Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Acute Bronchitis
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes, the airways that carry air to your lungs. It causes a cough that often brings up mucus. It can also cause shortness of breath, wheezing, a low fever, and chest tightness. There are two main types of bronchitis: acute and chronic.
Most cases of acute bronchitis get better within several days. But your cough can last for several weeks after the infection is gone.
The same viruses that cause colds and the flu often cause acute bronchitis. These viruses spread through the air when people cough, or though physical contact (for example, on unwashed hands). Being exposed to tobacco smoke, air pollution, dusts, vapors, and fumes can also cause acute bronchitis. Less often, bacteria can also cause acute bronchitis.
To diagnose acute bronchitis, your health care provider will ask about your symptoms and listen to your breathing. You may also have other tests.
Treatments include rest, fluids, and aspirin (for adults) or acetaminophen to treat fever. A humidifier or steam can also help. You may need inhaled medicine to open your airways if you are wheezing. Antibiotics won't help if the cause is viral. You may get antibiotics if the cause is bacterial.
It sits within Infections and Lungs and Breathing.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Acute Bronchitis
1,417 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Biomarkers and Respiratory Omics as New CHildren Opportunities - Study of Clinical Outcomes and Predictivity EvaluationMedical University of Warsaw
- Ruxolitinib vs Prednisone as First-line Therapy for cGVHD Needing Systemic TherapyH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
- Donor Lymphocyte Infusion After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for High-Risk Hematologic MalignanciesNational Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Mindfulness Intervention to Reduce Patient Reported Symptoms in Patients With Chronic Graft-Versus-Host DiseaseCity of Hope Medical Center
- A Clinical Study Evaluating the Pharmacokinetic Characteristics and Safety of AHB-137 Injection in Participants With Mild to Moderate Liver Dysfunction and Those With Normal Liver Function.Ausper Biopharma Co., Ltd.
- Yogabased Movements for Primary Headaches (Migraine and/or Cluster Headache) - YOURHEADKarolinska Institutet
Research already completed
- The Effects of Oscillatory Positive Expiratory Pressure (OPEP) Therapy in Patients With COPDMcGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Acute BronchitisAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- BronchitisNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Bronchitis (Acute)American Lung Association
- Chest Cold (Acute Bronchitis) BasicsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Diagnosis and Tests
- Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) TestNational Library of Medicine
- Tests for Lung DiseaseNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Treatments and Therapies
- Bronchitis Symptoms, Diagnosis, and TreatmentAmerican Lung Association
- Preventing and Treating BronchitisCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Acute bronchitis: Is it contagious?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Related Issues
- Humidifiers: Ease Skin, Breathing SymptomsMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: BronchiolitisNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: BronchitisNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Bronchitis. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Acute Bronchitis, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.