Acute Bronchitis
Overview
Risk Factors
Things that raise the risk are:
- Having a cold or the flu
- Being around others who are sick
- Smoking, or being near others who smoke
- Having allergies or asthma
-
Working with certain substances that can cause irritation of airways such as:
- Ammonia
- Chlorine
- Minerals
- Dusts from farming
- Having a weak immune system
SymptomsandDiagnosis
Treatments
Treatment
An infection caused by a virus will usually go away on its own within a week. The cough can last for up to a month.
The goal of treatment is to ease symptoms. It includes:
- Drinking more fluids
- Resting
- Medicines to lower fever and manage coughing
- Inhalers to open airways and ease breathing
An infection caused by bacteria will also need antibiotics.
This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.
Edits to original content made by Denver Health.
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a (Bronchitis, Acute; Lower Respiratory Tract Infection, Chest Cold)
RESOURCES
American Lung Association http://www.lung.org
Family Doctor—American Academy of Family Physicians https://familydoctor.org
CANADIAN RESOURCES
The College of Family Physicians of Canada http://www.cfpc.ca
The Lung Association https://www.lung.ca
References
About antibiotic use and resistance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/community/about/index.html. Accessed February 2, 2021.
Acute bronchitis. American Academy of Family Physicians Family Doctor website. Available at: https://familydoctor.org/condition/acute-bronchitis. . Accessed February 2, 2021.
Acute bronchitis. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/condition/acute-bronchitis. Accessed February 2, 2021.
Smith SM, Fahey T, Smucny J, Becker LA. Antibiotics for acute bronchitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;6:CD000245.