Chronic bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is a clinical disorder characterised by productive cough due to excessive mucus secretion in the bronchial tree not caused by local broncho-pulmonary disease, on most of the days for at least 3 months of the year for at least two consecutive years. Chronic simple bronchitis is characterized by mucoid sputum production, chronic mucopurulent bronchitis by persistent or recurrent purulent sputum production in absence of bronchiectasis and chronic asthmatic bronchitis in patients who experience severe dyspnoea and wheezing during acute respiratory infections or following inhaled irritants.
Causes:
1. Infection -- (a) Result of acute bronchitis. (b) Infective focus in upper respiratory tract, the nasal sinuses or tonsils. (c)Infective focus in lungs, e.g. bronchiectasis, fibrosis, or tuberculosis.
2. Smoking -- particularly of cigarettes.
3. Air pollution -- due to industrial fumes and dust.
4. General illness -- which favour infections, e.g. obesity, alcoholism, and chronic renal disease.
Symptoms:
1. Cough -- constant or paroxysmal, worse in winter or on exposure to cold winds or sudden change of temperature.
2. Expectoration -- Variable, may be little, thin and mucoid or thick or frothy, mucoid and sticky. May become mucopurulent during attacks of acute bronchitis in winter.
3. Dyspnoea -- In advanced cases, breathing becomes quick and wheezing present even at rest.
4. Fever -- Absent except in acute exacerbation.
5. Haemoptysis -- Usually in the from of streaks of blood.

The modern medicine in treatment against this disease is directed towards antibacterial, diminishing sputum and cough, dilatation of respiratory airways and so on during acute stage. While during the delayed period, they use the vaccination therapy. Clinically, in traditional Chinese medical studies, this disease belongs to the category of ke sou (cough) and tan yin (excessive of sputum). Our motherland medicine considers that lungs manage the ventilation of gases and respiratory system; if the lungs are exposed to diseases, they will result in stoppage of ventilation of gases and it shall yield cough. The spleen is responsible for the homeostasis of fluid, absorption of nutrients, increased of metabolism; if the spleen is not functioning properly, the lungs will loss nourishment, so dampness will be accumulated in the lungs, causing the imbalance of gases and resulted in whitish and sticky sputum. If coldness of the lungs gradually turns to heat or the lungs structures are affected directly be heat, it will cause fever, trembling, greenish-yellowish sticky sputum; all these symptoms belong to the heat signs . If the gases in the lungs move abnormally and cannot descend to the normal condition, it will then cause dyspnea in lying position.