Bronchitis tormented me. Treatment of acute bronchitis at home

If dry and then wet is added to a snotty nose and red throat, it means the patient has acute bronchitis, i.e. irritation and swelling of the bronchial mucosa. This article will tell you what needs to be done for bronchitis to become acute (about 2 weeks), and not, and what is required to treat acute bronchitis at home.

Are antibiotics needed to treat bronchitis?

If the bacterial nature of acute bronchitis is confirmed, the patient cannot do without taking an antibiotic.

Since in most cases the causative agents of bronchitis are viruses, there is no point in taking antibiotics. However, if within 5 days the temperature does not decrease, severe weakness, fatigue persists, appears, sputum becomes green and profuse, and a blood test reveals signs of a bacterial infection, then their prescription cannot be avoided. Entrust the choice of drug to your doctor - most likely it will be an antibiotic from the group of macrolides (Macropen, Sumamed, Clarithromycin) or penicillins (Amoxicillin, Augmentin).

Are antiviral drugs needed to treat bronchitis?

If they are already prescribed for a respiratory infection, continue taking them. If more than 2 days have passed since the onset of the disease, there is no point in starting to take them; there is no need to expect any effect.

Do you need anti-inflammatory drugs for bronchitis?

Paracetamol, ibuprofen and other drugs from the class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs not only help reduce fever and intoxication, but also reduce swelling and spasm of the bronchi, and improve sputum discharge. However, side effects limit their use. Today, fenspiride (Erespal) is considered the safest anti-inflammatory drug recommended for the treatment of acute bronchitis.

What regimen should you follow for bronchitis?

At high temperatures - bed rest. But as soon as the thermometer shows normal, walking in the fresh air becomes a therapeutic remedy (of course, not in 30-degree frost).
But even before this, you need to ventilate the room and maintain a sufficient level of humidity in the room. Air humidifiers and simply throwing a wet towel on the radiator will do - the main thing is not to forget to wet it as it dries.
It is better to eliminate all irritating factors (dust, tobacco smoke, strong odors). For this purpose, daily wet cleaning of the patient’s apartment is recommended. It is better to send smokers outside to smoke, and if the patient himself smokes a cigarette, acute bronchitis is an excellent reason to quit smoking.
Drinking plenty of teas - including herbal teas (linden, mint, thyme), fruit drinks, juices, warm alkaline mineral water - will help not only reduce intoxication, but also make sputum less viscous and make it easier to pass.

Do inhalations help with bronchitis?

Steam inhalations themselves are ineffective for bronchitis. But inhaling phytoncides - essential oils of garlic, eucalyptus, camphor, pine, mint and rosemary - reduce coughing and make coughing easier. You can use either an inhaler or an aroma lamp, or simply apply a few drops of essential oil to your clothes.

How to treat cough with bronchitis?

In the first days, when the cough is painful, dry and debilitating. These are codeine-containing tablets (Codterpine, Codelac) and non-narcotic Libexin, Tusuprex, Glaucin, Levopront. In folk medicine, marshmallow, broom and stepmother, thermopsis and licorice are successfully used to treat dry cough.

As soon as sputum begins to leave, and this usually happens on days 3-4, antitussive drugs should be stopped and switched to drugs that thin sputum (mucolytics), improve coughing (expectorants), and facilitate its movement (mucokinetics).

The first include acetylcysteine and carbocysteine. The second includes reflex-action drugs: marshmallow, plantain, thyme, ammonia-anise drops.

Mucokinetic agents bromhexine, ambroxol (Lazolvan) are also called mucoregulators: they affect the functioning of the ciliated epithelium lining the walls of the bronchi, making sputum less viscous, facilitating its elimination.

Suprima-Broncho, Prospan (aka Gedelix), Bronchipret, Bronhikum - all these are drugs based on plants that have long been used in medical practice to treat bronchitis. You can also find herbal teas at the pharmacy. Chest mixtures No. 1 and 2 are more suitable for the treatment of dry cough, No. 3, 4 and chest elixir - wet.

Probably, everyone in the family has their own proven cough remedies - radish or turnip with honey or sugar, onion decoction with milk and honey, eggnog, birch sap - all these remedies can be used if there are no allergies and the stomach allows it.

Are drugs that dilate the bronchi needed for acute bronchitis?

Unfortunately, with , there are often situations when, against the background of inflammation, acute bronchial obstruction syndrome develops - bronchospasm. This is manifested by shortness of breath with difficulty in exhaling and bouts of painful coughing, at the peak of which scanty light sputum is released. In such cases, the attending physician may advise adding bronchodilators to the treatment - salbutamol or berodual. They come in the form of inhalers, and their use requires some skill: you need to press the dispenser and inhale the medicine at the same time.

Salbutamol is part of the cough medicine Ascoril - along with the mucokinetic agents bromhexine, guaifenesin and menthol. In this form it is more convenient to use, but not always more effective.

What else can you do to get better faster?

An important role in the treatment of acute bronchitis is played by good nutrition and a positive attitude of the patient toward recovery.

Chest massage, breathing exercises, tasty food rich in vitamins, an optimistic attitude - and recovery will come quickly.

Which doctor should I contact?

If acute bronchitis develops, you should consult a physician/pediatrician. if the disease has become protracted, it is necessary to consult a pulmonologist. Additionally, it is useful to undergo examination by an infectious disease specialist to more accurately identify the pathogen and by an immunologist to determine the state of immunity and the need to use immunomodulatory therapy. A physiotherapist also takes part in the treatment of bronchitis.

Dr. Komarovsky on the treatment of bronchitis and acute bronchitis in children:

It all starts with a tickle in the throat. An invisible hand runs the feather along the back of your throat. Then a rumble erupts from deep within the chest. Suddenly a volcano explodes in your lungs, and for the next few minutes you cough, and your mouth fills with phlegm - lava thrown up by your lungs.

You got bronchitis, or, to be more precise, bronchitis got you. Bronchitis usually wins out as there is little you can do to get rid of it.

“In many ways, bronchitis is very similar to a cold. It's usually caused by a virus, says pulmonologist Barbara Phillips, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, so antibiotics can't do much. Sometimes, however, bronchitis is caused by bacteria, in which case antibiotics work. Acute bronchitis in most cases goes away on its own within a week or two, but chronic patients may cough and choke for months. Although you should let the disease run its course, there are things you can do to help you breathe easier when you are sick.”

Symptoms for which you should consult a doctor

Bronchitis requires medical intervention if:

after a week the cough gets worse, not better;
you have a fever and are coughing up blood;
you are an elderly person and you are suffering from a dry cough due to another disease;
you are out of breath and have long bouts of coughing.

This is the most important thing you can do, especially if you have chronic bronchitis. Quit smoking and your chances of getting rid of the disease will increase significantly. “90-95% of cases of chronic bronchitis come directly from smoking,” says pulmonologist Daniel Simmons, professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Your bronchitis will improve if you stop smoking,” agrees Gordon L. Snyder, a pulmonologist and professor at Boston University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine. “If you've been smoking for a long time, some of the damage done to your lungs can no longer be reversed, but if you started smoking recently, you're more likely to make a full recovery.”

Try to avoid the company of smokers

Avoid the company of people who smoke. If your spouse smokes, force him/her to quit. Smoking by others may cause bronchitis in you.

“You need to avoid tobacco smoke at all costs,” warns Dr. Phillips. “Even if you don’t smoke yourself, if you inhale someone else’s smoke, you become a so-called passive smoker, and this can cause you bronchitis.”

Drink more fluids

“Drinking helps mucus become more watery and easier to cough up,” explains Dr. Phillips. “4 to 6 glasses of fluid a day will help dissolve mucus properly.”

The best warm drink is plain water. "Avoid caffeine or alcoholic beverages," Dr. Phillips cautions. “They are diuretics, you urinate more often and actually lose more fluid than you gain.”

Breathe in warm, moist air

Warm, moist air helps mucus evaporate. “If the mucus is thick and difficult to cough up, a vaporizer will help ease the secretion. You can stand in the bathroom, close the door and turn on the shower, breathing in the warm moisture that fills your bathroom.”

Arrange a steam bath

“The steam from your bathroom sink will help a lot,” says Dr. Snyder. “Fill the sink with hot water, cover your head with a towel, set up something like a tent and inhale the steam for 5-10 minutes every 2 hours.”

Don't Expect Too Much from Expectorants

“There is no scientific evidence that there is any medication that can dry out mucus,” says Dr. Phillips. “Any liquids are the best way to cough up.”

Listen to your cough

Is your cough productive or not? “If it is productive, the kind that produces phlegm, do not try to stop it completely, as it cleanses your lungs. Stick with the cough for as long as possible,” says Dr. Simmons.

Mute the sound

On the other hand, “if you have a non-productive cough, that is, nothing is being coughed up, then it is good to take a cough suppressant medicine. Choose ones that have the active ingredient dextromethorphan,” recommends Dr. Simmons.

Smokers, clean the air!

Smokers plagued by chronic bronchitis can be persuaded to drink milk using research conducted by Melvin Tockman, MD, a pulmonologist and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"We found that people who smoke and drink milk are less likely to have attacks of chronic bronchitis than those who smoke but do not drink milk." Dr. Tockman discovered this connection by comparing the medical histories and lifestyles of 2,539 smokers.

“Smokers who drink milk consume an average of 1 glass per day. So, says Dr. Tockman, if you can't help but smoke, drink milk."

"Why milk might suppress an attack of bronchitis in smokers remains a mystery," he admits, but notes that "no such effect has been found in nonsmokers drinking milk." However, he does not recommend milk as an antidote for smokers suffering from bronchitis: “Quitting smoking is still the best way to get rid of chronic bronchitis.”

During the cold season, we all often get sick. Usually, having brought down the temperature and relieved inflammation in the throat, we run to work. And we stop paying attention to residual effects, like coughing. Are we doing the right thing?!

A persistent cough indicates more serious illnesses. One of them is bronchitis. It can be acute, chronic, obstructive, purulent, etc. In this article we will look at the acute form of bronchitis. The head of the Department of Phthisiopulmonology of the Kazan State Medical University, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Alexander Andreevich Vizel answers the questions.

- Alexander Andreevich, what is acute bronchitis, and what symptoms indicate it?

Acute bronchitis is an acute diffuse inflammation of the bronchial mucosa (acute endobronchitis). Less often - simultaneously with other membranes of the bronchial wall, up to their total destruction (panbronchitis) without involving lung tissue. It manifests itself as a cough (dry or with sputum production), which lasts more than 4-7 days after a common cold.

Distinguish

acute infectious bronchitis (viral, bacterial, mixed)
acute bronchitis caused by chemical and physical factors (toxic, burns).

According to their development they distinguish

primary bronchitis
secondary (in the presence of a primary infection in the upper respiratory tract).

By the nature of inflammation acute bronchitis is divided into

catarrhal,
purulent
purulent-necrotic

According to the process

for acute (2-3 weeks)
prolonged (more than a month).

- What are the reasons for the development of bronchitis?

The pathogen (usually a virus, less often a bacterium) is fixed on the epithelial cells lining the trachea and bronchi. Its penetration into the cell occurs when the body’s defense mechanisms decrease. The likelihood of developing the disease is directly related to a decrease in non-specific resistance of the respiratory tract and immunity. In response to the penetration of the pathogen, inflammation of the bronchial wall develops, that is, bronchitis.

- Alexander Andreevich, how many days does the illness last?

Acute bronchitis usually lasts from 2 weeks to 2-3 months. The disease begins with the appearance of a painful dry cough. After 2-3 days, the cough may become wet with mucous sputum. When a bacterial infection is attached, the sputum becomes mucopurulent, less often purulent. Sometimes, during severe, prolonged coughing attacks, streaks of blood appear in the sputum. The cough is accompanied by a raw pain behind the sternum and in the area of the diaphragm. Coughing often disrupts sleep.

It is important that the patient is examined in a timely manner by a doctor, conducts a physical (objective) examination, and does a general blood and urine test.

If the symptoms do not subside, within 10 days an x-ray is indicated to exclude other causes of cough (for example, pneumonia, tuberculosis) and a study of external respiratory function - spirometry - to identify a complication such as bronchial obstruction (obstruction of the bronchial tubes for air).

- What treatment can there be and does it guarantee a complete recovery?

Treatment of acute bronchitis takes place under the supervision of a doctor. It is generally accepted to drink plenty of fluids (tea with lemon, raspberry jam, honey, preheated alkaline mineral waters). The doctor should instruct the patient about the benefits of humidified air (especially in arid climates and winter), since a lack of fluid leads to an increase in the viscosity of bronchial mucus and interferes with its expectoration.

It is recommended to avoid factors that cause coughing (smoke, dust), and for smokers to stop smoking.

In the presence of an acute viral infection, modern antiviral drugs are used. Fusafungine inhalations have antiviral and antibacterial effects. Dosage forms of ambroxol hydrochloride improve expectoration and soften cough. Antibiotics for acute bronchitis are prescribed in the presence of purulent sputum, the patient's age is more than 50 years, and the recurrent nature of the disease. And in other cases they are not shown.

Acute bronchitis is a treatable disease; it is only important to consult a doctor in a timely manner. Self-medication and treatment from a pharmacy employee are dangerous scenarios.

Taking over-the-counter cough and antipyretic drugs without a doctor's examination leads to late diagnosis of pneumonia - a serious and dangerous disease. Long-term use of antitussives can even mask tumor diseases.

Bronchitis: what can it be confused with?

A seemingly simple disease has many conditions that are similar in their manifestations. For example:

“postnasal drip” in patients with diseases of the nose and nasal sinuses. The disease is accompanied by cough and even purulent discharge.
hypertonic disease. In this case, the cough is dry and is caused by taking certain medications, such as enalapril and its analogues.
gastroesophageal reflux disease or heart failure. In these cases, the cough appears when lying down.
bronchial asthma. Characterized by cough at night.
whooping cough, if the cough occurs in young patients.

In any case, the diagnosis should be made by a doctor, and not by a patient who read a popular brochure or article on the Internet.

Bronchitis - general information

You got bronchitis, or, to be more precise, bronchitis got you. Bronchitis usually wins out as there is little you can do to get rid of it.

Symptoms for which you should consult a doctor

Bronchitis requires medical intervention if:

after a week the cough gets worse, not better;
you have a fever and are coughing up blood;
you are an elderly person and you are suffering from a dry cough due to another disease;
you are out of breath and have long bouts of coughing.

Try to avoid the company of smokers

Avoid the company of people who smoke. If your spouse smokes, force him/her to quit. Smoking by others may cause bronchitis in you.

Drink more fluids

“Drinking helps mucus become more watery and easier to cough up,” explains Dr. Phillips. “4 to 6 glasses of fluid a day will help dissolve mucus properly.”

The best warm drink is plain water. "Avoid caffeine or alcoholic beverages," Dr. Phillips cautions. “They are diuretics, you urinate more often and actually lose more fluid than you gain.”

Breathe in warm, moist air

Arrange a steam bath

Don't Expect Too Much from Expectorants

“There is no scientific evidence that there is any medication that can dry out mucus,” says Dr. Phillips. “Any liquids are the best way to cough up.”

Listen to your cough

Mute the sound

Smokers, clean the air!

“Smokers who drink milk consume an average of 1 glass per day. So, says Dr. Tockman, if you can't help but smoke, drink milk."

Tormented by a dry cough: what to do if nothing helps

Cough is the main symptom of many colds and often goes away on its own, without any treatment. But what to do if this does not happen and a painful cough prevents you from sleeping at night and working during the day.

To solve the problem, you must first find out the causes of this condition.

I want to get rid of a cough as quickly as possible because it brings great discomfort to the patient, and prolonged attacks literally bring a person to exhaustion. Moreover, this unpleasant symptom prevents the patient from appearing in public places, especially where silence should be maintained:

library;
work meeting;
cinema;
exhibition.

Why does cough occur?

Since the correct treatment depends directly on the nature of the cough, it is very important to find out its causes.

Depending on the reasons, various medications are prescribed with different dosage and administration regimens.

In fact, this symptom is the body’s response to an irritant that has entered the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. In turn, irritants can be very different:

dust;
foreign bodies;
sputum;
pollen;
inflammatory processes;
some medications.

It follows from this that a throat cough is not always evidence of acute respiratory viral infection, pneumonia or bronchitis. However, this sign can also signal a more serious disease: tuberculosis, bronchial asthma.

Sometimes a cough appears with heart disease and almost always accompanies smokers whose mucous membranes are deficient in moisture. In different diseases, cough is endowed with distinctive features.

For example, with bronchitis or pneumonia, attacks are accompanied by the release of yellow-green or gray sputum.
With tracheitis, the patient feels severe chest pain.
With laryngitis, the cough is barking and rough.
This symptom of whooping cough is not very pronounced, but does not disappear for a long time.
Smokers most often cough in the morning, after getting out of bed.

But even if a person is convinced of the causes of cough, he should not self-medicate, since only a physician can identify the true cause of the pathology.

There are two types of this phenomenon: wet and dry cough. During the first, mucus leaves the bronchi, which may contain various impurities. A dry cough is not accompanied by sputum discharge.

Causes of dry cough

A dry cough is considered unproductive and may signal that a foreign body has entered the respiratory tract and the body is trying to get rid of it. That is, in this case it is a protective reflex, with the help of which unwanted substances are removed from the mucous membranes of the bronchi.

A dry cough can be triggered by a spasm of the muscle tissue of the bronchi. A similar phenomenon is observed when an allergen enters them, which causes the formation of biologically active substances in the body.

The reason may be blockage of one of the bronchi by inflamed tissue. In this case, the cough occurs due to a violation of the circulation of air masses. This symptom may be due to insufficient pumping function of the heart.

Coughing is a side effect of certain medications. It is often observed in patients taking medications to lower blood pressure.

Dry cough accompanies smokers throughout their lives. Mucous tissues are irritated by tobacco smoke, and tars settle in the bronchi and lungs. All these factors invariably lead to pathologies of the respiratory system, a sign of which is a dry cough.

Inflammatory processes occurring in the mucous membranes of the respiratory system always have a symptom in the form of a dry cough. Depending on the location of inflammation, the following diseases are distinguished:

What to do if you have a cough at night?

If an attack of dry cough after an acute respiratory viral infection occurs at night, it can be relieved at home using traditional methods of treatment.

To relieve bronchospasm, use warm alkaline drink. Borjomi mineral water is best suited for this purpose. It can be consumed pure or mixed with hot milk (1:1).
What to do if there is no mineral water in the house at night? It can be replaced with a pinch of soda dissolved in hot milk.
Dry cough can be easily relieved by rubbing the joints and feet.
You can eliminate a cough at night by rubbing your back and chest with warming ointments with turpentine, menthol and essential oils.
You can do foot baths with mustard powder or put mustard plasters on your chest and back.
Soda inhalations will help treat a coughing attack at home at night.
For a short time, you can relieve the patient's condition with hot tea with honey and lemon.

How to treat a long-lasting throat cough

What to do if a person has been tormented by a cough for a very long time? A throat (dry) cough must be made productive. Otherwise, protracted pathology can result in serious complications or enter the chronic stage.

If a dry cough lasts for a very long time, the patient is prescribed mucolytic and expectorant drugs. They are necessary to liquefy mucus and further remove it from the bronchi.

In this regard, means of influencing the central nervous system are very effective, since the cough center is located in the brain.

Nurofen Plus.
Codeine.
Codelac.
Solpadeine.
Neo-Kodion.
Piralgin.
Tetralgin.
Terpincode.
Pentalgin-N.

But these drugs have a lot of contraindications, since they depress breathing, are addictive, and affect intestinal motility.

Those drugs that do not contain this component do not have these disadvantages: Glaucine, Butamirate and other drugs.

Mucolytic substances in medications include:

They consist mainly of natural ingredients, therefore they are considered the safest.

There are combined, double-action products, for example:

Medicines containing codeine are used in exceptional cases when it is necessary to quickly block an attack of painful coughing.

It is useful to perform steam inhalations using a nebulizer. For the procedures, you can use a regular saline solution or special products for this case, which can be purchased at the pharmacy: Berodual, Ambrohexal.

Inhalations help to quickly liquefy mucus and accelerate the penetration of the medicine into the respiratory tract. But to determine the dosage and time of the procedure, it is better to consult a doctor.

Antihistamines are prescribed in cases where the cough is triggered by any allergen. Appropriate here:

Traditional methods of treating cough

Traditional methods of treatment are mainly aimed at combating the symptoms caused by a cold.

Here are some simple and effective ways to get rid of a cough:

Inhalation over potatoes boiled in their skins, that is, you just need to breathe over the potatoes when coughing.
Rubbing the back and chest with badger fat.
It is very useful to gargle with decoctions of calendula, chamomile, sage, and breast milk. These plants have anti-inflammatory effects.
Since onions are incredibly rich in phytoncides that kill pathogenic microflora, when coughing it is very useful to breathe in the fumes of a chopped onion. It can even be laid out on saucers throughout the apartment.
Take onion peels from about 5 onions, chop them thoroughly, add 2 tablespoons of honey, a glass of sugar and 4 glasses of water. Cook the mixture over low heat for 3 hours. Take 5 times a day, 2 teaspoons.
Mix chopped hazelnuts with honey and take every 3 hours. Drink with warm milk.
An effective way to get rid of a long-term cough is a bran decoction, which is prepared as follows: 2 liters of water, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 300 grams of rye or wheat bran, boil for 10 minutes. Take hot for one day.
You can make a compress from potatoes. The tubers are boiled with the peel, ground to a paste, mixed with five drops of iodine and one spoon of vegetable oil. This mass is applied to the chest.

There are other folk recipes for treating dry cough, in fact there are a lot of them.

In order for the patient’s recovery to proceed faster, the following recommendations must be followed:

Treatment should only be prescribed by a doctor, since only he can adequately determine the regimen and dosage of drugs. In this case, the doctor takes into account the patient’s age, the characteristics of the course of the disease and the body.
During treatment, you cannot combine the use of antitussive and mucolytic drugs.
Traditional conservative therapy is recommended to be supplemented with traditional methods of treatment.
With a dry cough, the patient needs to drink more warm liquid. It can be plain water, juices, teas, fruit drinks, decoctions, compotes, jelly.
If the cough persists for more than one month, you need to see a doctor again.
Since attacks of dry cough most often occur at night, the patient should change body position more often during sleep. This will make it easier to expel mucus.

The video in this article will tell you about some more interesting recipes for treating dry cough.

How to get rid of cough with bronchitis

Cough with bronchitis is the main symptom of the disease. It occurs due to inflammation of the bronchial mucosa.

general information

In the middle of the bronchial tree there are glands that are responsible for the condition of the mucous membrane. When a person is healthy, the mucus produced is eliminated by the body on its own.

If foci of inflammation occur in the bronchi, the mucous membrane dries out and a dry cough occurs. When the inflammation subsides, the glands begin to actively produce mucus to moisturize the walls of the bronchi. The body cannot cope with so much mucus and phlegm appears in the cough.

Cough can gradually intensify with bronchitis and, if not treated, it becomes paroxysmal.

Symptoms are noticeable during the day and at night. In the chronic form of the disease they are more frequent than in the acute form.

The type of cough is important to make a diagnosis. A well-collected anamnesis allows you to treat the disease faster and more effectively. Cough helps to correctly identify the disease, since other respiratory diseases are also accompanied by this symptom.

Attacks with laryngitis are “barking” and rough, supported by a hoarse voice.
Soreness accompanied by a burning sensation under the sternum indicates the development of tracheitis.
Attacks with greenish-yellow discharge that has a purulent odor indicate pneumonia.
A mild cough with prolonged attacks is characteristic of whooping cough.
Coughing attacks in the morning most often occur in people who smoke.

Features of bronchial cough

Symptoms of this disease depend on the stage:

early stages - dry, hacking cough, with pain in the chest and a small amount of sputum;
progressive stages – wet, due to an increase in sputum content;
chronic stage - moist and strong, with well-discharged sputum. It is the most difficult to cure.

The acute form of bronchitis has the most unpleasant symptoms. The urge to cough quickly becomes more frequent and completely exhausts the patient. Other symptoms are added to the cough:

pain in the muscles of the anterior abdominal area;
aching pain in the chest area;
soreness and sore throat.

At the first signs of the disease, it is necessary to immediately begin to treat it. Before a diagnosis is made, it is acceptable to take home remedies to relieve symptoms. For example, hot milk with honey, rubbing the feet and using warming ointments.

Development of the disease

The disease very often develops under the influence of viruses or microflora disturbances. Bronchial cough is a reaction to the first changes in the respiratory tract. In progressive stages, it may be accompanied by purulent or mucopurulent sputum, due to
which disease is often confused with pneumonia.

If bronchitis is left untreated, it becomes chronic, characterized by a cough interspersed with blood.

Blood can be seen in streaks of purulent sputum clots. The symptoms of such bronchitis are as follows:

cough may last for several months;
high or low-grade fever;
difficulty breathing after physical activity.

A dry cough is not typical for chronic bronchitis; it indicates the presence of an acute form.

A severe cough indicates severe damage to the respiratory system. Also, similar symptoms indicate that the infection has passed from the bronchial tree to the alveoli. This is the first sign of bronchopneumonia. This disease requires immediate treatment, using antibacterial therapy and antitussives.

Bronchial cough has different durations, depending on the stage of the disease. The first symptoms in the form of fever, general weakness and malaise may last for ten days. If they are not treated in time, the cough may persist for a month or more. The chronic stage is the most difficult to get rid of, since even in a state of remission the readiness to cough remains.

Treatment

You can begin to treat the disease only after examining a doctor and conducting all the necessary tests. If coughing attacks do not go away for more than three days, you should consult a therapist. Treatment should take place at home, and if there is a fever, bed rest will be required.

You need to switch to a diet menu, eliminating fried, spicy, too salty or sweet foods from your diet. To quickly cure bronchitis while undergoing treatment, it is better to eat plant foods and dairy dishes. The menu should include a large amount of fruit and liquid. Teas and compotes are the main components on which the treatment is based.
During therapy, it is better to give up cigarettes. The room should be ventilated several times a day and wet cleaning done regularly.

Drug treatment often consists of several types of drugs.

Cough syrup (Lazolvan, Flavamed, Ambroxol) - helps eliminate foreign microorganisms (viruses, microbes) in the bronchi, relieves inflammation of the mucous membrane, and removes spasms. Medicines of this dosage form are successfully used in pediatrics.

Cough tablets - drugs in this group should be prescribed by a physician. They are able to have different therapeutic effects: mucolytic, secretolytic, secretomotor. Medicines in tablets help relieve the first symptoms of the acute form of this disease, creating an expectorant effect.

Antibiotics - they are prescribed to cure advanced stages of bronchitis. These drugs have no effect on cough. They destroy pathogenic microorganisms that irritate the bronchial mucosa. In the absence of infection, the source of inflammation goes away, and with it the cough.

Treatment of bronchitis should include therapeutic effects on the throat and nose. Pathogenic flora is formed on the mucous membranes of these organs, which can enter the respiratory tract. Therefore, it is important to regularly gargle with medications and rinse your nose with saline.

Folk remedies

Bronchitis can be treated with folk remedies, but such therapy must be supported by medication. This is especially important if the form of the disease is acute. No matter how effective traditional medicine is, it requires long-term therapy. The disease develops very quickly and if nothing is done, it can develop into bronchial asthma or pneumonia.

A fairly effective remedy is turnip with honey.

You need to cut out the middle of the vegetable and put a little honey there. When the turnips begin to release juice, it should be collected and drunk up to five times a day. This remedy can effectively treat coughs and also reduces fever well.

If the attacks started at work, you need to inhale through a handkerchief soaked in essential oil. Eucalyptus, lemon balm, fir, lavender, pine, lemon or bergamot are suitable for these purposes. You will need two to three drops, but you can breathe like this for no longer than five minutes.

It is also useful to warm up the bronchi. You need to boil unpeeled potatoes, chop them with a knife, drop a little iodine on top and breathe in the healing vapors, covered with a blanket. After this procedure, you should drink raspberry tea or hot milk.

It is also useful to make herbal infusions or decoctions from medicinal plants. The pharmacy sells ready-made herbal infusions, which you just need to pour boiling water in the specified proportions and leave for a few minutes. You can make the collection yourself, choosing the most effective antitussive plants: pine buds, licorice root, ginseng, rose hips, thyme, plantain, nettle, sage, oregano and others.

It is useful to rub with warming ointments. They should contain larkspur, juniper, badger, bear or lamb fats.
Carry out inhalations based on eucalyptus or menthol balm.
Drink plenty of liquid: water, hot tea, compote, juice, milk. Drinks must be warm.
Ventilate the room where the patient is located regularly. If the air seems dry, you can humidify it by hanging wet diapers on radiators or placing a container of water.
You can gargle with a solution based on soda, iodine and salt. This product is considered a good expectorant and antiseptic. In folk medicine, I advise you to drink soda with milk so that phlegm is better removed. It is also useful to make inhalations based on soda to eliminate pathogenic flora on the mucous membrane.

Bronchial cough cannot be ignored. It brings a lot of discomfort, tires and exhausts. A dry cough greatly irritates the respiratory tract, causing attacks to become more frequent and intense, and this is dangerous due to rupture of the mucous membrane.

At the first signs of acute bronchitis, every effort should be made to make the cough wet. Foreign microorganisms and dead leukocytes are released along with sputum. Thanks to this, the risk of complications is reduced and recovery comes faster.

Bronchitis most often occurs against the background of colds, for example, ARVI, influenza, although it may also have a different origin. Bronchitis can occur due to exposure to aggressive physical or chemical factors, for example, dust, gasoline vapors, acetone, and paints. The disease develops under the influence of atypical factors and may be of an allergic nature.

But predominantly bronchitis is of an infectious nature - bacterial or viral, and is almost always accompanied by diffuse inflammation of the bronchial mucosa, which leads to a characteristic painful symptom - cough, which has a different character, greatly exhausts the sick person, especially since its duration is quite long, in on average, 3 weeks.

Before you continue reading: If you are looking for an effective method of getting rid of constant colds and diseases of the nose, throat, lungs, then be sure to look into section of the site "Book" after reading this article. This information is based on the author’s personal experience and has helped many people, we hope it will help you too. NOT advertising! So, now back to the article.

In this article we want to talk about the features of the occurrence, course and treatment of bronchitis in adults. This topic becomes very relevant not only during ARVI epidemics, but even in the summer, when people do not expect the appearance of colds that are complicated by bronchitis. But, alas, no one is immune from bronchitis at any time of the year.

Reasons for the development of bronchitis

As mentioned above, the most common and common cause of acute or chronic bronchitis among adults is viral, bacterial or atypical flora.

The main bacterial pathogens that cause the development of the inflammatory process in the bronchial tree today are different strains of staphylococci, pneumococci or streptococci.

Bronchitis can be of a viral nature; it occurs against the background of damage to the bronchial mucosa by influenza viruses, parainfluenza, adenoviruses, cytomegaloviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses, enteroviruses, etc.

Atypical factors leading to bronchitis include quite rare bacterial pathogens, such as chlamydia and mycoplasma. They are called atypical because their biological characteristics lead researchers to place them in an intermediate class between viruses and bacteria.

Very often, the cause of bronchitis is mixed pathogenic flora from the very beginning of the disease. But most often, against the background of damage to the bronchial mucosa, one type of infectious agent is associated with another type. For example, viral bronchitis gives way to bacterial bronchitis.

Viral infections almost always open the gates for bacterial infection and create the most favorable conditions for the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. This is why, at the height of viral epidemics in winter, bronchitis is so often reported in the adult population.

Factors contributing to the occurrence of bronchitis among adults

The first and most important condition that is necessary for the occurrence of bronchitis is, of course, a weakening of the immune system in an adult, which, in its normal state, ensures the body’s resistance and immunity to various external environmental agents - viral and bacterial pathogenic flora.

Features of chronic bronchitis in adults

Chronic cough is characterized by a satisfactory condition; it almost always has a wet cough with easily discharged sputum of a mucopurulent or purulent nature. The peak of exacerbations usually occurs in winter. The disease begins to develop at a young age, but over time, chronic bronchitis becomes more pronounced, which occurs closer to 40-50 years of age.

During an exacerbation, weakness, poor health, a rise in body temperature to 38 degrees, chills, and increased sweating may occur. Even with a relatively satisfactory condition, a person’s performance decreases sharply, especially if shortness of breath occurs.

Chronic bronchitis has a high prevalence among the adult population, especially among men, among smokers, in which case it is often called “smoker’s cough.” Exacerbations occur more than 2-3 times within one year and are repeated with such frequency for more than 2 years. Every year the disease becomes more pronounced. The total duration of the disease in one year exceeds 3 months.

Why is “smoker's cough” dangerous?

With chronic bronchitis, not only the bronchial tree suffers, but certain areas of the lungs, and even the entire body as a whole. Most often, chronic bronchitis becomes obstructive, which is why the disease is called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which is abbreviated as COPD. This type of disease usually occurs due to smoking or in the absence of treatment.

Changes in the lungs against the background of COPD become irreversible, so the essence of therapy is no longer to completely cure the disease, but to treat complications, symptomatic treatment, strengthen the body, and alleviate the course of this disease.

If obstruction of the lungs persists for a long time, then a violation of the drainage function of all bronchi inevitably occurs. Air begins to linger in the alveoli and lung tissue. As soon as bronchospasm joins, the process of formation of pulmonary emphysema begins. As a result, pulmonary ventilation is quickly disrupted, respiratory failure develops, the cardiovascular system, nervous system and the entire body suffer.

If symptoms characteristic of COPD or smokers' cough occur, it is very important to conduct a differential diagnosis in order to timely exclude or detect diseases such as tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, bronchial asthma, and oncological diseases that often occur against the background of COPD.

What examination is necessary for adult patients to clarify the diagnosis of bronchitis?

If you suspect chronic bronchitis, you will have to take a clinical blood test and take an x-ray of the lungs. Doctors often prescribe spirography to study the function of external respiration, which is very important for obstructive bronchitis in adult patients.

In order to exclude the development of bronchial asthma, spirography is performed with a drug load of Salbutamol or Berodual, which relieve bronchospasm.

With frequent exacerbations of bronchitis, adult patients are advised to undergo bronchoscopy to identify concomitant diseases of the respiratory tract, which have similar symptoms to bronchitis.

If necessary, anti-inflammatory therapy and antibacterial agents are prescribed. They become necessary if there is a threat of a complication, as indicated, for example, by a high temperature for more than 3 days, or an increase in it a few days after the onset of the disease, even during treatment.

At the first symptoms of bronchitis, there is no point in turning to antibiotics, since most often (in the case of an acute form) the onset of the disease is caused by exposure to a viral infection, the effect of which is not covered by antibiotics. Treatment of chronic bronchitis in adults requires antibiotic therapy if an obstructive form occurs.

The choice of antibiotic is carried out precisely in accordance with the pathogen, which is the real cause of inflammation in the lungs. With properly selected antibacterial treatment, the symptoms of bronchitis begin to subside within 4-5 days from the start of therapy.

For the treatment of bronchitis in adults, antibiotics of choice are:

penicillins (Amoxicillin, Flemoxin, Augmentin),
cephalosporins (Cefixime, Cefazolin, Claforan, Cefuroxime, Cefaclor),
macrolides (Vilpramen, Clarithromycin, Azithromycin, Erythromycin, Macropen, Rovamycin),
fluoroquinolones (Levofloxacin, Sparfloxacin, Moxifloxacin), etc.

You can use a drug with antibiotics for topical use - Bioparox. Antibiotics can be administered orally, parenterally, or by inhalation, such as a nebulizer.

For viral bronchitis, it is necessary to use antiviral drugs for treatment, for example, leukocyte Interferon, Remantadine for influenza, RNase and Deoxyribonuclease for adenovirus infection, Genferon, Viferon, Kipferon, etc. The duration of antiviral therapy is at least 10 days.

In addition to these medications, symptomatic and auxiliary treatment is used, which includes the use of antihistamines, immunotropic drugs, antipyretics, vitamins, cardiac medications, etc.

As an addition to the main treatment regimen, you can use traditional methods of treatment - herbal preparations, infusions, decoctions. The use of cups and mustard plasters in the treatment of bronchitis practically does not give any tangible results.