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Signs
and Symptoms
A
cough that brings up yellowish-gray or green mucus (sputum) is one
of the main symptoms of bronchitis. Mucus itself isn't abnormal -
your airways produce at least an ounce of normal secretions every
day. But these secretions don't accumulate because they're
continuously cleared into your throat and swallowed with your
saliva. When your bronchial tubes are inflamed, however, they
often produce large amounts of discolored mucus that comes up when
you cough. Mucus that isn't white or clear usually means there's a
secondary infection.
Still, these symptoms can be deceptive. You don't always produce
sputum when you have bronchitis, and children often swallow
coughed-up material, so parents may not know it's infected.
Other signs and symptoms
of bronchitis may include:
-
Soreness
and a feeling of constriction or burning in your chest.
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Breathlessness.
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Wheezing.
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Chills.
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Overall
malaise and slight fever.
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Sometimes
chronic sinusitis - an ongoing infection in the lining of one
or more of the cavities in the bone around your nose - can
mimic bronchitis. It also produces discolored mucus when you
cough.
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To
diagnose bronchitis, your doctor will likely listen to your
chest with a stethoscope. You may also be asked to have a
chest X-ray.
In some cases your doctor may recommend additional tests to
rule out other causes for your symptoms. One of these will
likely be a pulmonary function test (PTF) to check for signs
of asthma or emphysema.
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Self
Care
These
suggestions can help make you more comfortable, speed recovery and
prevent complications of acute bronchitis:
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Get
plenty of rest.
-
Drink
lots of fluids.
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Use
a humidifier in your room. Warm, moist air helps relieve
coughs and loosens mucus in your airways. But be sure to clean
the humidifier according to the manufacturer's recommendations
to avoid the growth of bacteria and fungi.
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Take
a nonprescription cough medicine. It's best not to suppress a
cough that brings up mucus, however, because coughing helps
remove irritants from your lungs and air passages. If your
cough is keeping you awake at night, use just enough cough
medicine so that you can rest, but not enough to suppress your
cough completely.
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Avoid
irritants to your airways, such as tobacco smoke.
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Wear
a mask when the air is polluted, or if you're exposed to
irritants at work.
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Bronchitis
& Homeopathy
Bronchitis
is an inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes. These
tubes, the bronchi, connect the windpipe with the lungs. When the
bronchi are inflamed and/or infected, less air is able to flow to
and from the lungs and a heavy mucus or phlegm is coughed up.
Homeopathic remedies help relieve discomfort caused by coughing
and help the body overcome infection. The different symptoms and
qualities of cough, respiration, expectoration, as well as the
general symptoms of the patient are carefully checked . In Acute
bronchitis - Specific remedies to be taken every 2 hours for up to
2 days
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Dry,
stabbing, painful cough, headache, chest pain relieved by
supporting elbows on back of chair, great thirst Bryonia 30c
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Tight,
dry, tickling cough, person pale, anxious, eager for
reassurance, wants frequent drinks of iced water Phosphorous
30c
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Bronchitis
comes on suddenly, dry, staccato cough, fever, symptoms
aggravated by cold dry air, person chilly, restless, and
anxious Aconite 30c
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Bronchitis
in an infant or elderly person, accumulated phlegm causes
rattling sound in chest, sufferer too weak to cough it up
Antimonium tart. 30c
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Sudden
onset, high temperature, pounding headache, flushed face,
delirium, symptoms worse at night and when lying down
Belladonna 30c
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Nausea,
vomiting, suffocating feeling in chest Ipecac. 30c
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Stringy
phlegm, difficulty coughing it up, person feels worse between
4 and 5 am Kali bichrom. 30c
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Gasping
for air, skin cold and clammy, desire to be fanned, especially
if sufferer is elderly Carbo veg. 30c
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Coughing
causes involuntary passing of urine Causticum 30c
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Choking
cough made worse by uncovering any part of body, person chilly
and irritable Hepar sulph.30c
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Symptoms
get worse lying down or in stuffy rooms, cough is dry at night
but loose in morning, lack of thirst Pulsatilla 30c
If
person has been coughing up phlegm most days of the week for at
least 3 months, and if this has happened for 2 years running, he
or she almost certainly has chronic bronchitis and should see
Doctor.
How many of us have
sat at our child’s bedside feeling helpless as the child suffers
with repeated Bronchitis complaints. Not knowing if anything is
seriously wrong and wanting to seek some sort of relief for our
child, we may take her to see a medical doctor. Chances are likely
that he/she will be given an antibiotic, cough suppressant, a
decongestant or maybe you will be told everything is fine and
advised to just give her a dose to ‘keep the fever down’. You do
as advised, your child recovers only to relapse again shortly
after. Now what? Another round of antibiotics? More drugs?
Conventional drugs used for treating Bronchitis, particularly
steroids, can impair immune function and lead to more serious
health problems
People with Bronchitis, however, know the side effects of
bronchodilator use. Parents of children with Bronchitis often
claim that their children exhibit hyperactivity and decreased
attention span. The fact is that the medical profession, by its
own admission, is facing a crisis in the management of Bronchitis.
While mainstream medicine continues to try out new pharmaceutical
agents, perhaps with new unpredictable side effects.
Times have changed. Parents no longer hesitate to refuse what they
consider to be potentially harmful drugs and often search for less
toxic and more gentle alternatives.The search for a quick fix is
being replaced, in many cases, by a desire for a deeply effective,
long-lasting, holistic approach. This is where homeopathic
medicine comes in. Safe even for newborns.
Raman and Mohini of Delhi, India, are two such parents. Instead of
rushing their 5 years old son Rahul to the pediatrician ,suffering
from Bronchitis, they visited my clinic. He had been admitted
twice to Hospitals. His attacks were usually accompanied by high
fever. There was also a feeling of drowsiness, cough with laboured
respiration . I prescribed him the doses of homeopathic medicines
.His attacks improved in 18 hours and the child was normal in one
week.
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