There are two types of bronchitis is acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis.
General conditions of acute bronchitis often develops from a cold or other respiratory infection. Acute bronchitis usually improves within a few days without leaving the effect, although you can continue to cough within weeks.
While chronic bronchitis is a more serious condition, this condition is irritation or inflammation constantly on bronchial pipes and is often caused by smoking. However if you have recurrent bronchitis condition, you may be experiencing chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is one of the conditions associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Acute Bronchitis
Cold viruses often cause acute bronchitis. But you can also experience non-infectious bronchitis because of exposure to cigarette smoke and other pollutants such as dust.
Bronchitis can also occur when stomach acid rises into the esophagus, a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). And workers exposed to dust or fumes can suffer bronchitis particular. Acute bronchitis generally disappear when no longer exposed to the irritant.
Chronic Bronchitis
Sometimes the inflammation and bronchial wall thickening pipe becomes permanent, a condition known as chronic bronchitis. You generally consider that you have chronic bronchitis if you cough every day lost after three months of the year in two consecutive years.
Unlike acute bronchitis, chronic bronchitis persists and is a serious illness. Smoking is the biggest cause, but air pollution and dust or toxic gases in the environment or workplace also can contribute to this disease.
Risk Factors of Bronchitis
Factors that increase the risk of bronchitis, among others:
- Smoking. Smoking was the source of various diseases. Therefore, stop smoking because it is very detrimental to health.
- Weak immune system, may be due to recovering from illness or other conditions that make the immune system becomes weak.
- The condition in which stomach acid up into the esophagus (gastroesophageal reflux disease).
- Exposed to irritants, such as pollution, smoke or dust.
Symptoms of Acute and Chronic Bronchitis
Here are some of the symptoms of acute and chronic bronchitis need to know:
- Cough.
- The presence of mucus, either colorless, white or yellow-green.
- Shortness of breath, worsening even while exerting little effort.
- Tired.
- Mild fever and chills.
- Discomfort in the chest.
If you have acute bronchitis, you may have a cough that persists in a few weeks after recovering from bronchitis. However bronchitis symptoms can be confusing. You can not have mucus when you have bronchitis, and children often swallow the mucus so that parents may not know it. There can experience chronic bronchitis without acute bronchitis beforehand. As well as many smokers who have to clean up the mucus in the throat in the morning when waking from sleep, which, if it continues for more than three months, may have chronic bronchitis.
If you have chronic bronchitis, the inflammation in the long term lead pipe bronchila injured and produce too much mucus. Eventually the pipe wall will bronchial airways thicken and you may be injured. Signs and symptoms of chronic bronchitis also can be:
Cough which worsened in the morning and in the humid weather.
Frequent respiratory infections (such as colds and flu) with a worsening cough up phlegm.
If you have chronic bronchitis, you may have a period in which signs and symptoms will worsen. At that time you can have a well-padded acute bronchitis due to bacterial or viral in addition to your chronic bronchitis.
Prevention of Bronchitis
Measures that can help reduce the risk of bronchitis and protect your lungs in general are:
- Avoid smoking or exposure to cigarette smoke.
- Avoid those who are sick colds or flu.
- Wash your hands regularly.
- Use a mask to reduce the risk of infection.