Doctors tell bronchitis from pneumonia by combining a patient's symptoms (more severe/body-wide for pneumonia), physical exam (listening to lungs), and definitive tests like a chest X-ray, which shows fluid/infiltrates in pneumonia but typically appears normal in bronchitis, confirming the location of infection (airways vs. lung tissue) and guiding treatment. Sputum/blood tests can also help identify the germ.
Get immediate medical care if you develop new or worsening fever, trouble breathing, shortness of breath, or chest pain. These are signs that your bronchitis is getting worse or that you've developed pneumonia.
Bronchitis symptoms include cough with mucus and mild fever, while pneumonia causes chest pain, chills, and difficulty breathing. Pneumonia may require antibiotics and medical care, especially in vulnerable populations.
A chest X-ray can help determine if you have pneumonia or another condition that may explain your cough. This is especially important if you smoke or have ever smoked. Sputum tests. Sputum is the mucus that you cough up from your lungs.
When diagnosing walking pneumonia, pediatricians will listen to a child's breathing for a crackling sound. Sometimes it is difficult to tell from an exam if the pneumonia is due to mycoplasma or a different organism and your doctor may need to change the antibiotic.
Early signs of pneumonia often mimic the flu or a bad cold but worsen, including fever, cough (which might bring up phlegm), fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain that worsens with breathing or coughing; other common symptoms are chills, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhea, with confusion possible in older adults, while infants show fussiness, trouble feeding, and pale skin.
This form of pneumonia is usually mild and feels like a chest cold, but it can get worse. The symptoms of cough, headache, and a low fever start slowly. The infection is usually so mild that your child may walk around with it without knowing they have it. Most children don't get sick enough to be in the hospital.
Blood tests to confirm the infection and to try to identify the germ that is causing your illness. Chest X-ray to look for the location and extent of inflammation in your lungs. Pulse oximetry to measure the oxygen level in your blood. Pneumonia can prevent your lungs from moving enough oxygen into your bloodstream.
Stage 1 congestion. In the first 24 hours of infection, only some bacteria and white blood cells to fight infection are present. The lungs may have increased blood flow and swelling to the airways. Early symptoms are coughing and fatigue.
You should expect that: your temperature begins to settle within 48 hours of starting antibiotics. your temperature should be gone within a week. your chest should feel better and you should be producing less phlegm within 4 weeks.
Wheezing is also a symptom of asthma, pneumonia, heart failure and more. It could go away on its own, or it could be a sign of a serious condition.
Typically speaking, pneumonia can last longer than bronchitis, varying between a few weeks to even a few months while bronchitis typically lasts a few days to a few weeks.
The symptoms of pneumonia can develop suddenly (over 24 to 48 hours) or may come on more slowly, over several days. Pneumonia symptoms vary and can be similar to those of other chest infections, such as acute bronchitis.
Acute bronchitis can last for 10 to 14 days, depending on the severity of your infection. Once in hospital, you will be examined and assessed by a doctor. A combination of supplemental oxygen, nebulizers and medication may be used to treat the worst of your symptoms.
Because the condition affects your oxygen supply, it can severely compromise the organs and tissues in your body. Unlike bronchitis, pneumonia can be contagious, according to the Cleveland Clinic. You are considered contagious until your fever has subsided and you have taken antibiotics for at least two days.
Signs and symptoms of pneumonia may include:
Viruses that infect the respiratory tract may cause pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is often mild and goes away on its own within a few weeks. But sometimes it is serious enough that you need to get treatment in a hospital. If you have viral pneumonia, you are at risk of also getting bacterial pneumonia.
Pneumonia (the lung infection) is not contagious, but the bacteria and viruses that cause it can be spread from person to person. For example, the flu is contagious and can lead to pneumonia in some cases. Also, Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia, is contagious.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between the symptoms of a cold, the flu and pneumonia, and only a healthcare provider can diagnose you. As pneumonia can be life-threatening, it's important to seek medical attention for serious symptoms that could be signs of pneumonia, such as: Congestion or chest pain.
Diagnosing pneumonia
Your GP may be able to diagnose pneumonia by asking about your symptoms and examining your chest. Further tests may be needed in some cases. Pneumonia can be difficult to diagnose because it has similar symptoms to other conditions. For example the common cold, bronchitis and asthma.
Signs and symptoms of pneumonia
Many of the symptoms of RSV — like fever, chills, rapid breathing and decreased appetite — also show up with pneumonia. These can come on slowly or happen overnight. But other symptoms tend to be much more common with pneumonia than RSV, including: Coughing up yellow, green or bloody mucus.
Antibiotics for pneumonia include Zithromax (azithromycin), clarithromycin, and Erythrocin (erythromycin). Azithromycin is often the first-line treatment since it is effective against many different microbes that can cause pneumonia. Antibiotics treat pneumonia caused by bacteria and some types caused by fungi.