Duration of bronchitis symptoms
How long the symptoms of bronchitis last depends on whether it is an acute, purulent or chronic form of bronchitis. While the acute form is caused by infection with pathogens (usually viruses, more rarely bacteria), chronic bronchitis is based on a permanent inflammation of the lower respiratory tract as a result of long-term damage to the lung tissue. Since the two forms are caused differently, the duration of symptoms is also different.
An uncomplicated, acute bronchitis usually heals in about two weeks, although the cough can last up to 6 weeks. If there is a bacterial secondary infection (superinfection) to a disease originally caused by viruses, or if complications arise in the course of the disease, it may take longer before the symptoms subside. According to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic bronchitis is defined as “coughing and sputum on most days for at least three months in two consecutive years”. In general, however, additional factors such as the patient’s general state of health, age, eating habits, lifestyle and the presence of concomitant diseases also influence the course and thus the duration of the disease.
Possible consequences and complications
Among the most important complications of bronchitis, besides the secondary colonization by bacteria already mentioned, are the formation of a hypersensitive (“hyperreactive”) bronchial system. This hypersensitivity can persist for several weeks and months and manifests itself in a newly occurring irritant cough to various inhaled stimuli. For example, affected persons suffer from a severe irritable cough when they come into contact with cigarette smoke or exhaust fumes. Further complications, which mostly affect immunocompromised or elderly patients, are the transition of acute bronchitis into a long-lasting, i.e. chronic bronchitis or into pneumonia.
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