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Bronchitis

Bronchitis is the inflammation of the bronchi. It may
develop suddenly, following a head cold (acute bronchitis), or it
may persist or return regularly for many years, causing
progressive degeneration of the bronchi and lungs (chronic
bronchitis). Certain people are more susceptible than others;
Men are more of a target to bronchitis than women, out numbering
them 10 to 1 ©© the reasons are unclear. Of course smokers are
50 times more likely to get chronic bronchitis than non©smokers.
Acute bronchitis is a bacteria or virus infection, often
following a cold smoking. People who have acute bronchitis
usually have a mild fever, soreness under breast bone, irritated
by coughing. First they have a dry cough then the cough later
brings up green and yellow mucus. The cough may persist to 4 to
6 weeks. Chronic bronchitis is produced by other chronic
problem: sinusitis, smoking, TB, etc. The Bronchi becomes thick,
inelastic, and accumulate mucus and pus in lower part of lungs
instead of bringing discharges up and out. The result is chronic
cough, shortness of breath, sometimes spasm, and frequent
infection.

In acute bronchitis, the basic symptoms are a head cold,
fever and chills, running nose, aching muscles and possibly back
pains. This is soon followed by the obvious persistent cough.
At first the cough is dry and racking and eventually becomes
phlegmy. The persistent cough is worse at night than during the
day, and when the person breathes in smoke and fumes.

The main symptoms most recognized in chronic bronchitis is,
again, a cough, with sputum, often occurring in paroxysms. Other
symptoms in chronic bronchitis are dependant on how much, or how
little, emphysema is present. This disorder causes the lungs to
become overstretched, making the breathing process...

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