If you come down with bronchitis, you're likely to be uncomfortable for a while, but most cases of bronchitis aren't serious. Since most bronchitis is viral, you can't use antibiotics to help you get better faster, but there are some medications -- and a few home remedies -- that will improve your symptoms while your body heals.
Bronchitis
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the large air tubes that carry the air you breathe into your lungs. When these passages become inflamed -- as they do if you have a viral upper respiratory infection, for instance -- they become narrower and it's harder to move air. Your lungs also produce mucus if you have bronchitis, which can clog the air passages and makes breathing even more difficult. Symptoms of bronchitis include wheezing or shortness of breath, a productive cough and a low-grade fever, explains PubMed Health. You're more likely to get bronchitis if you're a smoker, have a suppressed immune system or have an underlying lung condition such as asthma.
Medication
If you're ill, you may want to turn to antibiotics for treatment. However, most bronchitis is viral in nature, which means antibiotics won't help at all. Although there's no medication you can take to get rid of your bronchitis infection -- your immune system just needs time to clear the infection out on its own -- most bronchitis isn't serious. Even in children, explains pediatrician Dr. William Sears, the majority of bronchitis cases are mild and require nothing other than comfort measures to help clear them up. Especially if the bronchitis patient is a child, you'll want to consult with your doctor before determining that a bronchitis case is nothing to worry about and requires only home treatment.
Comfort Medication
You can get a mild fever with bronchitis, and you may have a headache. You can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to treat these symptoms, notes PubMed Health. Don't use aspirin to treat fever or headache in children with bronchitis. You may also want to take an expectorant cough syrup, explains the University of Maryland Medical Center. This will loosen lung mucus and help you cough it up. Talk to your pediatrician before giving any cough syrup to a child, however. Taking a cough suppressant medicine -- as opposed to an expectorant -- might help you sleep, but it will get in the way of expelling the mucus that's making it harder for you to breathe, so talk to your doctor before using such a syrup. In some instances, bronchitis could result in a secondary bacterial infection, which would require antibiotics. If you start coughing up yellow or green mucus, call your doctor.
Other Comfort Measures
There are some nonpharmaceutical ways to help make you feel better while your body heals. Taking a steamy shower or sitting in a steamy room can help loosen mucus, explains MayoClinic.com. Sears recommends this for children as well, particularly as your pediatrician may not want you giving cough medicine to a young child or baby. Staying away from irritants such as cigarette smoke will help you heal faster and keep you feeling better in the interim. PubMed Health recommends plenty of fluids and rest to help your body recover. You may also want to sleep with your head and chest elevated to help you breathe more easily at night.
