What is Allergic Bronchitis?

Allergic bronchitis is an illness wherein someone has severe allergies that lead to a bronchial immune system reaction. Doctors can sometimes distinguish it from regular bronchitis by looking for other allergic symptoms in the patient. Allergic bronchitis will usually flare up due to seasonal allergies, so it is often a very short-term condition. In cases in which a person has lingering bronchitis caused by allergies, he will sometimes have to have an allergy test so the doctor can figure out what is causing the problem.

Symptoms of an allergic bronchitis outbreak generally include wheezing and coughing, and sometimes the cough might produce a lot of mucus. Since this condition is caused by an allergy, other air passages in the person’s body may also become inflamed, so he may also suffer from nasal congestion problems and other hay fever symptoms. Allergic bronchitis looks so similar to normal hay fever that sometimes it can be dismissed as such in the early stages. Once someone's lungs become more severely effected, it may be more obvious, however.

There are several ways to treat bronchitis when it stems from an allergy. In many cases, patients will focus on dealing with the cough and congestion. For example, a patient may purchase over-the-counter cough medicines, which can be effective in dealing with symptoms. He might also choose to try antihistamine medications that temporarily weaken the immune system reaction. These kinds of treatments won’t actually cure the problem, so patients may have to continue them periodically while their allergies are active.

There are also situations in which patients decide it is necessary to completely get rid of the allergy. These people may go to a special doctor who will perform tests on their bodies to determine the exact allergy. Once that is determined, they will sometimes be injected with small portions of the allergen in an attempt to help them build an immunity to it. This isn’t always possible because sometimes people have dangerously severe reactions to an allergy.

When someone with allergic bronchitis has a dangerous reaction, he may actually suffocate because his lungs can close completely. When this kind of reaction happens, it can be rather sudden and unpredictable. It doesn’t actually take very long for a person to die when they have allergies with that level of severity, so it is important that these people make preparations, just in case an emergency happens.