A 37-year-old member asked:
how do doctors know if you have viral or bacterial bronchitis?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Sue Ferrantianswered
Internal Medicine 29 years experience
Severity of sxs : Both viral and bacterial bronchitis have similar symptoms but bacterial bronchitis usually has a higher fever, more congestion, etc but there is considerable overlap. Sometimes a sputum culture can be helpful in indentifying which bacteria are present. If there is only a low grade fever, it is usually viral.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Similar questions
A 34-year-old member asked:
How can doctors tell if you have viral or bacterial bronchitis?
2 doctor answers • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Sue Ferrantianswered
Internal Medicine 29 years experience
Evaluation...: The symptoms of bacterial bronchitis are usually a bit more severe as in higher fever, more severe cough, more body aches, etc but there is overlap. When in doubt, a sputum culture can be useful. Also, viral bronchitis will usually begin resolving in a few days without treatment so if you are feeling better in a few days w/o antibiotics, chances are it is viral and antibiotics will be ineffective.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
FL
A 46-year-old female asked:
Is bronchitis bacterial or viral?
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
A Verified Doctoranswered
A US doctor answeredLearn more
Usually viral: Acute bronchitis is usually caused by viruses, typically the same viruses that cause colds and influenza. The most common cause of chronic bronchitis is smoking cigarettes. Air pollution and dust or toxic gases in the environment or workplace also can contribute to the condition. Antibiotics as a whole are overprescribed in bronchitis, though sometimes it is warranted.
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Can strep bacteria cause bronchitis?
1 doctor answer • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Martin Raffanswered
Infectious Disease 56 years experience
Bronchitis: Acute bronchitis is caused by viruses in >95% of cases. The remainder are predominantly bordetella pertussis (cause of whooping cough). It would be rare for strep pyogenes to be involved, but there may be some cases of exacerbations of chronic bronchitis in which they may be involved.
4.8k viewsReviewed Sep 29, 2020
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Last updated Sep 30, 2017
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