This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Sean Haley about treating bronchitis and signs of possible complications. Dr. Haley is a family physician and Medical Director of the CARES Medical Clinic at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. About 5% of adults in the U.S. experience acute bronchitis each year, making it one of the most frequent reasons people visit a doctor for respiratory illness. Doctor Sean Haley is here to talk about the details. Doctor Haley is a family physician, and he's Medical Director of the CARES Clinic at MUSC. Doctor Haley, tell us briefly about bronchitis.
Dr. Haley: Bronchitis is a condition that's characterized by inflammation in the smaller parts of our lungs where air is exchanged. As such, the major symptom that people get is a cough. And that can often be a more hacking cough, one that really feels like it's coming from our chest. And sometimes it brings up phlegm, but sometimes not.
Conner: And what causes bronchitis?
Dr. Haley: Typically, bronchitis has a lot of different causes. It's really an inflammatory reaction. So that can be in response to viral infections or exposures like irritants or allergens that may be in our environment. Rarely, bronchitis is caused by a bacteria.
Conner: What else can you tell us about the typical symptoms of bronchitis?
Dr. Haley: As we mentioned, cough is the primary symptom and it can last for an average of 18 days for patients with bronchitis. Since it involves inflammation within the lungs, some folks will have shortness of breath or some pain with coughing. They can even have pain in their chest separate from the coughing. Since this is often linked to viral infections, patients can also have runny nose, congestion, sore throat, or fevers and chills. There can be some other symptoms that viruses are more prone to cause as well, like nausea or GI illness.
Conner: And is this an illness that can easily be treated at home?
Dr. Haley: Generally, it's safe to manage this at home with some cough medications, lozenges, honey, fluids and rest. However, for folks that have asthma, COPD, or other lung conditions, it may be best to see a physician to discuss possible adjunctive therapy, like steroids or inhalers that can help to improve symptoms and prevent them from getting worse.
Conner: Are there some over-the-counter medicines that might be helpful for people who do get bronchitis?
Dr. Haley: For folks who don't have lots of other medical problems, we typically recommend cough medications like dextromethorphan or guaifenesin, which can help to thin that mucus and get you to cough it up more.
Conner: And so for bronchitis, antibiotics are typically not needed.
Dr. Haley: Correct. Bronchitis really is an inflammatory reaction. We do use antibiotics for some folks that have underlying lung conditions, like COPD or reactive airway disease, that might put them at higher risk for bacterial infections. We do use some antibiotics to help decrease that inflammation, but we do not have to use antibiotics to treat bronchitis.
Conner: Any additional signs or symptoms that might indicate it's time to seek medical care with bronchitis.
Dr. Haley: The biggest symptom that I think about is shortness of breath. If you begin to feel winded with minimal activity or notice a decrease in your activity tolerance, there may be something more significant at play that requires you to see a physician.
Conner: And is pneumonia sometimes a concern for people who do get bronchitis?
Dr. Haley: That's one of the things that could be a complication from bronchitis. Oftentimes, that inflammatory nature of bronchitis, if it lingers, we can get another bacterial infection on top of that, which would be pneumonia. And often this would mean the cough doesn't get better, there's more fevers, there's chills. And that would be a good sign to go see somebody as well.
Conner: Doctor Haley, thanks for this information about bronchitis.
Dr. Haley: Thanks for having me.
Conner: From the radio studio, for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
