Bronchitis (cont.)Medical Author:
Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEMDr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Medical Editor:
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhDDr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications. In this Article
 How is acute bronchitis diagnosed?Acute bronchitis is usually diagnosed through patient history and physical examination. Patient history? The health care practitioner may ask the following questions about the symptoms:
Physical examination The health care practitioner may examine of the patient's upper airways to look for signs of ear, nose, or throat infection including redness of the tympanic membranes (ear drums), runny nose, and post nasal drip. Redness of the throat or swelling and pus on the tonsils can help distinguish common cold, tonsillitis, and acute bronchitis symptoms. The neck may be palpated or felt to check for swollen lymph nodes. Listening to the lungs may reveal decreased air entry and wheezing. A chest X-ray may be considered by the health care practitioner if there is a concern that a pneumonia or infection of lung tissue is present. Blood tests are usually not helpful; occasionally, cultures of sputum are done if a bacterial pathogen is suspected. Patient CommentsViewers share their comments
Acute Bronchitis - Experience
Question: Please describe your experience with acute bronchitis.
Acute Bronchitis - Risk Factors
Question: Do you have any of the risk factors for acute bronchitis? If so, what are they?
Acute Bronchitis - Home Remedies
Question: What home remedies have you found effective in treating your acute bronchitis?
Bronchitis - Length Symptoms Lasted
Question: How long did the symptoms of your bronchitis last? Was there anything in particular that helped with pain/symptom relief?
Bronchitis - Treatments
Question: What treatment was effective for your bronchitis?
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