Lungs play a major role in our body, especially for respiration function. It looks like a pair of spongy, air-filled organs situated on the chest side.
Key Takeaways
- Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes that carry air to the lungs, typically caused by a viral or bacterial infection.
- Pneumonia is a more serious infection of the lungs that causes inflammation in the air sacs and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens.
- The main difference between Bronchitis and Pneumonia is the severity and location of the infection in the respiratory system.
Bronchitis vs Pneumonia
Bronchitis affects the bronchial tubes, while pneumonia affects the lung air sacs in the lungs to fill with fluid or pus. When not treated properly, bronchitis can further turn into pneumonia. Most symptoms are common, however, in pneumonia, you also feel muscle aches and fatigue.
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Bronchitis is also an inflammatory condition that affects the large as well as medium-sized airways, bronchi of the lungs. It causes mucus coughing, wheezing, breathlessness, and chest discomfort.
Pneumonia causes inflammation to the alveoli, small air sacs that are present in the lungs. Pneumonia occurs due to contagious viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Bronchitis | Pneumonia |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bronchitis is either a chronic or acute infectious disease that brews an inflammatory condition in the bronchi part of the lung. | Pneumonia is an inflammation of the alveoli, which is formed fluid in small or tiny sacs in the lungs. |
| Etymology | bronchitis is derived from the Latin word Bronchus as the windpipe. | Pneumonia is derived from the modern Latin as Pneumon, which states inflammation of the lungs. |
| Symptoms | Bronchitis is apparent when the person has these kinds of symptoms like- Cough, cold & chills feeling, fatigue, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, mild headache, and body pains. | Chest pain, Lack of breath, drowsiness, erratic feeling, diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and severe cold. |
| Causes | Bronchitis is highly caused by the consumption of substances-smoking, tobacco, and other noxious air pollution. As an infectious disease, bronchitis is caused by flu or its own virus. | Pneumonia is caused by a highly fatal infection, virus, or bacteria that directly ominous the lungs. Apart from that, it is also caused by chain-smoking, high counts of diabetes, cystic fibrosis, asthma, or any other pulmonary diseases. |
| Treatment | It can be cured if it is acute bronchitis by using inhalers or any cold-impeded mediation prescribed by professionals. Besides, Chronic Bronchitis may take an aeon to overcome by taking regular pulmonary rehab medicals in order to digress the addiction. | Pneumonia can be treated well by having antibiotics, cold-resistance medicine, and pain relief medicines, etc. |
What is Bronchitis?
Speaking of which, an inflammatory condition in the bronchi part of the lungs is called Bronchitis. This infectious disease can be either chronic or acute, depending upon the symptoms that affected patients go through.
Bronchitis is caused by contagious viruses or bacteria of the same type that causes flu. As of now, no robust antibiotics have been invented to fight these deadly viruses yet.
Over and above, unlike chronic Bronchitis, acute Bronchitis can be subdued with the help of cold-resistant medication and inhalers.
What is Pneumonia?
Pneumonia causes inflammation to the alveoli by filling pus or fluid in these small air sacs that are present in the lungs. From mild pneumonia to life-threatening pneumonia, any age group is prone to this.
Furthermore, all these signs of pneumonia are possible to last longer than they are expected. On the other hand, Pneumonia is caused by contagious germs such as viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms that directly attack the lungs.
Moreover, many other virus target the lungs, ultimately making it more serious for that person to undergo treatments.
Main Differences Between Bronchitis and Pneumonia
- Bronchitis is a treatable disease where acute just ephemeral, and Chronic Bronchitis takes time by taking frequent rehabilitation programs.
- Bronchitis is caused by the consumption of noxious substances or any other contentious infection like flu. Notwithstanding, Pneumonia is caused by smoking, diabetes, asthma, pulmonary diseases etc.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012369215421518
- https://europepmc.org/article/med/23839317
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
