Bronchitis is an inflammation of the main air passages to the lungs. Bronchitis may be short-lived (acute) or chronic, meaning that it lasts a long time and often recurs.
Acute bronchitis generally follows a viral respiratory infection. At first, it affects your nose, sinuses, and throat and then spreads to the lungs. Sometimes, you may get another (secondary) bacterial infection in the airways.This means that bacteria infect the airways, in addition to the virus.
Chronic bronchitis is a long-term condition. People have a cough that produces excessive mucus. To be diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, you must have a cough with mucus most days of the month for at least 3 months.
Chronic bronchitis is also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD for short. (Emphysema is another type of COPD.) As the condition gets worse, you become increasingly short of breath, have difficulty walking or exerting yourself physically, and may need supplemental oxygen on a regular basis.
Cigarette smoke, including long-term exposure to second-hand smoke, is the main cause of chronic bronchitis. The severity of the disease often relates to how much you smoked or how long you were exposed to the smoke.
Industrial bronchitis (4 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Industrial bronchitis is swelling(inflammation) of the large airways of the lungs that occurs in some people who work around certain dusts, fumes, smoke, or other substances.Reviewer: Allen J. Blaivas, DO, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine UMDNJ-NJMS, Attending Physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Veterans Affairs, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 04/24/2009
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (7 images)
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(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) is lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD:.Chronic bronchitis, which causes long-term swelling and a large amount of mucus in the main airways in the lungs Emph...Reviewer: Benjamin Medoff, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 09/24/2008
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