Tracheitis, also known as tracheitis in medical terminology, is a disease of the windpipe (trachea) that can have various causes. Tracheitis is divided into an acute form, called acute tracheitis, and a chronic form. This means that the disease develops slowly and persists for a long period of time, possibly even for a lifetime. Tracheitis occurs more frequently during the winter months.
Cause
Many different causes can be considered as triggers for tracheitis. These include infectious and allergic causes, but chemical irritants can also be considered as triggers for tracheitis. In most cases, acute tracheitis is infectious, which means that it is often the result of an infection with viruses or bacteria.
It is worth noting that a pure inflammation limited to the trachea occurs rather rarely. In most cases, other parts of the respiratory tract are also affected, for example the nose, larynx or even the mucous membrane of the bronchi. Under these circumstances, this is also referred to as a combined inflammation.
Rhinotracheitis is an inflammation that affects both the nose and the trachea, laryngotracheitis affects the larynx and trachea, and tracheobronchitis affects the bronchi and trachea. In 90% of cases, tracheitis is caused by viruses. Possible candidates of the viral infection are the so-called rhinoviruses, which are relatively widespread, but in most cases only lead to a banal rhinitis.
Other potential pathogens are ECHO, Parainfluenza or Coxsackie viruses. One way of transmitting these said viruses is the so-called droplet infection. This means that the pathogens are present in the saliva of a sick person, for example, and can be transmitted to another person via small droplets when sneezing or coughing through the air.
A possible complication of a previous inflammation caused by viruses is that an additional infection with bacteria (bacterial super-infection) can then occur, which can be promoted by the possibly still existing immune deficiency. Overall, however, tracheitis caused by bacteria is much less common. Bacterial tracheitis is often caused by a specific bacterium, for example the so-called Staphylococcus Aureus.
This bacterium is widespread and is also found in humans, for example on the skin or in the respiratory tract. In general, this bacterium does not necessarily lead to illness. However, if the immune system of the person concerned is weakened, for example by a previous viral infection, it can spread and cause illness.
Other bacterial pathogens that cause tracheitis are the so-called streptococci, pneumococci or Haemophilus Influenza. Droplet infection also plays the main role in bacterial infections. In addition to viruses and bacteria, there is another type of infectious tracheitis, which occurs mainly in people with a severely weakened immune system, for example people who have HIV or have a severely weakened immune system due to treatment as part of cancer therapy or organ transplantation.
This is tracheitis caused by fungal infection. However, this is extremely rare. In general, other previous damaging influences can also promote tracheitis caused by viruses and bacteria.
These include things like inhaled irritant gases and vapours, but also smoke or dust under certain circumstances. Chronic tracheitis is mainly caused by the inhalation of irritants of a chemical nature. The permanent irritation caused by long-term tobacco consumption can also lead to chronic tracheitis.
Other causes include narrowing of the trachea (stenoses) or mechanical obstructions, such as those caused by a growing tumor. More rare is the so-called tracheomalacia, a disease in which the stability of the trachea is impaired and causes parts or even the entire trachea to collapse. One way of getting tracheitis is through reflux.Reflux in this case means that the acidic stomach acid reaches high into the esophagus against its actual flow, so-called “gastroesophageal reflux“.
This acid gastric juice can also cause irritation of the trachea and in this context, inflammation can also develop. A risk group for tracheitis is, in addition to the group of elderly people, also the group of newborns and infants. This is due to the fact that babies generally have even weaker immune systems than adults, as their immune systems are still developing. This means that they can become infected more easily and may show a more severe course of the disease.
