Your essential guide to bronchitis

Each winter, millions of Canadians see a doctor for bronchitis—a respiratory infection with a non-stop, body-racking cough. But, all they may really need to feel bet­ter is good-quality rest, lots of fluids and the right over-the-counter drugs.

• Defined as an inflammation of the bronchial tubes, bronchitis is nearly always caused by a virus. This respiratory ­infection develops when the virus enters your body through your nose or mouth. First it causes a cold—or flulike symptoms in your nasal passages and throat—and then it migrates down your windpipe to your bronchial tubes, the doorways to your lungs.
• To prevent the virus from entering these vital organs, the tubes swell up and their linings become inflamed. This protective inflammation, however, ­results in a lot of mucus production in your bronchial tubes, which your body tries to expel by coughing. As the virus replicates, the bronchial tubes become more inflamed, causing the raw, painful cough so characteristic of this condition.
• At first your cough is dry, or non-productive (meaning nothing is being expelled from your lungs). This is largely due to bronchial irritation. However, as mucus production increases and your antibodies attack the invading organisms, you'll develop a wet (or productive) cough, bringing up white, yellow or green sputum (phlegm)—a mixture of mucus, dead viruses and infection-fighting white blood cells.

Acute bronchitis: With acute bronchitis severe symptoms usually ease up in two or three days, although a lingering, milder cough may linger for several weeks.

Chronic bronchitis: Chronic bronchitis is a different condition altogether, affecting mainly smokers. It’s said to be present when you have a mucus-producing cough on most days during a three-month period, for two years in a row.

Although long-term exposure to environmental irritants (dust, air pollution) can make you more prone to chronic bronchitis, smoking is the most common cause of this condition. Repeated attacks of chronic bronchitis can eventually cause serious lung damage if smoking continues.

• Take analgesics to relieve body aches, sore throat and fever.
• Take over-the-counter cough medicines to ease continuous coughing, loosen phlegm and quiet a lingering, nagging hack.
• Get plenty of rest to help your body fight off the infection.
• Drink lots of fluids to hydrate mucous membranes.
• A bronchodilator to help you breathe more easily.

• Get a pneumonia vaccine and an annual flu shot: especially if you are over 65 or have chronic lung, heart or kidney disease—to bolster your defenses.
• Avoid respiratory irritants: Paint, dust, industrial fumes and smoke can aggravate the lining of your bronchial tubes, intensifying your cough. Consider using an air purifier or an air conditioner to filter out such irritants. Clean or change the filter as indicated.
• Don't take unnecessary antibiotics: Even though anti­biotics are ineffective against bronchitis-related viruses, a recent survey showed that 70 percent of patients with bronchitis symptoms asked for them—and most doctors complied. This practice needlessly exposes people to drugs they don't need and promotes the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Be certain you have a bacterial infection before asking for or taking an antibiotic.
• Don't count on antibiotics if you smoke: Recent research from Massachusetts General Hospital has found that antibiotics may be even less effective for smokers than for non-smokers. Don't smoke. Just one puff of a cigarette can paralyze the cilia in your bronchial tubes, making your current attack last longer and future attacks more likely to occur.

The Canadian Lung Association provides free research and information to help you quit smoking, clean your humidifier properly, compare prescription drugs and manage acute and chronic bronchitis, among other respiratory diseases (613-569-6411 or www.lung.ca).