7. Inflamed Bronchial Tubes
Next to coughing and shortness of breath, inflamed bronchial tubes is the hallmark symptom that characterizes bronchitis, in fact, it’s part of the definition.
While this symptom can be caused by a multitude of things such as chemicals, tobacco smoke, air pollution, and viral or bacterial infection, the end result is always the same. Shortness of breath, coughing, and excessive secretion of mucus are all tell-tale signs that you might have bronchitis.
Even though misdiagnosis can be common, there are some tests that doctors can perform so as to eliminate other potential causes of the symptoms. They may do a chest x-ray to eliminate pneumonia, a sputum culture to eliminate whooping cough or a pulmonary function test to rule out asthma is among the most common tests that distinguish between afflictions that share some of the same symptoms.