Help please. I may have bronchitis.?

Question

I think I have bronchitis. I woke up on Thursday coughing hard (but they were dry coughs). I have had small grade fevers, my chest is sore feeling and tight and it gets worse as I cough. Yesterday the coughs started producing some septum that is thick and yellowish in color.
Does anyone know if this truly is bronchitis and can I treat it at home? I have no health insurance, so I'd hate to go see a doctor unless it's necessary.

I also have been having chills some and night sweats. I think that the night sweats may be because of fever. I've been light headed and dizzy also. My headaches haven't been too bad, so I have thought much about them.

I have checked for free clinics and there are none in the area.

Answer 1

Acute bronchitis often starts with a dry, annoying cough that is triggered by the inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes. Other symptoms may include:

cough that may bring up thick white, yellow, or greenish mucus
headache
generally feeling ill
chills
fever (usually mild)
shortness of breath
soreness or a feeling of tightness in the chest
wheezing (a whistling or hissing sound with breathing)
Chronic bronchitis is most common in smokers, although people who have repeated episodes of acute bronchitis sometimes develop the chronic condition. Except for chills and fever, a person with chronic bronchitis has a chronic productive cough and most of the symptoms of acute bronchitis, such as shortness of breath and chest tightness, on most days of the month, for months or years.

A person with chronic bronchitis often takes longer than usual to recover from colds and other common respiratory illnesses. Wheezing, shortness of breath, and cough may become a part of daily life. Breathing can become increasingly difficult.

In people with asthma, bouts of bronchitis may come on suddenly and trigger episodes in which they have chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, and difficulty exhaling (breathing out). In a severe episode of asthmatic bronchitis, the airways can become so narrowed and clogged that breathing is very difficult.

What Causes Bronchitis?
Acute bronchitis is usually caused by viruses, and it may occur together with or following a cold or other respiratory infection. Germs such as viruses can be spread from person to person by coughing. They can also be spread if you touch your mouth, nose, or eyes after coming into contact with respiratory fluids from an infected person.

Smoking (even for a brief time) and being around tobacco smoke, chemical fumes, and other air pollutants for long periods of time puts a person at risk for developing chronic bronchitis.

Some people who seem to have repeated bouts of bronchitis — with coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath — may actually have asthma.

What Do Doctors Do?
If a doctor thinks you may have bronchitis, he or she will examine you and listen to your chest with a stethoscope for signs of wheezing and congestion.

In addition to this physical examination, the doctor will ask you about any concerns and symptoms you have, your past health, your family's health, any medications you're taking, any allergies you may have, and other issues (including whether you smoke). This is called the medical history. Your doctor may order a chest X-ray to rule out a condition like pneumonia, and may sometimes order a breathing test (called spirometry) to rule out asthma.

Because acute bronchitis is most often caused by a virus, the doctor may not prescribe an antibiotic (antibiotics only work against bacteria, not viruses).

The doctor will recommend that you drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest, and may suggest using an over-the-counter or prescription cough medicine to relieve your symptoms as you recover.

In some cases, the doctor may prescribe a bronchodilator (pronounced: bron-ko-dy-lay-ter) or other medication typically used to treat asthma. These medications are often given through inhalers or nebulizer machines and help to relax and open the bronchial tubes and clear mucus so it's easier to breathe.

If you have chronic bronchitis, the goal is to reduce your exposure to whatever is irritating your bronchial tubes. For people who smoke, that means quitting!

If you have bronchitis and don't smoke, try to avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.

Smoking and Bronchitis
Tobacco smoke is the cause of more than 80% of all cases of chronic bronchitis. People who smoke also have a much harder time recovering from acute bronchitis and other respiratory infections.

Smoking causes lung damage in many ways. For example, it can cause temporary paralysis of the cilia and over time kills the ciliate airway lining cells completely. Eventually, the airway lining stops clearing smoking-related debris, irritants, and excess mucus from the lungs altogether. When this happens, a smoker's lungs become even more vulnerable to infection. Over time, harmful substances in tobacco smoke permanently damage the airways, increasing the risk for emphysema, cancer, and other serious lung diseases. Smoking also causes the mucus-producing glands to enlarge and make more mucus. Along with the toxic particles and chemicals in smoke, this causes a smoker to have a chronic cough.

Prevention
What's the best way to avoid getting bronchitis? Washing your hands often helps to prevent the spread of many of the germs that cause the condition — especially during cold and flu season.

If you don't smoke, don't ever start smoking — and if you do smoke, try to quit or cut down. Try to avoid being around smokers because even secondhand smoke can make you more susceptible to viral infections and increase congestion in your airway. Also, be sure to get plenty of rest and eat right so that your body can fight off any illnesses that you come in contact with.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

There's no way to diagnose you for certain over the Internet, but your symptoms definitely sound like bronchitis or possibly even pneumonia. If you have any other underlying health problems (like asthma) or if you suddenly start feeling much worse, having chills, having a high fever, etc., you should get yourself to the doctor immediately. If you are otherwise healthy, you should really try to rest and take care of yourself over the weekend, and if by Monday, you are feeling the same or worse, rather than better, you should think about seeing a doctor, insurance or no. If you have a bacterial infection causing bronchitis or pneumonia, you may need antibiotics to get better and only a doctor can tell you that for sure and prescribe you antibiotics.

Answer 4

I once suffered from Chronic Bronchitis. I would suffer sometimes 3 to 4 times per year! Usually when there was a major change in the pressure outside (I live in the north, and the temperature spikes and dips do wonders to chronic sufferers of bronchitis!). Each time I would get horrible hacking coughs, hoarking up green phlegm..it was so frustrating!

The key to getting rid of your bronchitis is to find a way to completely eliminate the germs that are causing all the phlegm and irritation leading to your hoarking cough and heavy breathing. Keep reading to learn how to do kill these germs!!

This page it will change your life and make you feel 100% better within just 24 hours!

Answer 5

hard to say in a particular case. My experience was I once had bronchitis and didn't go to a doctor (years ago when I still needed one). It took me over 3 months to recover. I coughed so hard for those 3 months that I pulled muscles in my chest and people ran from me, I sounded like I had TB at least.. I felt terrible for a long time. Last November I had bronchitis again. I was very ill, had a fever and I coughed all night. I took antibiotics and recovered in 2 weeks. And I am a lot older now.You have to decide how ill you are and how much your time is worth. Good luck.

Answer 6

You might try to find a free clinic in your area. We have them here and Dallas and they are life-savers for people without insurance. It sounds like you might have something bacterial, but even though it is thick and yellowish it could still be viral. In the meantime, get some mucinex to break up the junk so you can cough it all out.

Obviously, if you start getting high fevers, pain, etc. you should take yourself to the nearby ER. If you end up with a serious pneumonia, it is worth the money to get it treated fast.

Answer 7

It should pass on it's own in time. They wouldn't really give you any meds at the doctor for it anyhow. Possibly steroidal inhalers if it's that bad.

Antibiotics are not typcially used to treat such illnesses unless it lasts an extended period of time.

I had it recently and took dayquil during the day and nyquil at night. Those seem to be the most effective meds to make you feel better although not "curing" you. Time will cure you.

You need rest and if it doesn't clear up in a week or so, call a local doctor and sometimes they will discount your visit if you don't have insurance.

Answer 8

if you keep running fever you need to see dr. your body is trying to fight it off.. check for a free clinic or something in your area. good luck