Bronchiolitis anyone?

[Sparkle]

I just got a copy of my pulmonologists notes and it states that I have bronchiolitis based on findings from my latest chest CT.  I can't find much information about the condition , but I am concerned that it might be progressive.

Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with this.

Thanks!

Sparkle

[Katybarstool]

Hi Sparkle

I have bronchiectasis, which is damage to the middle and lower lobes of my right lung. I wonder if that is what you were diagnosed with?

Kathyx

[Linda196]

Bronchialitis is inflammation of the smallest airways in the lungs, and is usually caused by infection (viral most likely).  It's what's usually meant when grandma said we had a "cold in the chest"...congested and cold like symptoms not severe enough to affect the lung tissue itself and cause pneumonia. It's essentially the same process as bronchitis, but in much smaller airways than the main bronchii.

It's not generally considered any more progressive than any other viral infection, and usually no treatment is needed in adults, but if it persists, a definite cause should be searched out.

Bronchiectasis, on the other hand, is a condition in which damage to the large airways causes them to widen and become flabby and scarred, and is a from of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

[Sparkle]

Thanks for the explanation. I think I have had this for a year, so I wonder if it is possible to have a chronic form of bronchiolitis. His notes say the likely cause is mycoplasma. (I had a mycoplasma pneumonia infection over a year ago.)

Sparkle

[Scottietottie]

Hi Sparkle 

When my daughter was only 3 weeks old she caught bronchiolitis, which I was told was the same as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) As I say - this is what I was told - but docs often treat us like idiots, so I don't know if they are the same as not.

She was very ill with it and had to be in an oxygen tent and have her 'tubes' sucked out pretty frequently. Watching a small baby turn bright blue is pretty scary!

I thought of it as a childhood condition rather than an adult one. Obviously I'm wrong.

Apart from the oxygen she wasn't given anything else and I have to admit she'd pretty well recovered in about 10 days. I was told to try not to let her cry for a month. Ha! Ha! She was a miserable baby - so that was easier said than done.

She got pneumonia and another bout of bronchiolitis when she was about 18 months and I don't remember any specific treatment for that either other than frequent doctor check-ups till it had cleared.  I'm happy to say she wasn't left with a 'weak chest' although she is the only one of my 4 kids who developed asthma in her late teens. She's only ever had one bad asthma attack though and that was after taking Ibuprofen.

To the best of my knowledge bronchiolitis is not a progressive condition at all.

What has your doc suggested?

Take care - Scottie 

[Sparkle]

I just found this on the National Jewish Respiratory Hospital website. I think this may be what I have, althought his notes don't use the word "Obliterans".


Bronchiolitis Obliterans


Causes

The disease can be caused by breathing in irritant fumes, such as chlorine, ammonia, oxides of nitrogen or sulfur dioxide. Diacetyl, a chemical used to provide butter flavor in many foods, has also been suspected of causing bronchiolitis obliterans in workers who manufacture it or mix it into foods, such as butter-flavored popcorn. Bronchiolitis obliterans also can result from respiratory infections, a connective tissue disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis, and after a bone marrow, lung or heart-lung transplant.

Sparkle

[Sparkle]

Oh and I forgot to mention that he has been treating me with a corticosteroid inhaler called Qvar since October.