Bronchitis and asthma are two of the most common respiratory disease faced by many people worldwide. Both of these medical conditions are breathing and lung related, which makes it a really life-threatening disease. Bronchitis and asthma may often be confused, but there are distinct differences between the two. It is important for the patient to understand his/her condition for better approach of the treatment process. This article will differentiate the distinct differences of bronchitis vs asthma.
Bronchitis
As we inhale oxygen through our mouth, nose, nasal passages, and windpipe, our bronchial tube transports the oxygen to much tiny branches and deliver them to the smaller cells in our lungs. For some reasons, the tube lining in our air passage become inflamed, this condition is called bronchitis.
Bronchitis occurs in two forms, the acute and the chronic. Acute is the most common form, and much less severe. Chronic on the other hand raises health concern, as it is a long-term condition which requires regular and right medical process to keep the disorder under control.
Asthma
Asthma on the other hand, refers to the narrowing or swelling of airways and bronchial tubes that carries the oxygen from and to the lungs. The swelling makes breathing really difficult for the patient. Unlike bronchitis, asthma is only has one form, and that is chronic. It requires a long-term treatment or even a life-long maintenance, and this condition has no cure. For some people, asthma attacks may not be something to really worry about, however for some, it can be a life-threatening condition. Thus, it is very important to keep symptoms at the minimum and control the attacks.
Causes: Bronchitis vs Asthma
Bronchitis is a disease, thus it is commonly triggered by a common cause, such as infection resulted from a virus. The virus that causes bronchitis is the same virus that causes cold. Bronchitis that results from cold occur almost 90% of cases. But the most common cause of this disease every part of the world is long-term cigarette smoking. Also, exposure to harmful fumes, chemicals, coal mining, metal molding, dust, etc, is usual cause of bronchitis.
But bronchitis does not always result from colds, as some underlying conditions such as GERD or Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease may also cause the development of this disease to one’s body.
Asthma
It is important to understand that the subject bronchitis vs asthma is that, asthma has no identifiable causes yet, this is the reason why it is callas as idiopathic condition. Bronchitis on the other hand, has specific contributory factors. Doctors and medical specialists have not discovered yet that cause of asthma condition. The general assumption is that, this respiratory disorder is caused by environmental factors, genetic and hereditary factors.
In Bronchitis vs asthma, it should be easy now to distinguish one from each other. What is important to remember is that, bronchitis is a disease, while asthma is respiratory disorder.
