Article Sphere Logo  
Main Article Categories
 
"Disease And Illness" Article
 Article Directory Home Disease And Illness

Causes of Bronchitis and Symptoms of Bronchitis

By Expert Author: Peter Hutch
View Summary | Submitted: 2008-06-26 | Word Count: 492 words | Views: 32 view(s)
Peter Hutch
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the main air passages (bronchi) to your lungs. It causes a cough, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Coughing often brings up yellow or greenish mucus. There are two main types of bronchitis: acute and chronic.

Bronchitis Symptoms

Cough is a common symptom of bronchitis. The cough may be dry or may produce phlegm. Significant phlegm production suggests that the lower respiratory tract and the lung itself may be infected, and you may have pneumonia.

When the main air passageways in your lungs (bronchial tubes) are inflamed, they often produce large amounts of discolored mucus that comes up when you cough. If this persists for more than three months, it is referred to as chronic bronchitis. Mucus that isn't white or clear usually means there's a secondary infection.

Shortness of breath aggravated by exertion or mild activity

Frequent respiratory infections that worsen symptoms

Wheezing, shortness of breath, recurrent infections and cough all appear as symptoms of this problem. While these also occur in those with simple asthma, those with chronic asthmatic bronchitis tend to have increased severity and frequency of these complaints.

What Causes Bronchitis?

Acute bronchitis is usually caused by viruses, and it may occur together with or following a cold or other respiratory infection. Germs such as viruses can be spread from person to person by coughing. They can also be spread if you touch your mouth, nose, or eyes after coming into contact with respiratory fluids from an infected person.

Industrial pollution is another culprit. Chronic bronchitis is found in higher-than-normal rates among coal miners, grain handlers, metal molders, and other people who are continually exposed to dust. But the chief cause is heavy, long-term cigarette smoking, which irritates the bronchial tubes and causes them to produce excess mucus.

Acute bronchitis is usually caused by a virus. It is more common during the winter months and often develops after an upper respiratory illness such as influenza (flu) or a cold caused by a virus such as coronavirus, adenovirus, or a rhinovirus. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may be a cause, especially in adults older than 65. About 10% of the time, acute bronchitis is caused by bacteria.

Treatment for acute bronchitis:

Your child's age, overall health, and medical history

Extent of the condition

Your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies

Expectations for the course of the condition

Water

Drink a minimum of eight glasses of water or other fluids every day. This will help to keep mucus thin, making it easier to cough up. Avoid sugar and dairy products because they tend to weaken the immune system and cause excessive mucus production.

In some cases, the doctor will recommend using a medicine called a bronchodilator that makes breathing easier.

People with chronic bronchitis should stop smoking and avoid second-hand smoke.
Avoid things that could make symptoms worse, such as air pollution and allergens.

Getting enough rest so your body has the energy needed to fight the infection. Generally, you feel better sooner if you rest more than usual while you have acute bronchitis.

About the Author/Author Bio

Read About Alzheimer Disease Guide. Also read about Alzheimer Disease Guide Directory and Alzheimer Disease Guide, Alzheimer Health.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Causes-of-Bronchitis-and-Symptoms-of-Bronchitis/150109

 
 
 
This article has been viewed 32 time(s).

More "Disease And Illness" Related Articles

 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Disease And Illness" article category.

People interested in the above article "Causes of Bronchitis and Symptoms of Bronchitis" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

Expert Author: Jack Sands | Submitted: 2008-08-08 | Word Count: 655 | Views: 31
Food poisoning is an acute gastroenteritis caused by the consumption of a food material or a drink which contains the pathogenic micro organism or their toxins or poisonous chemicals.Food poisoning is common in hostels, hotels, communal feedings, and festivel seasons.
Expert Author: Mike Kay | Submitted: 2008-07-29 | Word Count: 430 | Views: 114
Sleep hyperhidrosis is the term given to the condition wherein you experience profuse sweating when you sleep at night. Hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, usually happens during the day, when the body is all worked out from one's daily activities. However, sleep excess sweat is a rare instance wherein you sweat during the time that your body is practically at rest. People with sleep hyperhidrosis may not experience excessive sweating during the day.
Expert Author: Jonathan Sullivan | Submitted: 2008-07-22 | Word Count: 459 | Views: 50
Leaky gut syndrome in conjunction with autism is still being researched; a number of studies and research are under way to better understand how the syndrome starts, why it can be prevalent in autistic children, and how to treat it. Simply, leaky guy syndrome is the inability of the intestinal wall to keep out large, unwanted molecules. This symptom of autism most often signifies that the intestinal wall has been altered to become permeable. Leaky gut syndrome in autistic children may occur because of increased sensitivity or allergies.
Expert Author: Jhon Parker | Submitted: 2008-07-21 | Word Count: 480 | Views: 49
Lyme disease is an infection caused by a kind of bacterium (germ) called a spirochete (say: "spy-ro-keet"). The disease is carried by deer ticks (found in the northeastern and north-central United States) and western black-legged ticks (found mostly on the Pacific Coast). These ticks can spread the disease to animals and humans through tick bites. These ticks are typically about the size of a sesame seed.
Expert Author: Jhon Parker | Submitted: 2008-07-21 | Word Count: 522 | Views: 188
Jaundice is a common condition in newborns. It refers to the yellow color of the skin and whites of the eyes caused by an excess of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells. Jaundice, also referred to as icterus, is the yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally high blood levels of the bile pigment, bilirubin. The yellowing extends to other tissues and body fluids and also may turn the urine dark. Yellowing of only the skin also can be caused by eating too many carrots or drinking too much carrot juice.
Expert Author: Jhon Parker | Submitted: 2008-07-21 | Word Count: 542 | Views: 189
Liver failure can result from any type of liver disorder, including viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver damage from alcohol or drugs such as acetaminophen. Symptoms partly depend on the type and the extent of liver disease. In many cases, there may be no symptoms. Signs and symptoms that are common to a number of different types of liver disease include...
Expert Author: Umar Ahmed | Submitted: 2008-07-09 | Word Count: 412 | Views: 160
Almost 50 to 80 percent people in the world have infection of “Herpes” which causes cold sore. Cold sore is the virus which occurs on the lips, chins, nostrils and fingers. Basically, the cold sore begins with chronic ache and hard smudge that becomes the blisters and it creates an ample amount of nuisance and irritation in the people suffering from cold sore. However, we bring in some of the remedial measures of cold sore for you which are discussed as under.

 View Disease And Illness Popular Articles | View Disease And Illness Top Authors

Article Directory Home Disease And Illness

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
(Search in 23 languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, German,
Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Greek,
Swedish, Romanian, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Czech, Croatian, Bulgarian)
 
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.
Template Design by Internet Marketing Singapore | Internet Marketing
Français/French Español/Spanish 日本語/Japanese [أربيك]/Arabic Italiano/Italian Deutsch/German 汉语/Chinese Simplified 漢語/Chinese Traditional Nederlands/Dutch 한국어/Korean Port/Portuguese Русско/Russian
Ελληνικά/Greek Swedish Roman?/Romanian Polski/Polish Norwegian Suomi/Finnish Dansk/Danish ?esky/Czech Hrvatski/Croatian §¢§ì§Ý§Ô§Ñ§â§ã§Ü§Ú/Bulgarian English - Original language