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Bronchitis is the inflammation of the bronchi. It may

develop suddenly, following a head cold (acute bronchitis), or it

may persist or return regularly for many years, causing

progressive degeneration of the bronchi and lungs (chronic

bronchitis). Certain people are more susceptible than others;

Men are more of a target to bronchitis than women, out numbering

them 10 to 1 ©© the reasons are unclear. Of course smokers are

50 times more likely to get chronic bronchitis than non©smokers.

Acute bronchitis is a bacteria or virus infection, often

following a cold smoking. People who have acute bronchitis

usually have a mild fever, soreness under breast bone, irritated

by coughing. First they have a dry cough then the cough later

brings up green and yellow mucus. The cough may persist to 4 to

6 weeks. Chronic bronchitis is produced by other chronic

problem: sinusitis, smoking, TB, etc. The Bronchi becomes thick,

inelastic, and accumulate mucus and pus in lower part of lungs

instead of bringing discharges up and out. The result is chronic

cough, shortness of breath, sometimes spasm, and frequent

infection.



In acute bronchitis, the basic symptoms are a head cold,

fever and chills, running nose, aching muscles and possibly back

pains. This is soon followed by the obvious persistent cough.

At first the cough is dry and racking and eventually becomes

phlegmy. The persistent cough is worse at night than during the

day, and when the person breathes in smoke and fumes.



The main symptoms most recognized in chronic bronchitis is,

again, a cough, with sputum, often occurring in paroxysms. Other

symptoms...