Should I care?

Hopefully by now, you have a pretty good idea about diagnosis, pathology, and treatment for acute and chronic bronchitis.  This week I will talk about ways nurse provide care for people with acute or chronic bronchitis.  First of all, I highly recommend you to visit the homepage of the American Lung Association.  It provides a lot of information such as different types of lung disease, up to date research information about each disease, and diagnosis and treatment for the diseases.  Since most of acute bronchitis is caused by a virus, you don't need antibiotics to treat it.  It would go away on its own.  I would recommend my patients to wash their hands with soap and warm water as often as possible, monitor for cough, maintain a nutritional diet, gets as much  sleep as possible, do not smoke, stay away from any irritants/ allergens that might trigger your asthma (because you don't want any complication with your bronchitis), have your rescue inhaler ready in case you need it, and pay attention to your vital signs such as temperature, pulse, respiration rate, and blood pressure.  You should seek medical help if your vital signs are not normal, you feel worse and your cough worsens.
As your nurse, I will pay attention to all the items listed above and report any changes to your provider.

For chronic bronchitis, also known as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), my approach of care as a nurse would be slightly different. I recommend you to check out this website which breaks down different ways and approaches to take care of someone with COPD with tables.
http://nurseslabs.com/10-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-bronchitis-nursing-care-plans/
In addition to the approaches discussed in the link above, I would highlight the importance of clearing your secretion from your airway.  For most patients, this is a challenge.  I would recommend my patient to sit up, encourage fluid intake, take their medication according to prescription, and take deep breaths or use the incentive spirometer.  If coughing isn't enough to clear the secretion, suctioning through the nose or airway of the patient is necessary.  I would explain the steps clearly to the patient before execution.  Definitely monitor vital signs, signs and symptoms of infection, breath sounds, and provide support for the patient since this is a stressful disease without a cure.



References:
EHS: Nursing Diagnosis Care Plans, 4/e - Airway Clearance, Ineffective. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/MERLIN/Gulanick/archive/Constructor/gulanick03.html

Hart, A., Nurse Practitioner: 18 September 2014 - Volume 39 - Issue 9 - p 32–39

doi: 10.1097/01.NPR.0000452978.99676.2b

Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment - American Lung Association. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/copd/about-copd/symptoms-diagnosis-treatment.html