Antibiotics Not Effective Treat Acute Bronchitis

Treatment for acute bronchitis if not in healthy people usually take steps to reduce cough, fever, and pain. Medicines use prescription drugs, like antibiotics, generally do not have the advantage.

If you already have a history of disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, or asthma, evaluation and treatment should be more extensive.


Most cases of acute bronchitis disappear within two to three weeks. Care at home to reduce symptoms is a common practice. It includes:

1. Reduce your cough by drinking liquid cough medicine, and avoiding lung irritants. You can also use a cough medicine that does not use a prescription that contains expectorant that causes mucus to cough out.

2. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which can cause you to lose extra fluid from your body and can make you dehydrated.

3. Reduce or stop smoking if you smoke.

4. Get enough rest so your body has the energy needed to fight infection. In general, you will feel better quickly if you rest more than usual.

5. Using drugs without a prescription, like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin, to reduce fever and body aches. However, do not give aspirin or drugs to anyone under the age of 20 years except by prescription.

6. Inhalation of moist air from a humidifier, hot shower, or sink filled with hot water. Heat and moisture can help keep mucus in your airways moist so that the mucus can be easily removed by coughing.


If the drug by prescription needed, then that drugs include:

1. Inhaled beta2-agonists, which will enlarge the airways and can reduce the sound of breath and coughing. However, profits may be considered with the possible side effects such as shaking, trembling, and feeling tense.

2. Antibiotics, which can be used to treat people who are at increased risk of complications of acute bronchitis. The drug is also commonly used if symptoms do not improve after using beta2-agonist and the care at home. For acute bronchitis in people who are unwell, antibiotics do not generally have an advantage.

Most cases of acute bronchitis are caused by viruses, which are not affected by antibiotics. Using antibiotics are unnecessary, costly, and can give the side effects of antibiotic therapy, and can cause resistance to antibiotics in some types of bacteria. This resistance can make the antibiotic less effective when used again later.