumonia shows up on a chest X-ray, but acute bronchitis usually does not. Acute bronchitis does not affect the lungs like pneumonia does. The inflammation can be caused by an infection or by other factors that irritate the airways, such as cigarette smoking, allergies and exposure to fumes from some chemicals.Īcute bronchitis caused by an infection usually starts with an upper respiratory illness, such as the common cold or flu ( influenza), that spreads from your nose and throat down into the airways. Last updated on Dec 26, 2023.Īcute bronchitis is an inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, the hollow air passages that connect the lungs to the windpipe (trachea).

Bronchitis vs pneumonia lung sounds