What Is Bronchitis?
10. Prognosis
Individuals who have acute bronchitis usually have a good prognosis. In healthy individuals, bronchitis is usually self-limiting and with treatment tends to resolve with time. However, it can cause absenteeism from school and work. In severe cases or in patients with existing comorbidities such as underlying cardiopulmonary disease, there can be significant deterioration.
For individuals with chronic bronchitis, it is extremely important to stop smoking and avoid polluted air. To prevent acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis or repeated episodes of acute bronchitis, patients should try to live in a clean environment, avoid secondhand smoke, stop smoking, receive yearly influenza vaccinations, and obtain the pneumonia vaccine if above the age of 65 years or if suffering from a chronic disease.
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