Bronchitis is a disease that occurs on the respiratory system wherein inflammation is experienced by the mucous membrane of the bronchial passages of the lungs. This irritation could cause thickness and swelling thus narrowing the tiny airways that can be found in the lungs. As a result, spells of coughing will be experienced by the patient accompanied by breathlessness and thick phlegm, which are also considered as among the symptoms of bronchitis.
There are actually two types of bronchitis and these are the acute bronchitis, which could last not more than 6 weeks and the chronic bronchitis, which reoccurs quite often in the span of two years or more. Aside from this, there is also another form of this respiratory disease, which is known as the asthmatic bronchitis that happens to people who already have asthma.
One of main symptoms of bronchitis, as mentioned earlier, is a cough that is accompanied with green or yellowish-gray sputum or mucus. Although the presence of mucus is not unusual as it is normal for one's airways to secrete mucus every day, this doesn't usually accumulate. This is because these secretions are cleared continuously in one's throat and are just swallowed along with the saliva. However, when the bronchial tubes or the lung's main passageways for air get inflamed, large quantities of discolored mucus are usually produced and these are coughed up during coughing spells. If after three months, this symptom is still being experienced by a patient, then he or she already has a case of chronic bronchitis. Secondary infection is always looked into if there is mucus present that is not clear or is not white in color.
However, the symptoms of bronchitis are really quite deceptive in nature. This is because there are cases of bronchitis wherein the presence of mucus is not there. This is especially hard in children, who oftentimes get to swallow the mucus that they coughed up, thus masking the presence of a possible secondary infection. There are even many smokers who have does the throat-clearing habit during mornings, immediately after they get out of bed. While they might think that this is just normal, it could actually be a symptom of bronchitis. If this clearing of throat goes on even after three months have already passed, then this could already be chronic bronchitis.
There are also other symptoms of bronchitis that could accompany the coughing bouts and mucus. This is because it is common for acute bronchitis to be accompanied by the usual signs that are usually apparent in an infection on the upper respiratory tract. These include sore throat, chills and slight fever, breathlessness, soreness and a constricting burning feeling in the chest, wheezing, chest congestion, overall malaise and fullness of the sinus cavities.
Katie Appleby is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about symptoms of bronchitis, please visit Quality Mens Health for current articles and discussions.
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