Contents:
- Medical Video: What Is The Cause Of Pneumonia - Manipal Hospital
- What is the difference between pneumonia and bronchitis?
- Pneumonia
- Bronchitis
- How to distinguish symptoms of pneumonia and bronchitis
- Symptoms of pneumonia
- Symptoms of bronchitis
- How to treat pneumonia and bronchitis
- Pneumonia
- Bronchitis
Medical Video: What Is The Cause Of Pneumonia - Manipal Hospital
Both pneumonia and bronchitis are both diseases that attack the respiratory tract. However, many people often misinterpret and consider the two diseases to be the same. In fact, pneumonia is an infection that attacks the lungs while bronchitis is an infection that attacks the respiratory tract or bronchi. Not only that, there are still many other differences between these two diseases. Here's the full review.
What is the difference between pneumonia and bronchitis?
Pneumonia
Pneumonia, as previously explained, is an infection of the respiratory tract that attacks the lungs. In pneumonia, the alveolus (air sac as a place of exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide) is filled with fluids, causing the lungs to become inflamed. The causes are bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
This condition can be experienced by anyone, but the risk is higher in infants and children as well as people over 65 years of age. In addition, those who experience chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart failure, and people with weakened immune systems are also more susceptible to this disease.
Bronchitis
Bronchitis is a condition in which the bronchial tubes become infected and experience inflammation. The causes are various. Among them are viral infections, bacterial infections, or too often exposed to cigarette smoke or pollution. Bronchitis can be divided into two types:
- Acute bronchitis. This infection is short-term, usually lasting 7-10 days, but coughing will continue for several weeks or several months.
- Chronic bronchitis. Chronic infections last longer and are more severe than acute bronchitis. This condition is more common in people with asthma, emphysema, and active smokers.
How to distinguish symptoms of pneumonia and bronchitis
Basically, both diseases that attack the respiratory tract are both caused by an infection and accompanied by a cough that lasts quite a long time. However, the most obvious difference in both lies in the symptoms caused.
Symptoms of pneumonia
Symptoms of pneumonia can be classified as mild or severe depending on the cause, age, and overall health condition of the body. The most common symptoms are:
- Cough, which can produce phlegm yellow, green, and even bleed
- Hard to breathe
- Fever
- Shivering
- Chest pain, especially when coughing and taking a deep breath
While other symptoms that do not always occur are:
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Excessive sweating
- Limp
Symptoms of bronchitis
If there are problems with your breathing related to bronchitis, the symptoms that appear are as follows:
- The chest feels tight as if it's blocked
- Coughing, which produces clear, white, yellow, green, and mixed with mucus
- Wheezing or breathing sounds soft (like whistling orbro)
- Limp body
In addition, you may also experience symptoms that are similar to the flu, namely:
- Cold hot
- Fever
- Colds and stuffy nose
- Sore throat
Usually in acute bronchitis, although symptoms have disappeared, coughing can last for several weeks because the bronchial tubes are undergoing healing.
Whereas if you are attacked by chronic bronchitis, you will experience a period before the condition of the disease worsens. In this phase, you generally experience symptoms such as acute bronchitis.
How to treat pneumonia and bronchitis
Pneumonia
Treatment of pneumonia depends on where it is caused, some of which are antibiotic, antiviral, or antifungal drugs. If the disease is caused by bacteria, the doctor will prescribe the use of antibiotics according to the dose.
There are a number of things you can do to help reduce symptoms, reported from WebMD.
- Consumption of large amounts of fluids
- Enough rest
- Take medication according to your doctor's advice to reduce fever and pain
- It is recommended not to do too much activity
However, you are advised to check with your doctor if symptoms appear to get worse, like the following:
- The chest feels very painful
- Great shivering
- Often experience shortness of breath while doing daily activities
- Having difficulty breathing
Bronchitis
Over time accompanied by appropriate treatment, bronchitis makes it possible to recover. If the cause is due to bacteria, doctors will usually prescribe antibiotics.
If the cause is due to asthma, allergies, or wheezing in breath sounds, the doctor will recommend more use inhaler. It is best to avoid giving cough medicine to children under 4 years of age, while adults can consult with a doctor first.
There are several ways that can help you reduce symptoms, not much different from pneumonia.
- Drink lots of water. At least 8 glasses a day to help thin the mucus.
- Enough rest.
- Take painkillers such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin. However, don't give aspirin to children, instead give acetaminophen (paracetamol) to help reduce fever and pain.
- Hot baths can help calm the body and reduce mucus production.
If you have tried to do these things, but there has been no change, you can immediately contact a doctor. Especially if there are worse symptoms, such as:
- Mucus thickens to darkness
- Keeps you awake every night (can't sleep)
- Body condition does not improve after 3 weeks
- Wheezing and shortness of breath that occur many times
In essence, although these two types of diseases have little in common, both have fundamental differences. If you experience signs such as pneumonia and bronchitis, but you are confused, you should check with your doctor. Getting the right diagnosis is very important in determining your treatment plan and preventing the disease from getting worse.
