Most often, bronchitis develops against the background of colds, such as flu, SARS, but it can also occur under the influence of chemical, physical irritants, for example, acetone, dust, gasoline vapors, as well as under the influence of atypical factors. In most cases, the nature of the disease is infectious (viral or bacterial). Infection leads to a diffuse inflammatory process in the bronchial mucosa, and this causes the appearance of a characteristic symptom - a painful cough.
Weakening of the immune system is the main condition necessary for bronchitis to develop in adults. Symptoms of the disease will not appear in a person whose immunity is resistant to various infectious agents. A decrease in defenses can occur for many reasons. So,
chronic diseases, alcohol abuse, smoking, working in hazardous work, hypothermia, constant fatigue and much more contribute to this. Adverse factors include age - the older the person, the more susceptible to any disease, including infectious.
Bronchitis in adults: symptoms and forms
The disease can occur acutely and chronically. In the first case, inflammation develops rapidly in the form of a simple, obstructive, obliterating bronchitis, bronchiolitis. If the disease in acute form is not completely cured and is repeated two to three times a year for two or more years, it becomes chronic. An ailment proceeding in this form is accompanied by a constant wet cough.
Acute bronchitis in adults: symptoms
At the initial stage of the development of the disease, nonspecific symptoms appear: malaise, headache, fatigue. After one or two days, the symptoms of bronchitis in adults become more pronounced: behind the sternum there is a burning sensation, pain, heaviness, a cough begins, first coughing, dry, without sputum discharge. Coughing attacks cause increased pain, sore throat is constantly felt. Possible increase in temperature, but not more than 38 degrees.
After two to three days, sputum appears, and the person feels relief, since a wet cough no longer causes such painful sensations. First, mucous sputum is released, light, transparent. But soon it becomes already purulent-mucous, which indicates the addition of bacterial microflora. Such severe symptoms usually persist for no more than two to three weeks. In case of respiratory dysfunction, which can happen with bronchial obstruction caused by blockage of spleen or spasm by sputum, coughing may be complicated by shortness of breath.
The main symptom of obstructive bronchitis is a paroxysmal cough with difficult sputum removal. Cyanosis of the face and limbs may appear, which is especially noticeable when exhaling. If the inflammation passes to the bronchioles, bronchiolitis occurs. Symptoms of this condition are an even greater increase in temperature, rapid breathing. In the absence of adequate treatment, there is a threat of pneumonia.
Chronic bronchitis in adults: symptoms
Usually, the disease begins to develop in his youth, and a pronounced chronic character becomes closer to forty-fifty years. During periods of remission, the condition is satisfactory, but a wet cough with mucopurulent sputum that is easily separated is constantly present. During exacerbations, the peak of which occurs in the winter, a person's health worsens, his temperature rises, sweating, shortness of breath appear.
Treatment
Bronchitis is a serious disease that can be complicated by severe pathologies of the pulmonary system. Self-medication usually entails the flow of inflammation into a chronic form. A person cannot independently determine the nature of the disease, which means that he is not capable of producing competent therapy without the help of a doctor. For example, antibiotics for bronchitis in adults are effective only in the presence of a bacterial infection. Nevertheless, many people, when symptoms of the disease appear, immediately begin to take them, without thinking that if bronchitis develops as a result of exposure to viruses, it is completely useless.