How is bronchitis transmitted? We will deal with this issue in more detail. Bronchitis is a disease of the respiratory system in which an inflammatory process occurs that occurs in the bronchi and affects the entire thickness of their walls or mucous membrane.
More about the disease
This disease can be both independent and secondary, that is, as a consequence of past infections and chronic diseases. Bronchitis is acute and chronic. Symptoms include fever and cough. Is acute bronchitis transmitted?
Bronchi are a kind of tubular branching in the lungs that conducts human inhaled air from the upper parts of the respiratory system to the lower. During this disease, air circulation and gas exchange are disturbed, as a result of which bronchial edema develops and mucus production begins.
The disease lasts from several weeks to several months and can be a complication of SARS or the flu.
Bronchitis is on the list of the most common diseases worldwide.
Consider how bronchitis is transmitted.
Symptoms of pathology
The main symptom of bronchitis of various forms is the cough reflex. In the early days of the development of this disease, a cough can be very dry and intrusive. It can cause vomiting in children, as well as restless sleep. However, with the development of the inflammatory process, sputum is produced in the bronchi, which has a yellowish or greenish color, and the cough becomes wet. The color of sputum indicates that a bacterial infection has joined the viral infection. Such a cough is no longer so painful for the patient, since when the sputum is separated, the lumen of the bronchi is released and the respiratory process becomes easier.
Is bronchitis contagious or not? This is a common question.
The attachment of a bacterial infection is due to the fact that congestion occurs in the lungs of a patient with bronchitis, due to the fact that oxygen cannot be supplied in sufficient amounts to inflamed tissues. Thus, in these areas there is an active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
Cough usually persists for two to three weeks, but if this process is delayed for a longer period, this may be a symptom of the development of a chronic form of the disease, and is also a consequence of a weakening of the body's immune functions.
Acute form
Symptoms of acute bronchitis can also be a sharp increase in temperature, headache, weakness and dizziness.
In chronic bronchitis, the cough is dry, deep, in some cases, a large amount of sputum is excreted, especially in the morning. This form of the disease is characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation, caused, as a rule, by SARS, hypothermia, etc.
Is bronchitis transmitted by airborne droplets? About it further.
Obstructive bronchitis
This type of disease is characterized by the fact that the mucous membrane of the bronchi is not only inflamed, but also damaged. The vascular wall in this case becomes thicker, the tissues swell, narrows the lumen of the bronchi. This greatly complicates the process of breathing, prevents the elimination of sputum, increases the risk of pneumonia.
Bronchitis is contagious or not
This question is of interest to many, since it often happens that people are forced to be near patients in public places, at work or in educational institutions. In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand what is the cause of this disease, and if the pathogen is a virus or a bacterium, then in what way is the transmission of this disease.
Factors causing bronchitis
As a rule, the root cause of bronchitis is a variety of viral and bacterial infections that require appropriate antiviral and antibacterial treatment.
The cause of bronchitis is more than 300 viruses and about 100 different microorganisms. However, the most common of them are those that cause the flu and SARS, and, as a result, acute bronchitis.
These viruses and bacteria include:
- rhinovirus;
- adenovirus;
- mycoplasma;
- chlamydia
- PC virus
- cytomegalovirus;
- parainfluenza virus type III;
- pneumocysts, etc.
Ways of infection with bronchitis are presented below.
In the vast majority of diseases, these microorganisms act in combination with each other, which explains the variety of symptoms of the so-called common cold, as the people commonly call the symptoms of influenza and SARS.
In addition to viruses, the causative agents of bronchitis are bacteriological infections, such as hemophilus bacillus, streptococci, staphylococci, gram-negative bacteria and pneumococci. In this regard, the treatment of bronchitis should have an antibacterial basis.
People who are in contact with coal dust, household chemicals, various toxic substances for a long time, as well as smoking abusers are susceptible to non-infectious bronchitis. How is bronchitis of this kind transmitted?
This type of bronchitis is not contagious, unlike those caused by the above infections.
Thus, bronchitis, which is of a bacteriological or viral nature, is dangerous for the patient’s environment, since viruses can be transmitted from person to person by airborne droplets, and bacteria can be transmitted by domestic means when pathogenic microbes of the diseased get onto the mucous membranes of a healthy person.
Ways of transmission of bronchitis
Frequent stresses, reduced immunity, vitamin deficiency, hypothermia, nicotine addiction - these are the main reasons that increase the likelihood of getting ARI and flu. Viruses and bacteria that enter the human bronchi and cause their inflammation also suppress their protective functions, as a result of which the inflammatory process of the mucous membranes of the bronchi occurs and the formation of a large amount of secret called sputum on it. But how is bronchitis transmitted?
With the help of reflexes such as coughing and sneezing, the body tries to clear the airways of excess mucus, thereby fulfilling the body's protective function. This is a natural process of combating the disease, but it causes negative consequences for people around. During sneezing and coughing, pathogenic microorganisms enter the air and household objects, which leads to the fact that the infection spreads outward. They linger in the airways of other people, and also cause them to develop bronchitis and related symptoms.
The immune system can immediately suppress the reproduction of microbes in the body only when the human body is not weakened and has enough capabilities to deal with such environmental influences. This is the answer to the question of whether bronchitis is transmitted by airborne droplets.
How to protect yourself from infection
In order to reduce the risk of contracting this disease, it is recommended:
- Limit visits to public places, especially during epidemics of influenza and SARS.
- Wear a special medical mask to prevent the entry of pathogenic viruses and germs into the respiratory tract, but if there is no such mask, you can simply cover your nose and mouth with a clean handkerchief or gauze bandage.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and other basic hygiene rules.
- Perform hardening procedures, which significantly increases the body's immune defense.
- In the autumn-winter period, take vitamins, and eat a large amount of fresh fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C.
- Avoid contact with patients with bronchitis and acute respiratory viral infections, and in cases where such contact has occurred, rinse your nose and mouth with saline, take an antiviral agent.
Consider medications for the prevention of bronchitis.
First of all, these are the antiviral agents Grippferon, Alpharon, Interferon, Viferon, Kipferon. Then the immunostimulating medicines Ingavir, Kagocel, Cycloferon, Lavomax, Tsitovir. You can also take antibacterial agents for 5-7 days, but this is not always advisable. In any case, it is necessary to get expert advice.