Bronchitis vs. Pneumonia: The Difference Between Them

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Paul Boyce, MD on December 18, 2022

• Symptoms of Acute Bronchitis
• When to Call Your Doctor for Bronchitis
• Symptoms of Pneumonia
• When to Call Your Doctor for Pneumonia
• What Causes Bronchitis?
• What Causes Pneumonia?
• Bronchitis Treatments
• Pneumonia Treatments
• More

When a cold or the flu sets in, you probably know how it’s going to unfold. It starts maybe with that scratch in the back of your throat. You start to feel run-down. Next thing you know, you’re parked in front of the television with a box of tissues.

But when it comes to bronchitis and pneumonia, it might be a little harder to know what’s going on and how to tell them apart.

Bronchitis is when your bronchial tubes, which carry air to your lungs, get infected and swollen. There are two kinds:

• Acute bronchitis. This lasts a few weeks and usually goes away on its own.
• Chronic bronchitis. It’s more serious, and you’re more likely to get it if you smoke. In this article, we’re looking at acute bronchitis.

Pneumonia is another infection in your lungs, but instead of the bronchial tubes, you get it in tiny air sacs in your lungs called alveoli. It can be mild, but sometimes serious, especially for the very young, adults 65 or older, and people with weaker immune systems.

Learn more about these two conditions – see how they are alike and how they are different:

You may have various problems with breathing, such as:

• Chest congestion, where your chest feels full or clogged
• Coughing — you may cough up a lot of mucus that’s clear, white, yellow, or green
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing or a whistling sound when you breathe

You may also have some of the typical cold or flu symptoms, such as:

• Body aches
• Chills
• Feeling wiped out
• Low fever
• Runny, stuffy nose
• Sore throat

Even after the other symptoms are gone, the cough can last for a few weeks as your bronchial tubes heal and the swelling goes down.

Call your doctor if your cough:

• Brings up mucus that thickens or darkens in color
• Keeps you awake at night
• Lasts more than 3 weeks

You’ll also want to call your doctor if you have a cough and:

• A foul-tasting fluid in our mouth (this could be reflux)
• Fever over 100.4 F
• Wheezing or shortness of breath

Pneumonia symptoms can be mild or severe based on what causes it, your age, and your overall health. The most common symptoms are:

• Cough (you might bring up yellow, green, or even bloody mucus)
• Fever
• Shaking chills
• Shortness of breath (for some people, this happens only when they climb stairs)

You may also have:

• Chest pain (you might get a stabbing or sharp pain that’s worse when you cough or take a deep breath)
• Confusion (more common for adults 65 and older)
• Run-down feeling
• Headache
• Heavy sweating and clammy, damp skin
• Throwing up or feeling like you might

Call your doctor if you have a cough that won’t go away or you’re coughing up pus. Other symptoms that could spur a call:

• Chest pain
• Fever that stays at 102 F or higher
• Shaking chills
• Shortness of breath as you go about your day
• Trouble breathing
• Unable to keep liquids down

Most often, the same viruses that give you a cold or the flu also cause bronchitis. Sometimes though, bacteria are to blame.

In both cases, as your body fights off the germs, your bronchial tubes swell and produce more mucus. That means you have smaller openings for air to flow, which can make it harder to breathe.

Pneumonia can be caused by:

• Bacteria
• Certain chemicals
• Fungi
• Mycoplasmas, which are like bacteria and give you milder symptoms (sometimes called “walking pneumonia”)
• Viruses (the same ones that cause colds and the flu can also give you pneumonia)

As your body fights off the germs, your lungs’ air sacs swell and may fill with fluid or pus, much like your bronchial tubes swell and fill with mucus when you have bronchitis.

Most of the time, acute bronchitis goes away on its own within a couple of weeks. If it’s bacterial, your doctor may give you antibiotics. If you have asthma, allergies, or you’re wheezing, your doctor may suggest an inhaler.

It’s best to avoid cough medicine unless your cough keeps you awake at night. Bringing up mucus actually helps you because it clears the gunk out of your lungs. Avoid giving cough medicine to children younger than 4 years. For children 4 and older, check with your doctor first.

Here are some things you can do to ease your symptoms:

• Drink a lot of water. Eight to 12 glasses a day help thin out your mucus and makes it easier to cough it up.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Take over-the-counter pain relievers with ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), or aspirin to help with pain, but avoid giving aspirin to children. You can use acetaminophen (Tylenol) to help with pain and fever.
• Use a humidifier or try steam to loosen up the mucus; a hot shower can work well.

If it’s caused by bacteria, you’ll get an antibiotic. If it’s caused by a virus, you may get an antiviral drug. And if it’s really severe, you may need to go to the hospital, though that’s not as common.

To help ease your symptoms, you can do many of the same things as with bronchitis:

• Drink plenty of fluids
• Get as much rest as you can
• Take pain relievers for pain and fever

And again, it’s best to avoid cough medicines. In fact, there’s actually very little proof that they can help with the cough you get from pneumonia.

Pneumonia usually runs its course within a few weeks with treatment, but you may be tired for as long as a month.

Top Picks

Bronchitis vs.

Pneumonia: The Difference Between Them

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Paul Boyce, MD on December 18, 2022

• Symptoms of Acute Bronchitis
• When to Call Your Doctor for Bronchitis
• Symptoms of Pneumonia
• When to Call Your Doctor for Pneumonia
• What Causes Bronchitis?
• What Causes Pneumonia?
• Bronchitis Treatments
• Pneumonia Treatments
• More

When a cold or the flu sets in, you probably know how it’s going to unfold. It starts maybe with that scratch in the back of your throat. You start to feel run-down. Next thing you know, you’re parked in front of the television with a box of tissues.

But when it comes to bronchitis and pneumonia, it might be a little harder to know what’s going on and how to tell them apart.

Bronchitis is when your bronchial tubes, which carry air to your lungs, get infected and swollen. There are two kinds:

• Acute bronchitis. This lasts a few weeks and usually goes away on its own.
• Chronic bronchitis. It’s more serious, and you’re more likely to get it if you smoke. In this article, we’re looking at acute bronchitis.

Pneumonia is another infection in your lungs, but instead of the bronchial tubes, you get it in tiny air sacs in your lungs called alveoli. It can be mild, but sometimes serious, especially for the very young, adults 65 or older, and people with weaker immune systems.

Learn more about these two conditions – see how they are alike and how they are different:

You may have various problems with breathing, such as:

• Chest congestion, where your chest feels full or clogged
• Coughing — you may cough up a lot of mucus that’s clear, white, yellow, or green
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing or a whistling sound when you breathe

You may also have some of the typical cold or flu symptoms, such as:

• Body aches
• Chills
• Feeling wiped out
• Low fever
• Runny, stuffy nose
• Sore throat

Even after the other symptoms are gone, the cough can last for a few weeks as your bronchial tubes heal and the swelling goes down.

Call your doctor if your cough:

• Brings up mucus that thickens or darkens in color
• Keeps you awake at night
• Lasts more than 3 weeks

You’ll also want to call your doctor if you have a cough and:

• A foul-tasting fluid in our mouth (this could be reflux)
• Fever over 100.4 F
• Wheezing or shortness of breath

Pneumonia symptoms can be mild or severe based on what causes it, your age, and your overall health. The most common symptoms are:

• Cough (you might bring up yellow, green, or even bloody mucus)
• Fever
• Shaking chills
• Shortness of breath (for some people, this happens only when they climb stairs)

You may also have:

• Chest pain (you might get a stabbing or sharp pain that’s worse when you cough or take a deep breath)
• Confusion (more common for adults 65 and older)
• Run-down feeling
• Headache
• Heavy sweating and clammy, damp skin
• Throwing up or feeling like you might

Call your doctor if you have a cough that won’t go away or you’re coughing up pus. Other symptoms that could spur a call:

• Chest pain
• Fever that stays at 102 F or higher
• Shaking chills
• Shortness of breath as you go about your day
• Trouble breathing
• Unable to keep liquids down

Most often, the same viruses that give you a cold or the flu also cause bronchitis. Sometimes though, bacteria are to blame.

In both cases, as your body fights off the germs, your bronchial tubes swell and produce more mucus. That means you have smaller openings for air to flow, which can make it harder to breathe.

Pneumonia can be caused by:

• Bacteria
• Certain chemicals
• Fungi
• Mycoplasmas, which are like bacteria and give you milder symptoms (sometimes called “walking pneumonia”)
• Viruses (the same ones that cause colds and the flu can also give you pneumonia)

As your body fights off the germs, your lungs’ air sacs swell and may fill with fluid or pus, much like your bronchial tubes swell and fill with mucus when you have bronchitis.

Most of the time, acute bronchitis goes away on its own within a couple of weeks. If it’s bacterial, your doctor may give you antibiotics. If you have asthma, allergies, or you’re wheezing, your doctor may suggest an inhaler.

It’s best to avoid cough medicine unless your cough keeps you awake at night. Bringing up mucus actually helps you because it clears the gunk out of your lungs. Avoid giving cough medicine to children younger than 4 years. For children 4 and older, check with your doctor first.

Here are some things you can do to ease your symptoms:

• Drink a lot of water. Eight to 12 glasses a day help thin out your mucus and makes it easier to cough it up.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Take over-the-counter pain relievers with ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), or aspirin to help with pain, but avoid giving aspirin to children. You can use acetaminophen (Tylenol) to help with pain and fever.
• Use a humidifier or try steam to loosen up the mucus; a hot shower can work well.

If it’s caused by bacteria, you’ll get an antibiotic. If it’s caused by a virus, you may get an antiviral drug. And if it’s really severe, you may need to go to the hospital, though that’s not as common.

To help ease your symptoms, you can do many of the same things as with bronchitis:

• Drink plenty of fluids
• Get as much rest as you can
• Take pain relievers for pain and fever

And again, it’s best to avoid cough medicines. In fact, there’s actually very little proof that they can help with the cough you get from pneumonia.

Pneumonia usually runs its course within a few weeks with treatment, but you may be tired for as long as a month.

Top Picks

Pain when coughing – the causes of occurrence, in which diseases it occurs, diagnosis and methods of treatment

Fungus

Ulcer

Tracheitis

Pneumonia

Pleurisy

Gastroesophageal reflux

Lung cancer

Pericarditis

Neuralgia

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09 December

Pain when coughing: causes of occurrence, in which diseases it occurs, diagnosis and methods of treatment.

Definition

Cough pain is most often associated with respiratory diseases and is localized in the chest.

The respiratory system consists of the upper respiratory tract (nasal cavity, larynx) and the lower respiratory tract (trachea, bronchi and lungs). The air passing through the respiratory tract is purified, warmed, moistened. At the end of the smallest bronchi (bronchioles) are the alveolar passages and alveolar sacs, in which gas exchange occurs. Respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts and alveolar sacs with alveoli make up the alveolar tree, or respiratory parenchyma of the lung. The listed structures, originating from one terminal bronchiole, form a functional-anatomical unit – the acinus. The alveolar ducts and sacs belonging to one respiratory bronchiole make up the primary lobule (there are about 16 of them in each acinus). The number of acini in both lungs reaches 30,000, and the alveoli – 300-350 million. Slices are made up of acini, segments are made of lobules, lobes are made of segments, and the whole lung is made of lobes.

Each lung is enclosed in a double membrane – two sheets of pleura, between which there is an airtight pleural cavity filled with a very small amount of fluid.

Cough is a protective reaction of the body to any irritation of the respiratory tract. Irritants of cough receptors can be sputum, blood in the respiratory tract, nasal mucus flowing down the back of the throat, various allergens, smoke, dust, foreign bodies, cold air, some drugs, etc.

Varieties of pain when coughing

Pain when coughing can be strong or weak intensity, acute or dull, limited or spilled. Localization of pain depends on the cause of the cough and on the affected organ. It can be felt in the throat, behind the sternum, inside the chest, under the ribs, in the back, abdomen, and radiate to the head. Cough and pain can be both symptoms of the same disease, and independent of each other.

Possible causes of pain when coughing

The following causes of pain when coughing are distinguished:

• overstrain of the respiratory muscles involved in coughing;
• diseases of the respiratory system;
• heart disease;
• injuries and diseases of the bones, muscles and nerves of the chest;
• diseases of the digestive system;
• kidney diseases, etc.

What diseases cause pain when coughing?

In diseases accompanied by a constant painful cough, the intercostal muscles and the diaphragm are overstrained, which is manifested by dull, diffuse muscle pain.

Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the trachea (with tracheitis) causes a dry, loud, hacking, rough cough, which is characterized by burning and pain behind the sternum.

The severity of the pain decreases when a dry cough turns into a wet one. Tracheitis is more often infectious, caused by viruses or bacteria.

In patients, the general state of health worsens, the body temperature rises.

With inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia) there is a deep cough with sputum, there is pain in the chest in the projection of the inflamed area of ​​the lung.

The pain increases with coughing and deep inspiration due to the movement of the pleura, and decreases if the patient lies on the side of the affected lung.

Inflammation of the lungs can be primary, in which case the disease begins acutely – with chills, weakness, fever up to 38-39°C, accompanied by cough and difficulty breathing, more often proceeds as a lobar lesion, that is, the inflammatory process captures the whole lobe with the involvement of a large area of ​​the pleura. And it happens secondary, when inflammation passes from the bronchi to the lung tissue. A focus of bronchopneumonia occurs, but even in this case the pleura may become inflamed, with the only difference being that the size of the lesion is much smaller. Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites.

Pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura) may or may not be infectious. Infectious pleurisy occurs with pneumonia, lung abscess, bronchiectasis (expansion and deformation of the bronchi with the development of chronic purulent inflammation), tuberculosis, abscess under the diaphragm, inflammation of the perirenal adipose tissue, inflammation of the pancreas. Non-infectious pleurisy due to systemic connective tissue diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.), spread of tumor cells to the pleura, decreased pumping function of the heart (for example, with myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism), chest trauma (closed fracture of the ribs ) etc. Pleurisy can be dry, in this case the amount of fluid in the pleural cavity decreases, the inflamed pleura sheets do not slide, but rub against each other when breathing, which provokes a very painful reflex cough, which increases with inspiration. Pleurisy is exudative when, due to the inflammatory process, fluid is secreted and accumulates in the pleural cavity. During the period of fluid accumulation, the clinical picture is similar to dry pleurisy, then the fluid pushes the pleura sheets apart, the pain becomes weaker, but at the same time, due to compression of the lung, shortness of breath occurs.

With gastroesophageal reflux disease , due to the reflux of acidic gastric contents into the esophagus, its mucous membrane becomes inflamed, heartburn, sour belching, pain, burning behind the sternum and a cough that aggravates pain are observed.

The lung tissue does not have pain receptors, therefore in lung cancer pain appears when tumor cells grow into the surrounding tissues – the pleura, trachea, bronchi, etc. In this case, the patient is worried about a painful cough, often with blood. General well-being worsens, weakness, weight loss for no apparent reason worries.

A similar situation occurs if metastases from other organs enter the lungs, this may be with cancer of the breast, stomach, esophagus, rectum, skin (melanoma), kidneys, liver, etc.

Pericarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart), according analogies with pleurisy, it is dry and effusion. It can be caused by heart diseases (myocardial infarction, inflammation of the heart muscle, etc.), various infections, systemic connective tissue diseases, heart injuries, tumors, etc. Dry pericarditis is accompanied by gradually increasing dull, pressing pain behind the sternum, radiating to the neck, left shoulder blade. In this case, there is a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, dry cough, which increases the pain. As fluid accumulates between the sheets of the pericardium, the condition worsens due to compression of the heart.

Intercostal neuralgia occurs when the intercostal nerve is compressed at the level of exit from the spine or along its course. It is manifested by acute, aching pain, aggravated during a deep breath and cough.

Cough increases pressure in the abdominal cavity and pelvic area, therefore, with inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (for example, appendicitis), pelvic organs (for example, inflammation of the ovaries), hernias (white line of the abdomen, umbilical, inguinal) cough can provoke or exacerbate existing pain.

The brain and spinal cord are washed with cerebrospinal fluid, its fluctuations when coughing increase intracranial pressure , headache occurs. This process can be of a natural nature, or it can hide serious diseases: volumetric formations in the cranial cavity, vascular anomalies that prevent the movement of cerebrospinal fluid.

Which doctors to contact?

First of all, you should refer to
general practitioner or general practitioner, and he, if necessary, will refer you for a consultation with a specialist (
gastroenterologist,
neurologist
cardiologist, etc.).

Diagnostics and examinations in case of pain when coughing

To identify the causes of pain when coughing, the doctor collects an anamnesis, conducts a thorough examination of the patient and prescribes additional laboratory and instrumental studies.

• Clinical blood test with expanded leukocyte formula.

ECG without interpretation

ECG is a study based on the recording of biopotentials of the heart. It is used to diagnose the functional activity of the myocardium.

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Gastroscopy

Examination of the mucous membrane of the upper gastrointestinal tract with the possibility of performing a biopsy or endoscopic removal of small pathological . ..

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What should I do if I have pain when coughing?

Cough pain is a reason to see a specialist.

If the pain is of high intensity or is accompanied by a deterioration in well-being, a rise in body temperature, increasing shortness of breath, heart palpitations, hemoptysis, nausea, vomiting and other serious symptoms, seeking medical help should be immediate.

Cough pain treatment

Pain when coughing is only a symptom, therefore, to eliminate it, the underlying disease is treated.

In infectious and inflammatory lesions of the respiratory system, antiviral, antibacterial and other drugs that affect the infectious agent are used. Symptomatic treatment is carried out with anti-inflammatory, sputum-thinning and expectorant drugs, less often – drugs that stop coughing.

If pleurisy or pericarditis has an effusion (accumulation of fluid in a cavity), puncture the lung or heart membrane to remove the fluid and unload the lungs or heart.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is treated with drugs that reduce the acidity of gastric juice and reduce its amount, as well as drugs that speed up the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract.

An attack of intercostal neuralgia is relieved by the use of painkillers in the form of tablets, injections or transdermal patches.

Sources:

1. Clinical guidelines “Community-acquired pneumonia in adults”. Developed by: Russian Respiratory Society, Interregional Association for Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. – 2021.
2. Cough: a guide for general practitioners (family doctors). – 2015.
3. Clinical guidelines “Pneumonia (community-acquired)” (children). Developed by: Union of Pediatricians of Russia, Interregional Association for Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. – 2022.

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section should not be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, only the attending physician should prescribe diagnostic tests. For diagnosis and proper treatment, you should contact your doctor.
For a correct assessment of the results of your analyzes in dynamics, it is preferable to do studies in the same laboratory, since different laboratories may use different research methods and units of measurement to perform the same analyzes.

Chest pain | FBUZ Medical and Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia. Official website

Home / Bulletin / Chest pain

Chest pain is one of the most common complaints presented by patients when they visit a doctor. There are many reasons leading to this problem. We will only talk about the most common of them.

Causes

To make it easier to understand the causes of chest pain, we will divide them into four main groups:

• Diseases of the respiratory system
• Musculoskeletal diseases
• Diseases of the heart and great vessels
• Diseases of the digestive system

See how many different specialists a person with complaints of chest pain should look at in order to identify its cause: a pulmonologist, a cardiologist, a neurologist and a gastroenterologist. Therefore, it would seem to me more reasonable and correct, when this complaint appears, to first turn to a competent therapist, so that he can figure out which organ system is the cause of the pain, and then advise which specialist to contact.

Since I am a pulmonologist, I will try to answer the question:

When do chest pains occur in bronchopulmonary diseases?

Why the lungs “do not hurt”

There are no pain receptors in the lung tissue, so pain in diseases of the bronchopulmonary system occurs only if the sheets covering the lungs – the pleura – are affected. No wonder the pain in these diseases is called “pleural pain”.
Another cause of chest pain in bronchopulmonary diseases can be tracheobronchitis.

Mechanism of “pleural pains”

In a healthy state, during breathing, two layers of the pleura (one covers the lung, the other lines the chest wall from the inside) slide over each other’s surfaces, which allows the lungs to collapse and expand freely and painlessly during breathing. When these sheets become inflamed or growths appear on them, during breathing, they rub against each other due to the resulting “irregularities” (roughness). As a result – pain with deep breathing and coughing.

Causes of “pleural pain”

• The first and most common cause of “pleural pain” is inflammation of the pleura itself and/or the lung covered by it. No wonder some types of pneumonia are called pleuropneumonia., That is, inflammation of the lungs and pleura.
• Tumor diseases of the pleura and lungs can also become the cause of “pleural pain”.
• Pneumothorax (air entering the pleural cavity) can also cause pain.

Features of “pleural pain”

“Pleural pain” is most often unilateral, acute, aggravated by deep inspiration and coughing. The pain is sometimes so severe that it forces the person to take only shallow breaths.
A person takes the so-called “forced position”, that is, he tries not to breathe on the side of the chest where the source of pain is located. To do this, he lies on the affected side or presses it with his hands, thus limiting the mobility of the chest.
Please note that in some cases, when fluid begins to accumulate between the pleura, pushing its leaves apart and preventing them from “rubbing” against each other, chest pain decreases, but shortness of breath appears.

What to do?

First of all, consult a doctor. The doctor can hear the rubbing noise of the pleura, make an x-ray of the chest, ultrasound of the pleural cavity, CT of the chest to assess the damage to the lungs and pleura.

Therapy will be prescribed depending on the cause of the pleural pain.

Tracheobronchitis is another cause of chest pain associated with bronchopulmonary pathology.

Inflammation or swelling of the trachea and large bronchi may cause discomfort behind the sternum, which is aching or raw. They occur mainly when air is inhaled, especially cold air, aggravated by lying down, often accompanied by a strong cough.