What is bronchitis, and is it contagious?

USA Today

12-03-2025

What is bronchitis, and is it contagious?
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About one in 20 people experience bronchitis every year, despite it being a respiratory infection no one wants. Its most common symptoms include wheezing, chest tightness, low fever, fatigue, shortness of breath "and an irritating cough that may last anywhere from days to a couple of weeks," says Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco.
Though such symptoms are uncomfortable for everyone, they can be more serious in babies, young children, the elderly and the immunocompromised. Bronchitis can even be deadly as some 350 people in the U.S. die from the illness every year, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here's what causes bronchitis, how the illness usually spreads and how you can treat symptoms if it affects you or a loved one.
What causes bronchitis?
Bronchitis is a respiratory illness that occurs when the airways leading into your lungs get irritated, Nagata explains, which leads to the swelling and mucus buildup that causes difficulty breathing.
Different factors cause this lung irritation to occur, depending on the type of bronchitis one is dealing with. Individuals suffering from what's called acute or viral bronchitis get the illness from viruses such as RSV, coronavirus, the common cold (rhinovirus) and influenza.
The other main form of bronchitis is called chronic bronchitis. It's usually caused by long-term exposure to environmental irritants such as cigarette smoke, chemicals, allergens, air pollution and dust, explains Dr. Kunal Bakshi, a primary care physician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Bronchitis can also be caused by bacteria like streptococcus pneumoniae and medical conditions such as GERD or COPD.
Is bronchitis contagious?
Understanding the different types of bronchitis can also be helpful in understanding when the illness is and isn't contagious. Chronic bronchitis caused by environmental irritants, for instance, is not contagious. But acute or viral bronchitis is. "Viral bronchitis can be spread from person to person by inhaling droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks," says Nagata.
The viruses that cause bronchitis can also be spread by touching an object or surface that has the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
Getting vaccinated against viruses like the coronavirus and influenza can help provide protection against viral bronchitis—as can washing your hands frequently, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and keeping your immune system healthy with a well-balanced diet and plenty of exercise.
How to treat bronchitis
In healthy people, bronchitis usually goes away on its own within a week or two with "plenty of rest and drinking lots of water," says Nagata. In the meantime, symptoms can be treated with over-the-counter drugs such as cough suppressants, nasal sprays and pain medicines like as ibuprofen and acetaminophen. "Using a humidifier may also help alleviate symptoms," says Nagata.
Such at-home treatments are all that is usually required, "but you should see a healthcare provider if your cough lasts more than two to three weeks, worsens or causes difficulty breathing," advises Nagata.
In such cases, a doctor can determine if there's another underlying issue at play and recommend additional medical interventions. These may include an oxygen supply to make breathing easier and specific medications. Antibiotics are rarely recommended to treat acute bronchitis, however, "as the main cause of the infection is viral in nature," says Bakshi, and antibiotics are only designed to target and kill bacteria, not viruses. But he adds that antiviral medicines are sometimes recommended to treat specific bronchitis-causing viruses such as COVID-19 or the flu.