Discharge Instructions for Chronic Bronchitis
You have been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis. With this condition, you cough up mucus and feel short of breath for 3 months or more each year for at least 2 years in a row.
Home Care
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Break the smoking habit.
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Enroll in a stop-smoking program to increase your chances of success.
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Ask your doctor about medications or other methods to help you quit.
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Ask family members to quit smoking as well.
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Don’t allow smoking in your home or around you.
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Protect yourself from infection.
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Wash your hands often. Do your best to keep your hands away from your face. Most germs are spread from your hands to your mouth.
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Get a flu shot every year. Ask your doctor about a pneumonia vaccination.
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Avoid crowds. It's especially important to do this in the winter when more people have colds and flu.
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Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and eat a balanced diet.
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Take your medications exactly as directed. Don’t skip doses.
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Talk to your doctor about ways to keep your mucus thin.
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Learn postural drainage and percussion, techniques that can help you cough up extra mucus. This extra mucus can trap germs in your lungs.
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Learn pursed-lip and patterned breathing to help decrease shortness of breath.
Follow-Up
Make a follow-up appointment as directed by our staff.
When to Call Your Doctor
Call your doctor immediately if you have any of the following:
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Shortness of breath, wheezing, or coughing
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Increased mucus
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Yellow, green, bloody, or smelly mucus
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Fever or chills
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Tightness in your chest that does not go away with your normal medications
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An irregular heartbeat
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Swollen ankles
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Date Last Reviewed:
2/3/2006
Date Last Modified:
8/31/2004