Bronchitis Symptoms

Bronchitis is irritation and inflammation of the airways that bring air in and out of your lungs. Stages of bronchitis can range from acute to chronic. Acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis have similar symptoms, including a dry or productive cough and shortness of breath. However, they are different illnesses that last for different lengths of time.

Acute bronchitis is a relatively short-term illness that usually results from a viral infection and does not require treatment with antibiotics. Recovery may take a period of days to weeks. In contrast, chronic bronchitis is a long-term, serious illness. 

This article covers the symptoms and stages of bronchitis. It discusses recovery times, common and uncommon symptoms, and complications. It also details when to get medical treatment for symptoms of bronchitis.

Bronchitis

Types of Bronchitis

Bronchitis is divided into two types: acute and chronic. Acute bronchitis is a short-term form of the disease. It may only take a few days or weeks for people to recover from acute bronchitis.

Chronic bronchitis means long-term illness. This is when bronchitis sticks around for at least three months and comes back at least two years in a row.

Acute bronchitis is usually caused by an infection and may be contagious. Chronic bronchitis is not contagious.

Acute and chronic bronchitis share many of the same symptoms because they are both caused by inflammation of the bronchi.

Common Symptoms of Acute Bronchitis

Not everyone who gets acute bronchitis will have the same symptoms. However, some symptoms of acute bronchitis are more common than others.

The most common symptoms include:

• Dry cough without mucus
• Productive cough with lots of mucus
• Back and muscle pain
• Chest soreness
• Chills
• Feeling tired and achy (fatigue)
• Headache
• Runny nose
• Slight fever
• Shortness of breath
• Sore throat
• Watery eyes
• Wheezing
  

With acute bronchitis, the symptoms can often be more severe than those seen with chronic bronchitis.

Most of the time, acute bronchitis is caused by a virus. Acute bronchitis normally improves on its own but may require treatment if it is caused by a bacterial infection.

Common Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is characterized by a productive cough lasting for at least three months in two consecutive years. Chronic bronchitis is not a disease that can be cured, but symptoms can be managed with medication.

In addition to the general effects of bronchitis, symptoms of chronic bronchitis include:

• Frequent coughing or a cough that produces a lot of mucus
• Wheezing
• A whistling or squeaky sound when you breath
• Shortness of breath, especially with physical activity
• Tightness in your chest
• Frequent respiratory infections, like colds and the flu

When chronic bronchitis becomes severe, other symptoms may appear:

• Weight loss
• Weakness in lower muscles
• Swelling of the ankles, feet, or legs

If you have chronic bronchitis, you may also have emphysema, which affects the lungs, not the bronchi. While emphysema and chronic bronchitis can occur at the same time, there are differences between emphysema and bronchitis.

Acute vs. Chronic Bronchitis

Although acute and chronic bronchitis both refer to an inflammation of the bronchi, the main difference is in how long they last.

Non-cough symptoms of acute bronchitis (stuffy nose, fever, headache, fatigue) typically last only a few days. A cough may linger for up to two to three weeks.

Chronic bronchitis is a long-term condition in which you'll have periodic episodes of symptoms that last at least three months at a time.

Here's a snapshot of the symptoms that distinguish acute bronchitis from chronic bronchitis.

Unusual Bronchitis Symptoms

Bronchitis is generally recognizable by a productive cough. However, there are a few other, less common, symptoms of bronchitis.

Bad Breath

Bad breath can develop quickly in people with acute bronchitis. Chronic bad breath can also be a sign of chronic bronchitis.

Bad breath can occur when nasal congestion forces you to breathe through your mouth, enabling growth of bacteria on the tongue and mucous membranes. This bacteria may produce an odor.

In general, it is not recommended to take antibiotics to reduce this bacteria that causes bad breath. 

Coughing Up Blood

The persistent coughing of acute and chronic bronchitis can cause traumatic tears, with bleeding in the bronchi or the throat. This can make you cough up blood-tinged sputum. 

Lack of Physical Endurance

When you have acute or chronic bronchitis, you may become short of breath very easily with physical exertion. Sometimes this may limit your ability to exercise or walk long distances.

If you have acute bronchitis, this will improve a few days after the illness resolves. If you have chronic bronchitis, you may need physical therapy to improve your endurance. 

Trouble Sleeping

The persistent coughing and nasal congestion of bronchitis can interrupt your sleep, making it difficult for you to rest, no matter what time of the day or night you attempt to sleep. 

When to See a Healthcare Provider

If you have symptoms that seem to be more disabling than symptoms of a regular cold, or if you have trouble catching your breath, call your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider will work with you to develop a treatment plan.

Other warning signs to look for:

• Delay in recovery: If you have symptoms of acute bronchitis, but you don’t start to feel better fairly quickly, contact your healthcare provider because you may have a serious respiratory disorder.
• Recurrent symptoms after recovery: If your cough lasts for more than four to six weeks after diagnosis, contact your healthcare provider. If your symptoms improve and then come back worse or different than before, you may have developed another infection and should seek medical attention. 
• Shortness of breath: If you find that you cannot catch your breath when you exert minimal physical effort or when you are at rest, you should seek medical attention. 
• Vomiting blood or spitting up blood: If you have blood or blood clots in your sputum, or if you vomit blood, this could be a symptom of a more serious illness than bronchitis.
• Swelling: If you have swelling or puffiness in your hands and feet, this could be a symptom of a serious respiratory or cardiac problem, and you should get medical attention.

Complications of Bronchitis

There are several serious complications of bronchitis, but they are not common. Complications can occur with chronic or acute bronchitis, but they are far more likely to occur as a result of chronic bronchitis due to the long-standing impact of the disease.

Early treatment can minimize the risk of these concerns.

Infection

You can become more susceptible to another respiratory tract infection if you have bronchitis. If you get another infection while you have acute bronchitis, it can delay your recovery.

If you develop a respiratory infection when you have chronic bronchitis, this can produce an attack of acute bronchitis on top of your chronic illness.

An episode of acute bronchitis is likely to be more severe and last longer than chronic bronchitis.

Pneumonia

If you have bronchitis of any type, your lungs are more likely to become infected, resulting in pneumonia.

Pneumonia is a prolonged infection that makes you feel sicker than acute bronchitis does.

Aspiration Pneumonia

The coughing of bronchitis can make you choke on your food if you cough while eating. This can cause the food that you eat to go down the wrong pipe, into your lungs, instead of your stomach.

Aspiration pneumonia can be a persistent infection that takes a toll on your health and takes months to recover from.

Heart Disease

The long-term breathing difficulties of chronic bronchitis can put additional strain on your heart, causing heart disease or exacerbating heart failure.

Bronchorrhea

Defined as an excessive discharge of watery mucus from the lungs, bronchorrhea results in a productive cough.

This discharge is more copious than normal phlegm and occurs only when a person coughs up at least the equivalent of 20 teaspoons of mucus daily from their lungs.

It causes persistent cough and shortness of breath and aggravates those symptoms if they already exist.

Summary

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi, which carry air to and from your lungs. Early stages of bronchitis may have milder symptoms compared to later stages when symptoms may become severe.

Common symptoms of bronchitis include cough (often with mucus), shortness of breath, runny nose, low-grade fever, and wheezing. Acute bronchitis is short-lived and often goes away within days or a few weeks. Chronic bronchitis lasts at least three weeks or more and comes back at least once in the next two years.

Talk to your healthcare provider if you're experiencing symptoms of bronchitis that aren't going away quickly. If not treated, bronchitis can lead to complications that can be severe and life-threatening. Getting early treatment is one of the best ways to avoid these complications.