Chronic bronchitis results from frequent irritation of the lungs.  Allergies may be the cause of chronic bronchitis.  In addition, as the space in the lung available for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide diminishes, the heart has to work harder to keep an adequate volume of blood. This can lead to heart disease.

Bronchial infections are often linked to smoking and acute upper respiratory infections.  If bacteria are the cause, antibiotics should be prescribed; however, cough suppressants should not be used in the treatment.  A chest X-ray should be taken to rule out lung cancer.

Bronchitis differs from pneumonia.  Pneumonia is accompanied by characteristic breathing sounds.  An X-ray is often necessary to show infiltration of fluid in the lungs and diagnose pneumonia.  Both of these are much more common in the winter and they usually follow an upper respiratory tract infection or cold.

Pneumonia is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. and is particularly dangerous in the elderly.  It is also frequently seen in individuals with low immune function such as drug and alcohol abusers.  In healthy individuals, pneumonia and bronchitis most often follow an insult to the host defense mechanisms such as viral infections (like influenza), cigarette smoke or other irritating fumes, and hospitalization. 

Usually, the cause of bronchitis is a virus.  While acute bronchitis will usually go away by itself in a week or two, chronic sufferers can cough and wheeze for months.  Although bronchitis must take its course, you should see your doctor if you are coughing up blood, short of breath, or your cough doesn’t improve or worsens after one week. 

Royal Recommendations for Prevention and Treatment

1. In an acute infection, give your body a chance to fight infection by conserving your energy and getting some bed rest. 
2. Avoid white sugar and white flour products.  Keep fruit consumption to a minimum.  Consider adding spicy foods such as hot peppers and curry to your diet.  Hot, spicy foods help mucus membranes to secrete more liquids by thinning the mucus, making it easier to cough up. 
3. If you smoke, stop.  (See “Smoking Addiction.”)  Cigarette smoke, even from a passive smoker, is an irritating substance and causes mucus to clog the air passages. 
4. Get your food allergies checked.  (See “Allergy—Foods.”)  At the very least, you can begin eliminating some of the common food allergens (e.g., chocolate, corn, eggs, milk, sugar, and wheat) until a more definitive diagnosis can be made.  Milk and dairy products in particular will tend to increase mucus production. 
5. Increase your fluid intake to 6-8 glasses. This can be in the form of distilled, reverse osmosis, or spring water, vegetable juices, broth, and herb teas. 
6. Humidity is the key to keeping the cilia working, the mucus flowing, and the lungs draining.  Inhale vapors from a pan full of steaming water with a towel draped over your head.  For best effects, add eucalyptus oil to the water. 
7. Stimulate respiratory tract drainage by using local heat.  Wrap a hot water bottle in a damp cloth to produce moist heat.  Apply to the chest and back 30 minutes daily.
8. Postural drainage should be performed three times a day.  This is done by lying with the top half of the body off the bed, using the forearms as support.  Assume this position for 5-15 minutes while attempting to cough and expectorate into a basin or newspaper on the floor.  You may need a helper for this. 
9. Make your own cough syrup.  Add half a cup of honey and six chopped white onions in a double boiler and cook slowly over low heat for two hours then strain.  Sip the mixture at regular intervals, preferably warm. 
10. A fast may help to cleanse the bowels.  Physicians who practice Mayr Therapy have noted an association between improvement in respiratory conditions and fasting.  This may indicate that toxins from the bowel are being absorbed and causing what is known as “auto-intoxication.”  The fast may be accompanied by an enema.  (See “Coffee Enema.”) 
11. Vitamin A is a natural antibiotic and helps to thin the mucus in the membrane linings of the lungs.  It can be obtained in a water-soluble form or taken as beta-carotene.  In acute cases, the dose in adults can be 200,000 units daily for one week, decreasing by half each week and maintaining at 50,000 units daily until better.  Should symptoms of vitamin A excess occur--such as headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or hair loss--just stop the supplement.  Vitamins C and E can help to prevent toxicity.  Beta-carotene can be converted to vitamin A and is not considered toxic.  In high amounts, beta carotene may turn the skin a yellowish-orange color.  Taking vitamin B₁₂ will counteract this harmless side-effect.  In general, diabetics and hypothyroid individuals should avoid beta-carotene since they cannot convert it to vitamin A.  Antibiotics, antacids, and steroids will interfere with vitamin A absorption. 
12. Other supplements helpful in bronchitis include the antioxidant vitamin C, vitamin E, B-complex, Bioflavonoids, the mineral zinc, acidophilus, proteolytic enzymes, and thymus glandular. Use up to 10,000 mg of vitamin C with bioflavonoids daily in divided doses.  This helps to enhance immune function.  Take between 60 mg of zinc daily for one or two weeks or zinc lozenges every couple of hours for one week to promote healing and assist vitamin A in its action. 
13. Herbs known to be beneficial are black radish, chickweed, colt’s foot, echinacea, eucalyptus, fenugreek, goldenseal, gumweed, licorice, lobelia, mullein, pau d’arco, slippery elm, sundew, white horehound, and wild cherry bark.  These botanicals act to thin mucus secretions and promote their expulsion.  They may be taken separately or in combinations. 
14. Homeopathics recommended are as follows:  Bryonia (to attenuate the mucus), China (general tonic after loss of body fluids), Dulcamara (if worse in damp weather), Ferrum Phosphoricum (when bronchitis is the result of a cold or fever is involved), Kali Carbonicum (when night sweats are present), Lycopodium (to support liver detoxification), Picricum Acidum (for burning pains between the shoulder blades), Phosphorus (for chest weakness and pneumonia), and Silicea (promotes recovery in prolonged cases).

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