Question
First, we need to confirm the diagnosis that it really is chronic bronchitis, and not due to other things, i.e. infection/TB/tumours.
Then we need to find the cause. Sometimes the cause might be obvious, i.e. smoking. Sometimes, the cause is not so obvious and might require further testing by a lung specialist.
Then we try to treat the underlying cause. For example: if it is due to smoking, to quit smoking.
And some patient might require inhaler medications or other oral medications.
Wheezing is a situation whereby a patient’s airways go into spasms, resulting in the patient feeling short of breath and a high pitched “whistling sound” develops, which seems to come from the lungs. My patient usually complains that they feel tight in the chest and can hear a whistling sound and find it hard to speak in full sentences. It can be due to a variety of causes, with the most common causes being asthma attacks and infections of the airways or lungs.
It can be quite common for a cough to persist for a while, after recovering from bronchitis. As for the next steps to take, you may want to check out these 2 similar questions that were previously answered by our colleagues here: How do I get rid of a persistent cough? What could be the cause of a persistent dry cough? What could be the cause of chronic cough at night and in early morning? How can I stop the cough? In most instances, your cough will gradually get better over time, with some of the symptomatic medication that your GPs would have prescribed.
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