Discharge Instructions for Chronic Bronchitis

You have been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis. With this condition, you cough up mucus for 3 months or more each year for at least 2 years in a row.

Here is how you can take care of yourself at home:

If you smoke, get help to quit. This is the best thing you can do for your bronchitis and health.

• Try a stop-smoking program. There are even telephone and online programs.
• Ask your doctor about medicines or other methods to help you quit.
• Ask family members to quit smoking as well.
• Don't allow smoking in your home, in your car, or around you.
• Don't use e-cigarettes.

• 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 or nose.
• Ask your doctor about the flu and pneumonia vaccines.
• Stay away from crowds. It's very important to do this in the winter when more people have colds and flu.
• Take care of your overall health. That means:
  • Getting about 8 hours of sleep every night.
  • Exercising for at least 30 minutes on most days.
  • Eating a variety of healthy foods. These include protein foods, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains
  • Limiting highly processed foods, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates, such as packaged snacks, sugary drinks, and white bread.
  • Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink.

• Take your medicines exactly as directed. Don't skip doses.
• Talk with your doctor about ways to keep your mucus thin. Drinking a lot of water helps.
• Talk with your doctor about long-term oxygen therapy. You may be asked to measure your oxygen levels with a small device that clips onto your finger, called pulse oximetry. Your doctor will instruct you when to use oxygen if needed if levels become too low.
• Ask your doctor to show you pursed-lip breathing. It can help decrease shortness of breath.
• During each care visit, talk with your doctor about your ability to:
  • Cope in your normal environment.
  • Correctly use inhaler techniques (or your medicine delivery systems) to make sure you are doing them right.
  • Cope with other health problems you may have, including the medicines you take for them and how they might affect your chronic bronchitis.
• Find out about pulmonary rehab programs in your area. Ask your doctor or local hospital. Also talk to your doctor about a self-management program to help control your symptoms.

Follow up with your doctor as advised.

Call your doctor or seek medical care right away if you have:

• Increased coughing.
• Increased mucus.
• Increased shortness of breath with the same or less activity.
• Thick yellow, green, or bloody mucus.
• A fever of 100.4ºF (38ºC) or higher, or as directed by your doctor.
• Chills.
• Swollen ankles.

Call 911 if you have:

• Worsening shortness of breath, wheezing, or trouble breathing that doesn't get better with treatment.
• Tightness in your chest that doesn't go away with your normal medicines, or as directed by your doctor.
• A new, irregular heartbeat or feeling that your heart is racing.
• Trouble talking.
• A feeling of lightheadedness or fainting.
• A feeling of doom.
• Skin that turns blue, gray, or purple in color