Acute Bronchitis: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchial tubes, the airways that carry air to your lungs. There are two main types: acute and chronic.

Symptoms

• a cough, often bringing up mucus;
• shortness of breath and wheezing;
• a low fever;
• chest tightness.

Most acute bronchitis improves within several days, but the cough can last several weeks after the infection is gone.

Causes

• Viruses, most often: the same ones that cause colds and the flu, spread through the air when people cough or by touch, such as unwashed hands.
• Irritants: tobacco smoke, air pollution, dust, vapors and fumes.
• Bacteria, less often.

Diagnosis

Your provider will ask about symptoms and listen to your breathing, and may order other tests.

Treatment

• rest and fluids;
• aspirin (adults only) or acetaminophen for fever;
• a humidifier or steam;
• inhaled medicine to open the airways if you're wheezing.

Antibiotics won't help a viral infection; you may get them if the cause is bacterial.

Sources

Based on "Acute Bronchitis," MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, drawing on the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; a work of the United States government in the public domain.