Chronic Bronchitis (cont.)Medical Author:
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. Medical Editor:
George Schiffman, MD, FCCP
George Schiffman, MD, FCCPDr. Schiffman received his B.S. degree with High Honors in biology from Hobart College in 1976. He then moved to Chicago where he studied biochemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. He attended Rush Medical College where he received his M.D. degree in 1982 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of California, Irvine. Medical Editor:
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MDMelissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology. In this Article
What are the causes of chronic bronchitis?There can be many causes of chronic bronchitis, but the main cause is cigarette smoke. Statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that about 49% of smokers develop chronic bronchitis and 24% develop emphysema/COPD. Some researchers suggest that about 90% of cases of chronic bronchitis are directly or indirectly caused by exposure to tobacco smoke. Many other inhaled irritants (for example, smog, industrial pollutants, and solvents) can also result in chronic bronchitis. Viral and bacterial infections that result in acute bronchitis may lead to chronic bronchitis if people have repeated bouts with infectious agents. Also, underlying disease processes (for example, asthma, cystic fibrosis, immunodeficiency, congestive heart failure, familial genetic predisposition to bronchitis, and congenital or acquired dilation of the bronchioles, known as bronchiectasis) may cause chronic bronchitis to develop, but these are infrequent causes compared to cigarette smoking. What are the risk factors for chronic bronchitis?The major risk factor for individuals to develop chronic bronchitis is tobacco smoking and second-hand tobacco smoke exposure. However, there are others, such as repeated exposure to pollutants (especially airborne materials such as ammonia, sulfur dioxide, chlorine, bromine, hydrogen sulfide), dust, repeated bouts of acute bronchitis or pneumonia, and gastric reflux (by inhalation of gastric contents). Patient CommentsViewers share their comments
Chronic Bronchitis - Acute
Question: If you've been diagnosed with acute bronchitis, what were your signs and symptoms?
Chronic Bronchitis - Experience
Question: Please describe your experience with chronic bronchitis.
Chronic Bronchitis - Symptoms
Question: What were the symptoms of your chronic bronchitis?
Chronic Bronchitis - Treatments
Question: What were effective treatments for your chronic bronchitis?
|
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE!


