{"id":86,"date":"2021-11-22T19:30:42","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T19:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/choosewellmanchester.org.uk\/chest-infections\/"},"modified":"2021-12-01T12:28:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T12:28:24","slug":"chest-infections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.choosewellmanchester.org.uk\/self-care\/self-care-information-for-adults\/chest-infections\/","title":{"rendered":"Chest Infections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Chest Infections<\/h1>\n\n\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/B26IeBb8GrI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Information<\/h2>\n<div class=\"content\">\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\">Chest infections are very common, especially during autumn and winter, or after a cold or flu. Most short term coughs are due to a viral infection and will usually disappear within 3 weeks.\u00a0 Although most are mild and get better on their own, some cases can be very serious, even life-threatening. Antibiotics do not work for viral infections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\">The main symptoms of a chest infection are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A chesty cough<\/li>\n<li>Breathing difficulties<\/li>\n<li>Chest pain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\">It&#8217;s also common to get headaches and have a high temperature. If you have a chest infection, you should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Get plenty of rest<\/li>\n<li>Drink lots of fluid to prevent dehydration and to thin the mucus in your lungs, making it easier to cough up<\/li>\n<li>Treat headaches, fever and aches and pains with paracetamol or ibuprofen<\/li>\n<li>Stop smoking straight away<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\"><strong>Antibiotics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\">Your GP will not routinely prescribe antibiotics for acute bronchitis for a number of important reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Most cases of acute bronchitis are caused by viral infections which means that antibiotics will have no effect.<\/li>\n<li>You are almost as likely to experience a side effect from taking antibiotics, like vomiting and diarrhoea,\u00a0as you are<br \/>to\u00a0receive any benefit from the treatment.<\/li>\n<li>The more antibiotics are used to treat mild conditions, the greater the likelihood that the bacteria will develop resistance to antibiotics and go on to cause more serious infections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\">The use of antibiotics is usually only recommended if it is thought that you have an increased risk of developing a secondary lung infection, like pneumonia, due to factors like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Being over 75 years of age and having a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or above<\/li>\n<li>Having long-term problems with your lungs or heart, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart failure<\/li>\n<li>Having a weakened immune system (immunocompromised) as a result of a condition, like diabetes or cancer, or due to certain types of medical treatment, like chemotherapy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"j4kug2sxfjksq4cfq\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"j4kug2sxfjksq4cfq\"><strong>Choose care at home if\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You have a mild to moderate cough or chest infection<\/li>\n<li>Follow the self care instructions above and it will clear up within three weeks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\"><strong>Choose your Pharmacy or GP if&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You have a high temperature (this can be a sign of a more serious infection)<\/li>\n<li>You have confusion or\u00a0disorientation<\/li>\n<li>You have a sharp pain in your chest that gets worse as you breathe in<\/li>\n<li>You are coughing up blood-stained phlegm (thick mucus)<\/li>\n<li>your symptoms last longer than three weeks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"FreeFormA\"><strong>Choose 999 A&amp;E if&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You have a sudden shortness of breath or rapid breathing<\/li>\n<li>Your lips or tongue begin to turn blue<\/li>\n<li>You feel like you&#8217;re suffocating<\/li>\n<li>You bring up pink frothy phlegm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosewellmanchester.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/chest_infections_v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Downloads<\/a><\/h2>\n<div class=\"well-clear\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"span4 pull-left\">\n<div class=\"leftnav\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"well-clear margin-top font-small span3\">\n<div id=\"google_translate_element\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- Large Banner above footer at the bottom --><\/p>\n<div class=\"span12 margin-top\">\n<div class=\"well footerblock\">\n<div class=\"row-fluid font-large\">\n<div class=\"span12\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chest Infections Information Chest infections are very common, especially during autumn and winter, or after a cold or flu. Most short term coughs are due to a viral infection and will usually disappear within 3 weeks.\u00a0 Although most are mild and get better on their own, some cases can be very serious, even life-threatening. Antibiotics [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":105,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chest Infections | Choose Well<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.choosewellmanchester.org.uk\/self-care\/self-care-information-for-adults\/chest-infections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chest Infections | Choose Well\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chest Infections Information Chest infections are very common, especially during autumn and winter, or after a cold or flu. Most short term coughs are due to a viral infection and will usually disappear within 3 weeks.\u00a0 Although most are mild and get better on their own, some cases can be very serious, even life-threatening. 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Most short term coughs are due to a viral infection and will usually disappear within 3 weeks.\u00a0 Although most are mild and get better on their own, some cases can be very serious, even life-threatening. 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