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of Consumer Guide, the Editors. "18 Home Remedies for Bronchitis." 15 January 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/home-remedies-for-bronchitis.htm> 12 May 2008.
18 Home Remedies for Bronchitis
Inside This Article
1.
Introduction to Home Remedies for Bronchitis
2.
You thought you were finally shaking that cold, but this morning your cough is worse than ever. You're coughing up phlegm by the cupful, and it feels as if someone spent the night tap-dancing on your chest. You've probably developed acute bronchitis, an often painful infection in the major bronchial tubes (airways) leading to the lungs.
Acute bronchitis is most often caused by a virus, frequently the same one that causes colds, although the flu virus is a common culprit as well. (While acute bronchitis can also be caused by a bacteria or even a fungus, they are only rarely to blame.) Acute bronchitis often follows a cold or the flu, when resistance is down and the lungs may already be slightly irritated. Likewise, anyone whose resistance is low or who has any other type of chronic lung irritation or injury, especially from exposure to cigarette smoke or other toxic gases, is at increased risk of developing bronchitis. And the viruses that cause bronchitis can be passed to others much the same way cold and flu viruses are: An infected person coughs, spraying viral particles either into the air, where they can be breathed in by others, or onto their own hands, where they can be picked up when the person shakes hands with others.
The virus attacks the inner walls of the bronchial tubes, which then swell and produce greatly increased amounts of thick, yellow or green mucus (the airways normally produce about an ounce a day of thin, clear or white mucus, which helps trap and remove foreign particles). The lung irritation and mucus trigger a throaty, persistent, productive hacking that is the hallmark of acute bronchitis.
There can be an irritated throat (from the coughing), burning or aching pain just beneath the breastbone, a feeling of tightness in the chest, wheezing or shortness of breath, and/or a "rattling" sensation in the lungs and chest. A low-grade fever, chills, and achiness may also occur. The irritation caused by the virus in turn leaves the respiratory tract vulnerable to other complications, such as pneumonia.
If you have an underlying chronic disease or suffer from asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or any other serious respiratory or heart problem, you need to contact your doctor if you develop symptoms of acute bronchitis. Bronchitis symptoms in infants, the elderly, or anyone else with a weak immune system should be treated by a physician. If you're otherwise healthy, however, you will likely have to allow the infection to simply run its course. Antibiotics, after all, are useless against viral infections. Fortunately, acute bronchitis generally goes away on its own within a few days or a week, although the cough can sometimes linger for weeks or even months.
This doesn't mean you have to lie in bed, suffering, and wait for your body to defeat the virus. In this article, we'll examine ways to help your body heal from a bronchial infection and ease symptoms of the condition. Move on to the next section for some home remedies to alleviate the congestion and coughing of bronchitis.
For more information on remedies for respiratory infections, try the following links:
Acute bronchitis is most often caused by a virus, frequently the same one that causes colds, although the flu virus is a common culprit as well. (While acute bronchitis can also be caused by a bacteria or even a fungus, they are only rarely to blame.) Acute bronchitis often follows a cold or the flu, when resistance is down and the lungs may already be slightly irritated. Likewise, anyone whose resistance is low or who has any other type of chronic lung irritation or injury, especially from exposure to cigarette smoke or other toxic gases, is at increased risk of developing bronchitis. And the viruses that cause bronchitis can be passed to others much the same way cold and flu viruses are: An infected person coughs, spraying viral particles either into the air, where they can be breathed in by others, or onto their own hands, where they can be picked up when the person shakes hands with others.
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Bronchitis is a painful infection of the bronchial tubes. |
There can be an irritated throat (from the coughing), burning or aching pain just beneath the breastbone, a feeling of tightness in the chest, wheezing or shortness of breath, and/or a "rattling" sensation in the lungs and chest. A low-grade fever, chills, and achiness may also occur. The irritation caused by the virus in turn leaves the respiratory tract vulnerable to other complications, such as pneumonia.
If you have an underlying chronic disease or suffer from asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or any other serious respiratory or heart problem, you need to contact your doctor if you develop symptoms of acute bronchitis. Bronchitis symptoms in infants, the elderly, or anyone else with a weak immune system should be treated by a physician. If you're otherwise healthy, however, you will likely have to allow the infection to simply run its course. Antibiotics, after all, are useless against viral infections. Fortunately, acute bronchitis generally goes away on its own within a few days or a week, although the cough can sometimes linger for weeks or even months.
This doesn't mean you have to lie in bed, suffering, and wait for your body to defeat the virus. In this article, we'll examine ways to help your body heal from a bronchial infection and ease symptoms of the condition. Move on to the next section for some home remedies to alleviate the congestion and coughing of bronchitis.
For more information on remedies for respiratory infections, try the following links:
- To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
- For preventative measures against infections of the respiratory tract, see How to Prevent Respiratory Infections.
- How to Prevent the Flu includes valuable and effective advice on warding off influenza.
- To learn natural ways to combat flu symptoms, read Home Remedies for the Flu.
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Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this How Stuff Works article:
of Consumer Guide, the Editors. "18 Home Remedies for Bronchitis." 15 January 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/home-remedies-for-bronchitis.htm> 12 May 2008.
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