Bronchitis and pneumonia are quite different from each other. Usually, pneumonia is a disease caused by bacteria when they attack the lower part of the respiratory system. The infection tends to break through the bronchial lining and reach the lung tissues to continue further damage. The tissue becomes infected and the blood vessels transport the invasive bacteria to the various parts of the body. When this happens, the symptoms of the disease become really severe and the disease takes on a very serious note.
There are also many similarities between the two diseases. The symptoms are almost the same and one disease could easily be mistaken for the other. Cough, mucus in the lung, shortness of breath, chills, fever, viral infections etc are symptoms of both. In fact so similar are the symptoms that it is not possible to tell the two apart without conducting a physical examination.
However, since pneumonia is the more dangerous of the two diseases, there are certain symptoms that you should be on the lookout for if you suspect that you have the disease. Severe cough accompanied with chest pain and incessant back pain, dark green or brown colored mucus, a hastened rate of heartbeats, constant fatigue and fever accompanied by chills, perspiration and a lack of breath are all symptoms that characterize pneumonia. It is important to consult a medical practitioner as soon as you observe these symptoms. Those who have lower immunity like infants and elderly should consult a doctor immediately to prevent the pneumonia from spreading into the system.
Bronchitis is one disease that plagues smokers and mountaineers more than anyone else. Constant smoking produces large amounts of tar that gets settled in the lungs of the affected person, therefore decreasing the immunity of the lungs and diminishing the viral cleansing properties. There is chronic decrease in the immunity and the bacteria find it very easy to thrive in such an environment.
Bronchitis affects the lower part of the respiratory system and leads to the inflammation of the lung airways better known as the bronchi that branch into bronchioles. The disease is usually caused by viruses that infect the nasal passages and then move on to the chest.
People who have a long history of smoking have chronic bronchitis and this is very difficult to treat. The treatment for long term smokers who have chronic bronchitis and who develop emphysema is very different from the treatment for non smokers. Extra caution is also maintained while treating the elderly or those with other chronic conditions like heart problems and diabetes.