Bronchitis vs Pneumonia

Bronchitis and Pneumonia are confused very often because they cause incredibly similar symptoms. A cough that lasts for weeks or even longer are symptoms of both illnesses. However, there are some crucial differences between these illnesses that you need to know about. If you have ever been diagnosed with either one or know someone who has, you'll want to know how they differ. Learning the most important differences between bronchitis and pneumonia is crucial to help you come up with an effective treatment plan. Bronchitis occurs when the lining of the passages that carry air to and from your lungs, known as your bronchial tubes, becomes infected.

Bronchitis

The less serious of the two, bronchitis is caused by inflammation of the bronchi, the branching tubes that deliver air into the lungs. The most common symptoms of bronchitis include:

●Coughing with clear, yellow or green sputum (the gunk you cough up)

●Fatigue

●Wheezing

●Runny, stuffy nose occurring before chest congestion begins

●Shortness of breath, usually following a coughing jag

●Mild fever

Although yellow or green sputum is often thought to indicate bacterial infection, don't be fooled."Over 80 to 90% of bronchitis in healthy people is viral, not bacterial, in origin, especially if the symptoms of bronchitis follow a cold," says Homer Boushey, M.D., a lung specialist and professor emeritus of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics. In fact, says Boushey, antibiotics will kill many of the healthy, protective bacteria in your body. "That leaves you more susceptible to disease-causing bacteria."Acute bronchitis will most often go away on its own within a week to 10 days, though your mucus-y cough will likely persist for several more weeks."It's just a matter of the body cleaning up the mess," says pulmonologist Len Horovitz, M.D., of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. "Most people recover just fine from bronchitis."

Pneumonia Symptoms

Pneumonia isn’t a bad case of bronchitis like many people think. This illness is an infection located inside one or both of your lungs. If your doctor diagnoses you with pneumonia, he or she may tell you that you have either bacterial pneumonia, viral pneumonia or mycoplasma pneumonia. Here’s what those symptoms look like:

●In bacterial pneumonia, patients usually develop a high fever with possible shaking chills. You may also have moderate or severe chest pain when you cough or draw in a deep breath. The cough produces thick phlegm that is green, yellow or rust-colored.

●Viral pneumonia’s symptoms are like those of the flu: You’re feverish and headachy. You have muscle aches and a dry cough. You feel very weak. What makes viral pneumonia different from the flu is that, within 12 to 36 hours of getting sick, you become short of breath and your cough is slightly productive. Your temperature may go up and breathing may become even more difficult – to the point where your lips take on a bluish tinge.

●Mycoplasma pneumonia or “walking pneumonia,” doesn’t make you very sick. Your symptoms develop over a few weeks, with headache, fever, fatigue and a cough. You should see your doctor if your fever is high, if you have shaking chills, your cough won’t let you sleep at night, you keep bringing up phlegm, wheeze or feel chest pain during coughing or when you pull in a deep breath.

Although bronchitis and pneumonia both cause coughs and can develop after more common illnesses such as the common cold or flu, they are slightly different. Only your healthcare provider can diagnose your illness and determine which treatment is right for you at the given time. If you have a lingering cough or any of the other symptoms listed above, make an appointment to see your doctor and get some answers to relieve your stress and all following symptoms.