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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can Chronic Bronchitis Be Treated?

I have been sick for months now, after 3 weeks of coughing I went in to the doctor. Diagnosed with bronchitis and given inhaler and agumenten. Symptoms got worse and went back in, did a chest x ray which came back clean as well as CBC. Breath sounds concluded pneoumina and pretenzone and doxycycine where give. After these treatments I still felt the same, wet, chesty cough, runny nose, lots of mucus,ear pain, sinus pain, neck pain and headache especailly when coughing. My primary care physican gave me a dry powder inhaler and another round of antibiotics. None of this worked, I went back in and had another x ray which was clean, a test for whooping cough which was negative and Pulmonary function test which was normla.
Mon, 27 Aug 2018
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hi.

First and foremost, if you are a smoker, you need to stop smoking. Otherwise none of the treatment will work.Consult a pulmonary medicine specialist. Don’t be surprised if your doctor simply recommend rest and lots of fluids. A bout of acute bronchitis will often fade away on its own. Letting your body rest and drinking plenty of fluids may help it disappear more quickly.

Other treatments may include:

1. A cough suppressant (but only if you’re not bringing up mucus anymore; if you are, it means you’re still clearing your airways and your doctor likely won’t advise you to take one)
2. Pain reliever
3. Sleeping near a humidifier or sitting in a steamy bathroom.
4. Bronchodilators (inhaled medicines that help open your airways)

Antibiotics are powerful medicines that treat bacterial infections. But acute bronchitis is usually caused by a viral infection. Antibiotics don’t help with a virus. If your doctor thinks the cause is bacteria, you might get a prescription for antibiotics. If so, be sure to take the full prescription of antibiotics. Even if you feel better, the infection could still be in your system. You want to make sure you kill all the bacteria on the first try. A bout of acute bronchitis can make breathing even tougher if you have other respiratory problems.

Allergies, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) all can narrow your airways. If you have one of these conditions along with bronchitis, you will probably need an inhaler and other treatments. Be sure to tell your doctor all the medicines you are already taking to make sure no drugs will interact with each other.

At-Home Care: Even with treatment, your cough may last for a few more weeks. It should become milder and drier as the days go by. You may also feel tired for a while longer. Plan to get rest. Don’t expect to have a lot of energy right away.

If your cough doesn’t improve and you continue to feel sick, see your doctor again. It could be a bacterial infection after all. Or you might have other breathing problems that are keeping you from getting over your acute bronchitis.

Hope I have answered your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
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How Can Chronic Bronchitis Be Treated?

Hi. First and foremost, if you are a smoker, you need to stop smoking. Otherwise none of the treatment will work.Consult a pulmonary medicine specialist. Don’t be surprised if your doctor simply recommend rest and lots of fluids. A bout of acute bronchitis will often fade away on its own. Letting your body rest and drinking plenty of fluids may help it disappear more quickly. Other treatments may include: 1. A cough suppressant (but only if you’re not bringing up mucus anymore; if you are, it means you’re still clearing your airways and your doctor likely won’t advise you to take one) 2. Pain reliever 3. Sleeping near a humidifier or sitting in a steamy bathroom. 4. Bronchodilators (inhaled medicines that help open your airways) Antibiotics are powerful medicines that treat bacterial infections. But acute bronchitis is usually caused by a viral infection. Antibiotics don’t help with a virus. If your doctor thinks the cause is bacteria, you might get a prescription for antibiotics. If so, be sure to take the full prescription of antibiotics. Even if you feel better, the infection could still be in your system. You want to make sure you kill all the bacteria on the first try. A bout of acute bronchitis can make breathing even tougher if you have other respiratory problems. Allergies, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) all can narrow your airways. If you have one of these conditions along with bronchitis, you will probably need an inhaler and other treatments. Be sure to tell your doctor all the medicines you are already taking to make sure no drugs will interact with each other. At-Home Care: Even with treatment, your cough may last for a few more weeks. It should become milder and drier as the days go by. You may also feel tired for a while longer. Plan to get rest. Don’t expect to have a lot of energy right away. If your cough doesn’t improve and you continue to feel sick, see your doctor again. It could be a bacterial infection after all. Or you might have other breathing problems that are keeping you from getting over your acute bronchitis. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.