Acute bronchitis is a short-term lung infection. Airways leading to the lungs become inflamed and make more phlegm than normal. This causes severe coughing.
Viruses are the most common cause of acute bronchitis. Bacteria can also cause it, but this is not as common.
Things that raise the risk are:
Acute bronchitis can cause:
The doctor will ask about your symptoms and past health. A physical exam may be done. Diagnosis is often based on symptoms.
An infection caused by a virus will usually go away on its own within a week. The cough can last for up to a month.
The goal of treatment is to ease symptoms. It includes:
An infection caused by bacteria will also need antibiotics.
The risk of acute bronchitis can be lowered by:
American Lung Association
http://www.lung.org
Family Doctor—American Academy of Family Physicians
https://familydoctor.org
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
http://www.cfpc.ca
The Lung Association
https://www.lung.ca
About antibiotic use and resistance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/community/about/index.html. Accessed February 2, 2021.
Acute bronchitis. American Academy of Family Physicians Family Doctor website. Available at: https://familydoctor.org/condition/acute-bronchitis. . Accessed February 2, 2021.
Acute bronchitis. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/condition/acute-bronchitis. Accessed February 2, 2021.
Smith SM, Fahey T, Smucny J, Becker LA. Antibiotics for acute bronchitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;6:CD000245.
Last reviewed February 2021 by EBSCO Medical Review Board David L. Horn, MD, FACP Last Updated: 2/2/2021