Prolonged Cough Could be 'Bronchitis'

 

Usually, a cold or flu runs for about a couple of weeks but if it persists, it may be bronchitis. This happens when your bronchial tubes whose job is to take air to your lungs, are infected and swollen. You can catch bronchitis due to some other reasons as well. Bronchitis actually is of two types.

Acute Bronchitis: This is the commonest and has its symptoms lasting for a few weeks. However, this type doesn’t cause serious problems as such.

Chronic Bronchitis: This is the one you should be serious about as it shows signs to be gone but strikes back over and over. This also causes a condition known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Bronchitis is most often caused by the same virus that causes a cold or the flu. At times, bacteria also is the cause for this condition.

When you are affected, your body which is by default programmed to switch to the defensive mode fights it away but in the result of it, your bronchial tubes swell and make more mucus. This makes the openings narrow for air to flow, making it harder for you to breathe.

If the situation you are in is similar, you have a bigger chance of catching bronchitis. Following are also the reasons making you highly susceptible to it.

§      Having a weaker immune system.

§      Smoking both active and passive.

§     Working in an environment that bothers your lungs, for example chemical fumes or dust.

§     Living or travelling with poor air quality or lots of pollution.

Symptoms are cough that may bring up mucus which is clear, white, yellow or green, chest congestion with a feeling of full or clogged, shortness of breath, and wheezing (whistling sound while breathing).
Among these symptoms, the most persistent is cough which could be a sign of something else if it continues to bother.

You should consult your doctor with further ado if:

§       Your cough brings up blood or mucus which thickens or darkens.

§      Your sleep is gone at night. Your cough lasts for more than 3 weeks with chest pain.

§      Your cough has a barking sound making it hard to speak.

§      Your weight goes down.

The symptoms of bronchitis may appear to be almost similar such as asthma, pneumonia, allergies, the common flu, cold, sinusitis, and even gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and lung cancer. A smoker with acute bronchitis will find it rather difficult to recover from it as merely one puff on a cigarette may cause temporary damage to cilia (tiny hair like structure in the airways to brush out irritants and excess mucus). Bottom line: It’s time to quit.

Bronchitis, if caught in early diagnosis along with the treatment, can prevent it from progressing and causing severe complications. There are different forms of treatments:

Chest Physical Therapy(CPT)

You can also call it “Chest Clapping” or “Percussion,” usually carried out by a respiratory therapist.
The therapist will ask the patient to first sit down with their head upside down as the gravity helps the mucus to come off. The therapist pounds on the chest and the back repeatedly to loosen mucus and produces coughing. Studies reveal about this technique to be helpful to improve the lungs’ ability to get rid of sputum which not only improves functions of the lungs but also the quality of life.

Medication

Usually antibiotics are used to treat such infections. They may be administered intravenously or by mouth, normally for 14 days. Another option is inhale antibiotics, but this can cause adverse effects as this hasn’t been researched enough.

Mucus-thinners or expectorants (medicine to promote secretions of sputum through the air passages) and can help loosen mucus and support coughing.

A bronchodilator relaxes the muscles around the airways. The medicine is breathed in through an inhaler and nebulizer. Delivering the bronchodilator directly to the airways enables it to work quickly.

If one part of the airway is affected, it is removed surgically as there is bleeding in the airway which needs to be stopped. In worst cases, a lung transplant is required to replace the deceased lungs with a healthy set.

Prevention

As now you know the symptoms, it is essential that you seek early treatment before it is worse. Vaccination can prevent whooping cough and other childhood diseases which can turn into bronchitis. Don’t be exposed to the fumes, gasses, smoke and cigarette as they are threat to your respiratory health.