5 ways to help prevent bronchitis

Bronchitis causes you to cough, wheeze and maybe feel very tired. It can turn into a debilitating condition that can affect your quality of life, but there are steps you can take that may  prevent its development.

• Bronchitis occurs when you inhale things that don't belong in your lungs—such as tobacco smoke, viruses, bacteria, air pollutants and chemical vapours.
• These fumes make your bronchial tubes swell in rebellion, producing extra mucus in an attempt to isolate unwelcome intruders.

• An occasional viral or bacterial attack—or exposure to lots of smoke or pollution—leads to short-lived bronchitis. But if you have a persistant cough, at least three months out of the year for two consecutive years, you may have chronic bronchitis.
• Below are some key prevention strategies that may help you avoid bronchitis.

• Cigarette, pipe and cigar smoking is responsible for up to 90 percent of cases of chronic bronchitis. This is because smokers' lungs produce more mucus than those of non-smokers. The mucus often coats airway walls in a continuous sheet, providing a place for bacteria and viruses to grow.
• When you quit smoking, however, symptoms of bronchitis will begin to improve almost immediately. For many people, chronic coughing—which is a sign of all that extra mucus production—begins to subside within a month of no smoking.
• Likewise, avoiding second-hand smoke will also greatly reduce the risk of bronchitis.

• Washing five times a day with soap and water will slash your chances of contracting any number of upper respiratory infections, indicated a study conducted by the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego.
• Keep a small tube of hand sanitizer gel (preferably one that contains 60 percent of ethyl alcohol) on you for times when you don't have access to a sink.

• Over-the-counter and prescription drugs known as mucolytics thin the phlegm in your lungs so that it's easier to cough up, allowing you to clear your lungs and breathe more easily. Active ingredients include guaifenesin (available in dozens of brand-name tablets and liquids, including Robitussin) and acetylcysteine (Mucomyst).
• When researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand reviewed studies of 7,335 people with chronic bronchitis, they found that those who took mucolytics reduced their odds of having a bronchitis flare-up by 20 percent.
• Wear a respirator at work if the air is dirty. Poor ventilation, closed-in work areas and heat boost your odds of developing bronchitis. In one Stanford University study of 517 non-smokers, those who were exposed to dirty air on the job were twice as likely to have recurring lung infections or chronic bronchitis. Generally, exposure to dust, fumes, chemical vapours and gasses on the job causes about 15 percent of cases of chronic bronchitis.

• Acute bronchitis and flare-ups of chronic bronchitis are often the result of the flu. An annual flu immunization can cut your risk of bronchitis, as can a pneumonia vaccination.
• If you have chronic bronchitis, you're at higher risk of getting the flu or pneumonia, and also at higher risk of getting sicker or even dying from these respiratory infections.

• Smoke from fireplaces and wood-burning stoves has been linked with higher rates of lung infections and chronic bronchitis. If you use a wood stove for heat, be sure it is well sealed and burns efficiently (generally, stoves manufactured after 1992 are more efficient and release less smoke and fewer fine particles into the air).
• If you burn wood in a fireplace or stove for enjoyment, consider doing so less often to give your lungs a break.
• Have the chimney cleaned and maintained regularly to make sure the fumes are venting properly.