Inflammatory processes in the respiratory organs cause a lot of discomfort and are mainly accompanied by characteristic symptoms: fever, severe cough. If there are no such signs, you should not hope for a mild course of the disease. Most often, bronchitis without cough is observed in the chronic form. Without the help of a specialist, it will be difficult to cope with such a disease. In addition, self-medication almost always leads to a deterioration in the condition. Let's take a closer look at whether there can be bronchitis without coughing, what are the methods of treating this disease.
Bronchitis - what kind of disease?
Pathologies of the upper respiratory tract are very common among the population of various age categories. One of the most common diseases is bronchitis. This disease is associated with inflammation of the bronchi - the tubes that connect the respiratory parenchyma of the lungs and trachea. They serve as part of the airways.
Bronchitis manifests itself in acute and chronic forms. The second type often occurs against the background of improper treatment or the complete absence of therapeutic manipulations. dependingthe form of the disease differs in both the symptoms and the method of treatment. Recently, doctors are faced with the absence of symptoms characteristic of the disease. Can there be bronchitis without coughing and other signs of pathology? Experts answer this question in the affirmative and recommend seeking medical help as soon as possible.
Causes for the development of pathology
Viral and bacterial agents are the main culprits of this disease. Bronchitis often develops against the background of a cold, with constant contact with allergens or toxic substances. Dust is another factor that can trigger the development of an inflammatory process in the upper respiratory tract. Causes that increase the risk of any form of bronchitis include:
- genetic predisposition;
- decreased immunity;
- smoking;
- adverse climatic conditions;
- poor environmental situation.
How does bronchitis manifest?
The main symptom that distinguishes inflammation of the bronchi from other ailments is coughing and thick sputum. The mucous secret performs a protective function - it is responsible for local immunity and purifies the air that enters the bronchi when inhaled. An increased amount of sputum begins to be produced during the inflammatory process, due to which the lumen in the bronchi narrows. The patient's increased breathing provokes a cough.
Bronchitis can also be accompanied by fever, fever, weakness. Rising at nightsweating in the neck, back and head. Coughing fits also increase at this time.
Can there be bronchitis without a cough?
Cough is a reflex of the body that is triggered when foreign particles enter the respiratory tract. Thanks to this reaction, the bronchi are cleared and can function normally. However, this characteristic symptom is not always present from the first days of the disease.
Often, patients who have bronchitis without coughing turn to doctors. Symptoms may be limited to hard breathing, nasal congestion, general weakness. With this course, the pathology is often confused with acute respiratory disease. The absence of coughing and separation of mucous secretion requires mandatory medical treatment, which can only be selected by a doctor.
When is there no cough?
Coughing up sputum and adequate drug therapy can quickly get rid of the disease. If bronchitis is observed without coughing, it is necessary to first correctly establish the diagnosis. This situation occurs in both children and adults. The main symptom of bronchitis may be absent in the following cases:
- The initial stage of the disease - the first few days the patient is unaware of the development of the inflammatory process in the bronchi. The pathological condition is more like a cold or SARS. The first bouts of coughing sometimes begin only after 5-7 days.
- Chronic form of bronchitis - the cough reflex may be absent completely, or it may appear only in the morning or after heavy physical exertion. Definepathology can be hard breathing and shortness of breath. Bronchitis without cough and fever sometimes indicates the presence of a chronic form of the disease.
- Bronchiolitis - when infectious pathogens enter the bronchioles, there is also no cough. Bronchioles are the smallest sections of the bronchi, in which there are no receptors responsible for the cough reflex.
How does bronchitis progress in children?
Children are the most vulnerable part of patients to viral and infectious diseases. An imperfect immune system is the main reason for this. As a complication after influenza, acute respiratory illness often develops bronchitis. Without a cough in a child, the inflammatory process in the bronchi is usually observed only in the first days.
Treatment tactics completely depend on the diagnosis made by the doctor. In children, the pathology most often occurs in an acute form, which is characterized by symptoms such as a strong cough (mostly dry), fever. Similar signs have an obstructive type of disease, in which wheezing, whistles and noise in the bronchi also occur. Temperature increased slightly (37-37.5° C).
Acute bronchiolitis is a type of bronchitis in which the child develops respiratory failure and shortness of breath, and the frequency of breaths increases. Recurrent bronchitis occurs in the same way as the acute form of the disease. Chronic pathology is not always accompanied by a cough reflex from the first days. The number of relapses depends on the state of the child's immune system.
What threatens the absence of a coughwith bronchitis?
When inflammation of the bronchi, coughing is a "useful" symptom, the presence of which indicates that the body is trying to get rid of excess sputum with pathogens. There is bronchitis without coughing, when only whistles and wheezing are heard on exhalation. This situation suggests that a lot of mucus has accumulated in the bronchi, which should be removed as soon as possible. If the necessary measures are not taken, serious complications may develop:
- pneumonia;
- respiratory failure;
- bronchopneumonia;
- obstructive bronchitis;
- acute bronchiolitis.
Infection located in the bronchi can penetrate deep into the respiratory system, complicating the course of the disease. This development of the situation is especially dangerous for young children and infants.
What to do if you don't have a cough?
Special attention is paid to patients who have bronchitis without coughing and fever for more than three days and there is shortness of breath, wheezing and wheezing when listening.
It is important to start therapy as early as possible to prevent the development of complications in the form of pneumonia, chronic bronchitis. For a more accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to do laboratory tests of blood serum and take a sputum culture for flora.
Coughless Bronchitis: Treatment
Treatment should begin with medications that have a mucolytic effect. Such drugs contribute to the liquefaction of a viscous hard-to-separate secretion, stimulatecough reflex. Antibacterial and antiviral agents are used depending on the type of causative agent of bronchitis.
Antipyretic drugs are used if the temperature has risen to 38.5°C. Children are allowed to give medicines based on paracetamol and ibuprofen in the form of a syrup.
The conditions in which the patient is located influence the process of recovery. If, during inflammation of the bronchi, sputum is poorly coughed up or there is no cough at all, it is necessary to increase the humidity in the room. To do this, it is better to use special humidifiers. Such a device should definitely be in a house where there is a small child.
Special attention should be paid to nutrition. Regardless of the form of the disease, you should adhere to proper nutrition, exclude harmful foods (fatty, smoked, s alty). The menu should be more dairy and plant based.
Cough Stimulators
Whether a child or an adult develops bronchitis without cough or fever, a doctor should be consulted. Only a specialist can choose the appropriate drug treatment depending on the characteristics of the course of the disease.
Mucolytics are used to expel and thin sputum. They may be of vegetable or synthetic origin. The following drugs have an expectorant and mucolytic effect:
- Ambroxol.
- Broncholithin.
- Gerbion.
- Ambrobene.
- Bromhexine.
- "Lazolvan".
- "ACC".
- Muk altin.
- Stoptussin.
Erespal has a bronchodilatory effect, produced in the form of tablets for adults and syrup for children. It is prescribed more often for respiratory failure. In addition to drug exposure, breathing exercises, massage, physiotherapy exercises and inhalation therapy will bring benefits. The latter method allows you to act directly on the focus of the disease, avoiding the passage of drugs through the gastrointestinal tract.
Inhalations
Significant relief can bring inhalation with various medicinal herbs or drugs. The therapeutic effect is due to the action of drugs on the bronchial mucosa. Preparations for inhalation can eliminate the inflammatory process, have an antiseptic and bronchodilator effect.
Cough-free bronchitis accompanied by obstructive syndrome can be completely cured with daily inhalations. Depending on the type of inflammatory process in the bronchi, a certain type of procedure is selected. Inhalations are heat-moist, steam, oil and wet. In the treatment of obstructive, recurrent, chronic bronchitis, inhalation is recommended using a nebulizer.
