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Bronchitis: Infections
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Acute bronchitis may follow or accompany the flu, or it may begin without having had an infection. Acute bronchitis usually lasts about 10 days. If you smoke or are around damaging fumes (such as those in certain kinds of factories), you are more likely to get acute bronchitis and to have it longer. This is because your bronchial tree is already damaged.
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Although acute and chronic bronchitis are both inflammations of the air passages, their causes and treatments are different. Acute bronchitis is most prevalent in winter. It usually follows a viral infection, such as a cold or the flu, and can be accompanied by a secondary bacterial infection. Acute bronchitis resolves within two weeks, although the cough may persist longer. Acute bronchitis, like any upper airway inflammatory process, can increase a person's likelihood of developing pneumonia.
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Your doctor will usually prescribe inhaled medicines for chronic bronchitis. These drugs, which include bronchodilators like albuterol and ipratropium, open your constricted airways and aid in the clearance of mucus. An oral bronchodilator called theophylline and steroids (either inhaled or by mouth) are often necessary as well. If you have an active infection, your doctor will put you on antibiotics and sometimes recommend regular antibiotics to prevent infection.
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Acute bronchitis is responsible for the hacking cough and phlegm production that sometimes accompany an upper respiratory infection. In most cases the infection is viral in origin, but sometimes it's caused by bacteria. If you are otherwise in good health, the mucous membrane will return to normal after you've recovered from the initial lung infection, which usually lasts for several days.
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Chronic bronchitis can be caused by cigarette smoking, air pollution, working for many years in a dusty environment, and frequent bacterial infections of the upper respiratory system. When the airways become irritated by smoke or other pollutants in the air, they swell and produce a large amount of mucus. The swelling and irritation can scar the walls of the bronchial airways and cause the smooth muscles in the airways to spasm, which stimulates coughing. The mucus clogs the airways and makes it difficult to breathe.
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Acute bronchitis is generally caused by lung infections; approximately 90% of these infections are viral in origin, 10% bacterial. Chronic bronchitis may be caused by one or several factors. Repeated attacks of acute bronchitis, which weaken and irritate bronchial airways over time, can result in chronic bronchitis.
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