Bronchitis is a respiratory disorder or infection in the upper respiratory tract which commonly occurs in adults as their airways become inflamed and blocked with sputum.
Bronchitis can be very mild and it can also be very severe.
I am yet to see one that feels comfortable at all with the disease because it really makes one to be restless.
One of the bad things about bronchitis is that it affects pregnant women, adults and children.
It affects everybody.
But the people who are most vulnerable to the disease are the pregnant women and the young people.
I am not trying to make you afraid but to give you a clear picture of the disease and offer advice that will help to avoid any long-lasting problems of bronchitis.
Every woman's body faces many changes during pregnancy.
The oxygen and nutrients she once consumed only for herself, and her well-being, now must be processed for herself and her unborn baby.
Doctors treating a pregnant woman with any sort of respiratory difficulty face a real big problem as the woman's health condition becomes a challenge for her doctors.
The doctors have a series of balancing acts to carry out in treating the pregnant woman and caring for her baby.
Doctors have got to consider the physiological and anatomical modifications that the woman goes through during a pregnancy.
They must strike a balance between the woman's needs and the needs of the fetus.
They must also realize that there is a greater vulnerability to disease for a pregnant woman.
The doctor's management of a pregnant woman with bronchitis is made more complex with the unborn child and that individual's needs not to receive some of the medication designed for the mother only.
If you are, for the first time, a pregnant woman you have to understand that you are preparing for a momentous event.
You are going to be bringing a new life into the world.
This will be the start of your family.
The change from being a wife to being a mother is a big change and all sorts of things need to be prepared.
Prepare your home.
Get rid of all those after effects of smoking.
If you and your partner haven't already quit permanently, then do it now.
The risks to the baby and you are too high to go on.
Get rid of pollution.
If you live near a factory that is bringing out pollutants then move away from it.
If your home is dusty, in a mess and full of cobwebs get a cleaner to clean it for you or start today getting rid of anything that will irritate your lungs and affect the child, both before and after birth.
Go through your bathroom regularly with a germ-killing disinfectant so you can be rest assured that all the surfaces you come into contact with are clean and continue that way.
The version of bronchitis that affects a child at the infant stage of life is called bronchiolitis.
Bronchiolitis occurs in infants when the airways between the chest and the lungs become inflamed.
To understand this is quite simple as the bronchioles of adults are far larger than those of children and so it is easier for a child's to get blocked and trap viruses.
No one living in a home especially the parent can get a good night's sleep if the baby is persistently coughing or is having difficulty breathing.
At first it may seem to be a cold or cough but is it something else.
You may want to check if your baby is suffering from bronchiolitis.
If a child has a cold then it can spread through the tubes of the lungs and develop bronchitis.
Normally the infant will cough.
The infant may be short of breath and as the infant breathes there will be noises to accompany the breathing.
If you discover the signs then get a doctor either to come to you or go to them.
Bronchitis, as earlier stated, is an infection in the upper respiratory tract.
It often comes to light as a dry, hacking, persistent cough that can last for 2 or 3 days and a light fever.
Chest pain and coughing can increase at night.
Bronchitis is a horrible disease.
You cough and bring up sputum and sooner or later it goes.
The shortness of breath and the lack of freedom that go with it are terrible.
So for your child's sake stop smoking now.
If you are smoking when you are reading this then finish your cigarette, cigar or pipe full of tobacco and let that be the last one ever for the sake of your child and their long term health.
If you find that the air quality in and around your home is bad then move away from the cause of the pollution and give your child the opportunity of being free from pollution.
The major problem with bronchitis is the fear that it brings to those around the child.
When someone has known a friend or family member who has suffered with chronic bronchitis for years and has probably suffered the sleepless nights with them, the thought of someone young having bronchitis will cause worry and concern.
A child even a baby can sense that concern and will react to it.
So let's take things gently and boldly forward.
Let's remember that there are now less people smoking.
There is less pollution and there is less necessity for infants and children to suffer from this.
The reason that bronchitis frightens people is those who have had it for years and it doesn't go away as it is an inflammation of the person's lungs.
For the huge majority of children this is not a chronic illness.
They will get over it.
Acute bronchitis needs to be managed and dealt with and must not get the chance to become chronic or develop into pneumonia.
I hope this article has been helpful to you so that you can treat your child at home when necessary and take them to the doctor if the bronchitis is starting to take hold.
Get your child to eat healthily, Wash hands regularly and avoid smoky places.