Most respiratory diseases are common during the cold season, and some of them lead to severe complications and even death. However, bronchitis is a type of upper respiratory illness that can occur in different seasons. Hence, if you have ever been diagnosed with bronchitis, you may wonder whether or not it will go away. Some sufferers also often ask the question “Why wont my bronchitis go away?” That is especially true for those who have been taking medications but their condition is not becoming better, or their symptoms recur.
So, if you are one of the persons who has asked “Why wont my bronchitis go away?” before, then it probably means that you are not doing something right and you need to make some lifestyle changes. Understanding some of the fundamentals of bronchitis is essential so that you will be able to figure out why such is the case. Through such, you will also take the necessary steps to help you recover from the disease or prevent its recurrence.
Bronchitis: Things You Need to Know
Bronchitis, in its simplest terms, is a condition involving a person’s airways. Male or female, whether young or old, can get bronchitis, but specific groups of people are more susceptible to the disease like babies, seniors, and persons with compromised immune systems.
A virus can cause bronchitis and people usually develop it when they have caught flu or cold. If you have asthma, suffer from heart failure, cystic fibrosis or you have some other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), then your risk of developing bronchitis increases.
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Symptoms
With that in regard, you will expect that bronchitis will have similar symptoms to the common cold, flu, and other respiratory diseases. If you have a cough where you continuously expel mucus, you might have bronchitis. Thus, you should always pay attention to the color of your mucus.
Infection is usually confirmed when your mucus is dark yellow, green or bloody. Some of you might also have a slight fever, and notice that physical activity is a drain on your body. Chest pain is also common for persons suffering from bronchitis and so is wheezing.
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Treatment
The good thing about bronchitis, though, is that it can be treated and there are a lot of ways for it to be managed. In fact, some individuals recover from the disease by merely taking a complete bed rest, usually for three or four days. Some also consider using humidifiers that have been loaded with the right essential oils in order to clear up their airways. Those who are feverish will also be given antipyretic medications and those who suffer pain due to persistent coughing, especially children, will be given pain relievers.
No matter what treatment is given, the primary purpose is to control or relieve the symptoms in order to clear the airway and relieve the bronchial inflammation. Such is also important to prevent any permanent damage to the airway. However, some people might experience situations wherein their bronchitis comes back after a few days, or the symptoms will be persistent for months. That is the so-called chronic bronchitis.
Most individuals suffering from the chronic type will experience exacerbation of thick mucus since there is already an infection of the airways. They are the ones who will be advised to take prescriptive antibiotics to prevent further progression to other forms of respiratory diseases like pneumonia. Sadly, there are still individuals whose bronchitis will come back even when they take antibiotics. There are some common reasons why persistent bronchitis occurs, and we will discuss such below.
Why Wont My Bronchitis Go Away: The Probable Causes
Chronic bronchitis usually results after a person suffers a series of acute bronchitis. Generally, an acute condition will be resolved after a few days or weeks of proper management. It usually recurs because the person might be continuously exposed to environmental factors that typically cause bronchitis. Such include dust, fumes, chemicals, mist, and pollens.
Similarly, people who smoke are more prone to situations wherein bronchitis will not go away or will constantly recur. So, if you are living with a person who smokes, then do not expect that you will be cured after finishing your medications. In addition, bronchitis sufferers who drink alcohol, coffee, and other beverages without drinking the right amount of water will also have persistent bronchitis. That is because concentrated beverages contain ingredients like sugar that will add more weight to the mucus. Hence, the airway will not be cleared.
Same goes for drinking cold beverages as well as consuming ice cream, sweet delights, and the likes. That is because sugar can thicken mucus and low temperature will not be able to push the mucus properly. That is the reason why most doctors advise patients to take warm water and refrain from consuming sugary and cold products.
Patients who have been prescribed with antibiotics might experience symptoms relief before they even finish the prescribed dosage. However, a common mistake is that they stop taking the medication which results in the incomplete treatment of the disease since not all of the bacteria have been killed. With that in mind, these individuals will surely have bronchitis again after two or three days.
Conclusion
Reading through the article will give you a sense that bronchitis is both a simple and complicated disease. That is because it can be managed in different ways and most patients do not even require hospitalization. Also, in general, acute bronchitis should go away in a few weeks time. The complexity of bronchitis lies in the fact that some sufferers will experience recurrence or chronic bronchitis.
A thing to remember, though, is that bronchitis will often not go away or some sufferers will never experience complete relief from the illness because of lifestyle choices. They may also be living in an area or working in an industry wherein constant exposure to the causative agents is unavoidable. As such, they should always consider using personal protective equipment like masks to keep their airways free from contaminants. Likewise, sufferers should always take the advice and instructions of their doctors seriously. Also read natural remedies for bronchitis.
