LYCOS RETRIEVER
Bronchitis: Diseases
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Bronchitis is usually diagnosed solely on the history and physical examination of the child. Many tests may be ordered to rule out other diseases, such as pneumonia or asthma. In addition, the following tests may be ordered to help confirm diagnosis:
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Bronchitis can ... occur when acids from your stomach consistently back up into your food pipe, a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. And workers exposed to certain dusts or fumes may develop occupational bronchitis, an acute disease that generally clears up when exposure to the irritant stops.
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Bronchitis is nearly always self-limited in the otherwise healthy individual, although it frequently results in absenteeism from work and school. Severe cases occasionally produce deterioration in those with significant underlying cardiopulmonary disease or other comorbid conditions.
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Chronic bronchitis may arise secondarily to some other ailment. This is especially the case in Bright's disease of the kidneys and in heart disease, of both of which maladies it often proves a serious complication... in gout and syphilis. The influence of occupation is seen in the frequency in which persons following certain employments suffer from chronic bronchitis. Hirt has shown that the inhalation of vegetable dust is very liable to produce bronchitis through the irritation produced by the dust particles and the growth of organisms carried in with the dust. Consequently, millers and grain-shovellers are especially liable to it, while next in order come weavers and workers in cotton factories.
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The best way to prevent bronchitis is not to begin smoking or to stop smoking. Smokers are ten times more likely to die of bronchitis and other lung disorders than are nonsmokers. Other irritants in the environment, such as chemicals and air pollutants, should ... be avoided. Immunizations (shots) can also help protect against certain diseases of the lungs, such as pneumonia and the flu.
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In 2002, a new drug therapy was approved to treat chronic bronchitis, as well as other pulmonary diseases. Called Severent Diskus, or salmeterol, it is a long-acting bronchodilator that can be inhaled twice a day and will last for 12 hours. It works well for patients with the chronic form of bronchitis, but is not intended for use in acute episodes.
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