Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis and Diagnosis
The main symptom of chronic bronchitis (chronic bronchitis symptoms) is the frequently arising or chronic cough. These symptoms of chronic bronchitis are:
- Ejection, which will be coughed up ever more toughly and more with difficulty. Especially in the early hours bronchitis massive mucus must expectoration. When a bacterial infection of the mucous looks like pus. After the morning people with chronic bronchitis symptoms are free cough and often for hours.
- In advanced chronic bronchitis stages, there is shortness of breath which gradually increased.
In the cold seasons the complaints of chronic bronchitis increase.
The Chronic Bronchitis Process
From chronic bronchitis developed, over time, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which can lead to cause emphysema. The transitions between the individual disease pictures are blurred :
- Chronic bronchitis
The changes of the lung may regress even if the harmful substance is eliminated, so for example smoking. At this stage, cough and expectoration in the foreground. As the bronchi are not chronically constricted, there is no difficulty in breathing exists.
- Chronic obstructive bronchitis
The lung is in the long term damaged, the changes can any longer regress. The bronchi are narrowed. Especially on exertion, patients suffer from shortness of breath and severe heavy coughing attacks.
- Late complications
There is a late complication of lung destruction by emphysema. The shortness of breath becomes the duration of symptoms related to increasing inefficiency associated. The increased blood pressure in the pulmonary vessels, the heart becomes damaged and overloaded (Cor pulmonale, right heart failure). In the lungs and the ankles can store water.
Chronic Bronchitis Diagnosis
For the diagnosis of chronic bronchitis a detailed questioning of the patient is important. Frequent cough with white, tough ejection refer to bronchitis. Also your Rauchgewonheiten should describe you in detail. The quantity of the daily smoked cigarettes and the number of years, which smoke you, are important.
From this chronic bronchitis diagnosis we can calculate the so-exist referred pack years (two years for a pack a day for two pack years). More packing years a person has, the worse the consequences for his body.
In chronic bronchitis, the doctor notes while listening to the lungs rattling true. This is an indication of the excessive mucus quantity. The pulmonary function test reveals whether the chronic bronchitis is already a permanent narrowing (obstruction) of the bronchi (COPD) has caused, or whether other lung diseases such as asthma, are the cause of the complaints.
By an X-ray examination of the lungs may be under the diagnosis of chronic bronchitis, other lung diseases how to exclude lung cancer. In some cases of chronic bronchitis electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood test, performed with the the physician determines among other things the oxygen content of the blood.
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