Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis

Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis: Introduction

Symptoms of chronic bronchitis include a loose, wet cough productive of heavy mucus during most days of the month, three months of a year, in two successive years without another explanation for the cough. In contrast, acute bronchitis manifests in a similar type of cough, but only for a brief time in conjunction with a cold or upper respiratory infection. Symptoms of chronic bronchitis can also include shortness of breath, especially with exertion, wheezing, and chest tightness. Other symptoms can include change in alertness or mental status, confusion, anxiety, fatigue, dizziness, and pallor or cyanosis (blue tinged coloring of the skin, especially around the mouth in the extremities). These symptoms are related to a lack of adequate amounts of oxygen in the blood. People with chronic bronchitis may also experience frequent respiratory infections, bouts of the flu, and swelling in the feet, ankles and legs.

Using a stethoscope, your healthcare professional may also hear rales and/or wheezing in your lungs as you breathe. Rales are abnormal, wet, "bubbling" sounds made with breathing. Wheezing is an abnormal whistling sound.

Not all listed symptoms are always related to chronic bronchitis. Although a wet, loose, productive cough is typical of chronic bronchitis, it and other symptoms can be related to many other potentially serious conditions, including pneumonia and congestive heart failure. Only a thorough evaluation by a professional health care provider can determine what is causing and how to treat your particular symptoms.

Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Chronic Bronchitis includes the 20 symptoms listed below:

• Persistent cough
• Productive cough
• Cough with sputum
• Persistent winter cough that disappears in summer - an early symptom
• Excessive airway mucus secretion
• Breathlessness
• Breathlessness on exertion
• Cyanosis
• Mild fever
• Mild chest pain
• Episodes of acute bronchitis - see symptoms of acute bronchitis
• Clubbed fingers
• Persistent cough that produces sputum (phlegm) and mucus (Expectorating or Productive cough), for at least three months in two consecutive years
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea)
• Wheezing
• Chest pains
• Fever
• Fatigue or malaise
• Mucus is often green or yellowish green and also may be orange or pink, depending on the pathogen causing the inflammation
• Dyspnea
• more information...»

Research symptoms & diagnosis of Chronic Bronchitis:

• Overview -- Chronic Bronchitis
• Diagnostic Tests for Chronic Bronchitis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Complications -- Chronic Bronchitis
• Doctors & Specialists
• Misdiagnosis and Alternative Diagnoses
• Hidden Causes of Chronic Bronchitis
• Other Causes -- causes of these or similar symptoms

Chronic Bronchitis: Complications

Review medical complications possibly associated with Chronic Bronchitis:

• Acute bronchitis
• Bronchopneumonia (type of Pneumonia)
• Bronchiecstasis
• Cor pulmonale
• more complications...»

Research More About Chronic Bronchitis

Do I have Chronic Bronchitis?

• Chronic Bronchitis: Introduction
• Chronic Bronchitis: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Chronic Bronchitis
• Failure to Diagnose Chronic Bronchitis
• Hidden Causes of Chronic Bronchitis
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Chronic Bronchitis
• More about Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic Bronchitis: Medical Mistakes

• COPD -- Health Mistakes
• Emphysema -- Health Mistakes
• Asthma -- Health Mistakes
• Allergies -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Chronic Bronchitis: Undiagnosed Conditions

Diseases that may be commonly undiagnosed in related medical areas:

• Chronic Respiratory Disorders that may be Undiagnosed:
  • Asthma -- Undiagnosed
  • Allergies -- Undiagnosed
  • COPD -- Undiagnosed
  • Emphysema -- Undiagnosed
  • Chronic Bronchitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Lung Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Sinusitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Cystic Fibrosis -- Undiagnosed
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Chronic Bronchitis:

• Smoking-Related Disorders: Home Testing:
  • Nicotine Home Tests
  • Home Lung Function Tests
  • Asthma-Related Home Testing
• Lung & Respiratory Health Tests:
  • Asthma-Related Home Test Kits
  • Home Lung Function Test Kits
• Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
  • Home Fever Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Test Kits
  • Home Flu Tests
  • Home Strep A Tests
• more home tests...»

Wrongly Diagnosed with Chronic Bronchitis?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Chronic Bronchitis includes:

• Atypical mycobacterial infection
• Emphysema
• Asthma
• Intersitital lung disease
• Acute Bronchitis
• more diagnoses...»

See the full list of 10 alternative diagnoses for Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic Bronchitis: Research Doctors & Specialists

• Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists:
  • Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat)
  • Pediatric Otolaryngology (Child Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist)
  • Otology / Neurotology (Ear/Hearing Specialists)
  • Plastic Surgery within the Head & Neck
• Lung Health Specialists (Pulmonologist):
  • Pulmonology (Lung Health Specialists)
  • Pediatric Pulmonology (Child Lung Health)
• more specialists...»

Research all specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

More about symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis:

More information about symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Chronic Bronchitis
• Underlying causes of Chronic Bronchitis
• Risk factors for Chronic Bronchitis

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Breathlessness - see all causes of Shortness of breath
• Breathlessness on exertion - see all causes of Breathlessness on exertion
• Chest pains - see all causes of Chest pains
• Clubbed fingers - see all causes of Clubbed fingers
• Cough with sputum - see all causes of Wet cough
• Cyanosis - see all causes of Cyanosis
• Dyspnea - see all causes of Breathing difficulties
• Episodes of acute bronchitis
• Excessive airway mucus secretion - see all causes of Respiratory symptoms
• Fever - see all causes of Fever
• Mild chest pain - see all causes of Chest pain
• Mild fever - see all causes of Mild fever
• Persistent cough - see all causes of Persistent cough
• Persistent winter cough that disappears in summer - see all causes of Cough
• Productive cough - see all causes of Productive cough
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea) - see all causes of Shortness of breath
• Wheezing - see all causes of Wheezing

Medical Books Online about Chronic Bronchitis

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Chronic Bronchitis are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Chronic Bronchitis.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The typical patient, a long-term cigarette smoker, has no symptoms until middle age. His ability to exercise or do strenuous work gradually starts to decline and he begins to develop a productive cough. These signs are subtle at first, but become more pronounced as the patient gets older and the disease progresses. Eventually the patient may develop dyspnea on minimal exertion, frequent respiratory infections, intermittent or continuous hypoxemia, and grossly abnormal pulmonary function studies. Advanced COPD may cause severe dyspnea, overwhelming disability, cor pulmonale, severe respiratory failure, and death.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Acute respiratory failure in COPD: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

In patients who have COPD with ARF, increased ventilation-perfusion mismatch and reduced alveolar ventilation decrease PaO₂ (hypoxemia) and increase Paco₂ (hypercapnia). This rise in carbon dioxide (CO₂) lowers the pH. The resulting hypoxemia and acidemia affect all body organs, especially the CNS and the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Specific symptoms vary with the underlying cause of ARF but may include these systems:

❑ Respiratory — Rate may be increased, decreased, or normal depending on the cause; respirations may be shallow, deep, or alternate between the two; and air hunger may occur. Cyanosis may or may not be present, depending on the hemoglobin (Hb) level and arterial oxygenation. Auscultation of the chest may reveal crackles, rhonchi, wheezing, or diminished breath sounds.

❑ CNS — When hypoxemia and hypercapnia occur, the patient may show evidence of restlessness, confusion, loss of concentration, irritability, tremulousness, diminished tendon reflexes, and papilledema; he may slip into a coma.

❑ Cardiovascular — Tachycardia, with increased cardiac output and mildly elevated blood pressure secondary to adrenal release of catecholamine, occurs early in response to low PaO₂. With myocardial hypoxia, arrhythmias may develop. Pulmonary hypertension, secondary to pulmonary capillary vasoconstriction, may cause increased pressures on the right side of the heart, elevated jugular veins, an enlarged liver, and peripheral edema. Stresses on the heart may precipitate cardiac failure.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Whooping cough: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

After an incubation period of about 7 to 10 days, B. pertussis enters the tracheobronchial mucosa, where it produces progressively tenacious mucus. Whooping cough follows a classic 6-week course that includes three stages, each of which lasts about 2 weeks.

First, the catarrhal stage characteristically produces an irritating hacking, nocturnal cough, anorexia, sneezing, listlessness, infected conjunctiva and, occasionally, a low-grade fever. This stage is highly communicable.

After a period of 7 to 14 days, the paroxysmal stage produces spasmodic and recurrent coughing that may expel tenacious mucus. Each cough characteristically ends in a loud, crowing inspiratory whoop; excessive coughing; and choking on mucus, causing vomiting. (Patients with persistent cough should be evaluated for whooping cough, because not every patient will develop paroxysms or the distinctive whooping sound.) Paroxysmal coughing may induce such complications as nosebleed, increased venous pressure, periorbital edema, conjunctival hemorrhage, hemorrhage of the anterior chamber of the eye, detached retina (and blindness), rectal prolapse, inguinal or umbilical hernia, seizures, atelectasis, and pneumonitis. In infants, choking spells may cause apnea, anoxia, and disturbed acid-base balance. During this stage, patients are highly vulnerable to fatal secondary bacterial or viral infections. Suspect such secondary infection (usually otitis media or pneumonia) in any whooping cough patient with a fever during this stage, because whooping cough itself seldom causes fever.

During the convalescent stage, paroxysmal coughing and vomiting gradually subside. However, for months afterward, even a mild upper respiratory tract infection may trigger paroxysmal coughing. (Paroxysmal coughing may not be present in partially immunized individuals.)

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

The typical patient, a long-term cigarette smoker, has no symptoms until middle age, when his ability to exercise or do strenuous work gradually starts to decline and he begins to develop a productive cough. Although subtle at first, these signs become more pronounced as the patient grows older and the disease progresses.

Eventually the patient develops dyspnea on minimal exertion, frequent respiratory tract infections, intermittent or continuous hypoxemia, and grossly abnormal pulmonary function studies. In its advanced form, COPD may cause thoracic deformities, overwhelming disability, cor pulmonale, severe respiratory failure, and death.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Acute respiratory failure in COPD: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

In COPD patients with ARF, increased ventilation-perfusion mismatching and reduced alveolar ventilation decrease Pao₂ (hypoxemia) and increase Paco₂ (hypercapnia). This rise in carbon dioxide tension lowers the pH. The resulting hypoxemia and acidemia affect all body organs, especially the central nervous, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems. Specific symptoms vary with the underlying cause of ARF but can include any of the following: