What are the Best Acute Bronchitis Treatments?

Ugh! I feel awful. I have a very sore throat that feels like I'm swallowing razor blades, and acute bronchitis. I put my humidifier on last night and it all seems a lot worse this morning. I know it's because everything is loosening up. I put Vicks on my chest. An expectorant cough mixture and rest for me.

I had the flu last week and have been coughing a lot. Would Covonia be any good for me? I tried Benylin (Chesty Cough) but found it to be weak for me. I am now trying Covonia Bronchial Balsam and Covonia (chesty cough). The Bronchial Balsam works better with me for a dry cough. I do feel I need something a tad stronger though. Any suggestions? --Len

@shell4life – Prescription cough syrup can really ease the strain that bronchitis places on your upper body. My doctor prescribed me some with codeine in it, and it did several good things.

It coated my airways and helped reduce the inflammation. I felt soothed a few seconds after swallowing it.

The codeine helped take away some of the chest pain. I had coughed so much that my abdominal muscles were sore, and it gave these a break, as well. It also helped me sleep so that my body could repair itself.

I accidentally inhaled a large amount of dust while cleaning out an old shed, and I developed acute bronchitis because of it. The coughing began right away, and it didn't stop for about a week.

My body was producing phlegm to try and get rid of the dust in my lungs. I had a seemingly endless supply of the stuff, and coughing it up didn't seem to put a dent in the sickness.

I took ibuprofen to ease the inflammation, but it wasn't until I had coughed up phlegm for about four days that it began to subside. I will never clean a filthy room without wearing a mask again.

@simrin – That eucalyptus goop is the best stuff for treating bronchitis, in my opinion. It does the best job of opening up my airways.

My mother used to rub it on my chest when I was sick as a child, and within minutes, I would be breathing a bit easier. It actually seems to penetrate my skin and reach into my airways.

I can also put it in my humidifier. Mine has a special slot for it, and as soon as the water heats up and it starts to steam, the eucalyptus fills the air and helps me breathe.

Even though bronchitis is usually the result of a viral infection, I think it is best to get checked out by a doctor, just in case it might be bacterial. Bacterial infections can worsen and develop into pneumonia if left untreated.

I have gotten absolutely no help from OTC drugs or home treatments when I have had bronchitis in the past. If I go to my doctor, even if she determines that the cause is a virus, she can at least give me some powerful cough medicine to help me deal with it.

Viral bronchitis is horrible. With bacterial bronchitis, at least you can take antibiotics. With viral, you just have to wait, just like the flu. But it's so painful!

I have this immense pressure on my chest as if someone put something really heavy on it. It prevents me from taking deep breaths. The chronic cough is no good, it won't let me sleep at night and my chest muscles are in agonizing pain from it.

I'm taking anti-inflammatory and pain relievers as treatment for my acute bronchitis. It's not really treating my cough though. I've noticed that the only time I feel better is when I put heat on my chest and back. Hot soup and tea helps a lot too, especially ginger tea seems to soothe my cough. Applying some eucalyptus gel on my chest feels better too.

I'm in bed doing these things over and over again. I can't wait to get all better so I can have a good nights sleep again and go back to work.

@anamur-- I don't think smoking could cause bronchitis. Acute bronchitis is an infection of the bronchi in the lungs. So it has to be caused either by a virus or a bacteria. So there are two treatments- anti-inflammatories and pain relievers for a virus and anti-bacterial drugs for bacteria. The article went through this already.

I am sure however that smoking can make the symptoms of acute bronchitis a lot worse. Acute bronchitis already causes difficulty breathing and coughing and so does smoking. If you put them together, it's going to be even worse. It might extend healing time too.

I absolutely agree that anyone dealing with acute bronchitis shouldn't even thing about smoking.

My dad is down with acute bronchitis right now. It's a bacterial infection, so he's on antibiotics as well as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. He has been feeling a lot better since he started taking these. He was having a lot of trouble breathing.

He is a smoker and of course, he can't smoke until he gets all better. I think this will give his lungs a nice break too. I wish he would quit altogether, but he won't.

Is it possible for acute bronchitis to be caused by smoking? If it can, could quitting smoking be the best definite treatment of acute bronchitis?