How to treat acute bronchitis?

Written by Han Shun Li
Pulmonology
Updated on January 20, 2025
00:00
00:00

Acute bronchitis is an acute inflammation of the bronchi caused by various pathogenic factors and is relatively common in clinical practice. Symptoms mainly include coughing, production of sputum, and some patients may experience chest tightness, shortness of breath, fever, and blood in the sputum.

For initial instances of acute bronchitis, it is important to first ensure rest, increase fluid intake, avoid fatigue, and avoid exposure to cold. Secondly, symptomatic treatment should be considered; cough suppressants can be used for coughs that are dry or produce little sputum, and expectorants should be used when the cough produces sputum that is difficult to expel.

If there is chest tightness and wheezing, asthma medications should be chosen. If fever is present, antipyretic and analgesic medications should be used for symptomatic treatment.

Thirdly, the use of antibiotics is appropriate only when there is evidence of bacterial infection; otherwise, it is best to avoid them. Treatment with antibiotics should be under a doctor's guidance, and self-medication should be avoided. With the above treatments, acute bronchitis can generally be controlled, but a minority of patients with weaker constitutions may develop chronic conditions.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Han Shun Li
Pulmonology
54sec home-news-image

Can you exercise with acute bronchitis?

Common symptoms of acute bronchitis include coughing and expectoration. Some patients may experience chest tightness and shortness of breath. It is generally advised to rest during the illness period, as exercise is not recommended. Exercise increases lung capacity and the volume of air entering and leaving the airways, which can directly stimulate the respiratory tract, leading to worsened symptoms such as coughing and chest tightness. Additionally, after physical activity, the consumption of oxygen increases, which may lead to breathing through the mouth. This means the air bypasses the nasal cavity's filtering and warming, directly irritating the respiratory tract and exacerbating the symptoms of acute bronchitis. Therefore, it is advised to rest and avoid exercise, especially high-intensity activities, during an episode of acute bronchitis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
1min 3sec home-news-image

Can acute bronchitis recur?

Acute bronchitis is a very common inflammatory disease of the respiratory system, typically quite severe, mainly due to the body's low immune function, exposure to cold, rain, or infection by certain viruses or bacteria. Symptoms in patients include fever, cough, sputum production, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Usually, acute bronchitis can be completely cured within about one to two weeks with timely and effective anti-infective treatment, cough suppression, expectorants, and asthma relief. Once effectively and completely cured, acute bronchitis is not prone to recurrence. The so-called recurrence may occur if the patient's acute bronchitis was not 100% fully cured, or if medication was stopped too soon, leading to the re-emergence of clinical symptoms such as cough and sputum production shortly after treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
45sec home-news-image

Can I eat mangoes with acute bronchitis?

Acute bronchitis is a very common inflammatory condition of the respiratory system, generally characterized by a sudden onset. Patients may experience clinical symptoms such as fever, cough, phlegm, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. For such patients, especially during the acute febrile phase, it is generally advised not to eat mangoes. Mangoes contain a high amount of sugar and are a tropical fruit. Eating mangoes during an acute bronchitis infection may exacerbate the patient's phlegm and even increase cough severity to varying degrees. Therefore, it is recommended that patients with acute bronchitis avoid eating mangoes as much as possible.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
46sec home-news-image

Is acute bronchitis prone to recurrence?

Acute bronchitis is often due to the patient's low immune function, accidental exposure to cold or getting rained on, leading to an acute onset of bronchitis, causing clinical symptoms like fever, cough, sputum production, dyspnea, and wheezing. In clinical practice, acute bronchitis generally heals within about a week after timely and effective anti-infective treatment, cough suppression, expectoration facilitation, and asthma relief. Bronchitis is divided into acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis. Acute bronchitis, generally after effective symptomatic treatment such as anti-infection, is not likely to recur frequently if the patient has a relatively good immune function.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yuan Qing
Pulmonology
56sec home-news-image

Why does acute bronchitis make you feel so tired?

Acute bronchitis is very exhausting, and this condition is mainly caused by two reasons. First, it is due to inflammation. After the infection, it is not necessarily confined to the trachea; it can release cytokines and inflammatory mediators throughout the body. These cytokines and inflammatory mediators can cause inflammatory effects throughout the body, leading many patients to feel sore limbs and fatigue. Second, during acute bronchitis, there can be a manifestation of relative hypoxia in the body. This is due to the disease, because the trachea itself is responsible for breathing. When there is an issue, the respiratory function will definitely be impaired, so the body will also experience fatigue and weakness due to hypoxia. All these symptoms are related to bronchitis. Once the symptoms of bronchitis improve, these symptoms can also improve.