Bronchitis and pneumonia are two respiratory conditions that signs and symptoms are hard to differentiate. The two diseases affect the lungs and share close and common symptoms but they are different disease with different causes and treatment means.

2. Bronchitis vs Pneumonia
Bronchitis and pneumonia are confused very often because they cause incredibly similar
symptoms. A cough that lasts for weeks or even longer are symptoms of both illnesses.
However, there are some crucial differences between these illnesses that you need to know
about. If you have ever been diagnosed with either one or know someone who has, you'll want
to know how they differ. Learning the most important differences between bronchitis and
pneumonia is crucial to help you come up with an effective treatment plan. Bronchitis occurs
when the lining of the passages that carry air to and from your lungs, known as your bronchial
tubes, becomes infected.
Bronchitis
The less serious of the two, bronchitis is caused by inflammation of the bronchi, the branching
tubes that deliver air into the lungs. The most common symptoms of bronchitis include:
●Coughing with clear, yellow or green sputum (the gunk you cough up)
●Fatigue
●Wheezing
●Runny, stuffy nose occurring before chest congestion begins
●Shortness of breath, usually following a coughing jag
●Mild fever
Although yellow or green sputum is often thought to indicate bacterial infection, don't be
fooled."Over 80 to 90% of bronchitis in healthy people is viral, not bacterial, in origin, especially
if the symptoms of bronchitis follow a cold," says Homer Boushey, M.D., a lung specialist and
professor emeritus of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
Viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics. In fact, says Boushey, antibiotics will kill
many of the healthy, protective bacteria in your body. "That leaves you more susceptible to

3. disease-causing bacteria."Acute bronchitis will most often go away on its own within a week to
10 days, though your mucus-y cough will likely persist for several more weeks."It's just a matter
of the body cleaning up the mess," says pulmonologist Len Horovitz, M.D., of Lenox Hill Hospital
in New York. "Most people recover just fine from bronchitis."
Pneumonia Symptoms
Pneumonia isn’t a bad case of bronchitis like many people think. This illness is an infection
located inside one or both of your lungs. If your doctor diagnoses you with pneumonia, he or
she may tell you that you have either bacterial pneumonia, viral pneumonia or mycoplasma
pneumonia. Here’s what those symptoms look like:
●In bacterial pneumonia, patients usually develop a high fever with possible shaking chills. You
may also have moderate or severe chest pain when you cough or draw in a deep breath. The
cough produces thick phlegm that is green, yellow or rust-colored.
●Viral pneumonia’s symptoms are like those of the flu: You’re feverish and headachy. You have
muscle aches and a dry cough. You feel very weak. What makes viral pneumonia different from
the flu is that, within 12 to 36 hours of getting sick, you become short of breath and your cough
is slightly productive. Your temperature may go up and breathing may become even more
difficult – to the point where your lips take on a bluish tinge.
●Mycoplasma pneumonia or walking pneumonia, doesn’t make you very sick. Your symptoms
develop over a few weeks, with headache, fever, fatigue and a cough. You should see your
doctor if your fever is high, if you have shaking chills, your cough won’t let you sleep at night,
you keep bringing up phlegm, wheeze or feel chest pain during coughing or when you pull in a
deep breath.
Although bronchitis and pneumonia both cause coughs and can develop after more
common illnesses such as the common cold or flu, they are slightly different. Only your
healthcare provider can diagnose your illness and determine which treatment is right for you at
the given time. If you have a lingering cough or any of the other symptoms listed above, make

4. an appointment to see your doctor and get some answers to relieve your stress and all
following symptoms.