What Is Bronchitis?

Here’s a short article for those who may be asking, “What is bronchitis?” It is basically a condition that affects the respiratory system. A person suffering from this disease has swollen air passageways that cause him to cough.

The membranes lining the airways called bronchi grow larger when there are attacks of bronchitis. The inflammation shuts off the airways in the lungs and the body responds through coughing. The coughs are usually accompanied by mucus called sputum or phlegm. Coughing is a primary symptom, as well as breathlessness. Those with asthma could also develop bronchi inflammation called asthmatic bronchitis.

What Is Bronchitis?

There are two kinds of bronchitis: acute and chronic. The former type could last for 6 weeks or less while the latter recurs every now and then, for 2 or more years consecutively.

Also referred to as chest colds, bronchitis results to the production of excess mucus in the bronchial tubes. In an acute bronchitis condition, the culprit is usually viral. The virus that causes the common colds are the same ones that causes this condition. Acute bronchitis is worse than the common colds, but it is not as bad as pneumonia.

The excess mucus that gets produced clogs the airways along with the swelling. This makes it difficult for air to get to the lungs so the patient is always short of breath and feels his chest tightening.

Chronic bronchitis is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. There is an estimated 14 million plus people who have COPD in the United States. About 12.5 million of these cases are classified as chronic bronchitis. The disease is common among adults aged 45 years above.