General News
29 March, 2026
Call the doctor: Understanding bronchitis
Dr Felix Ritson is a Horsham GP who writes a fortnightly column for the Mail-Times. This week, he revisits the world of microbiomes and the use of antibiotics, particularly in the treatment of bronchitis.
Recently, I wrote a couple of columns about our microbiome and the role of antibiotics, followed by a piece on the use of antibiotics for a sore throat.
This fortnight, I wanted to continue on that theme and write about bronchitis, commonly referred to as a chest infection.
To understand what bronchitis is, it is useful to think about our lungs as being similar in shape to an upside-down tree.
We can imagine the trunk of the tree being our main central windpipe, called the trachea, and the leaves being the thousands of tiny air sacs called the alveoli.
Connecting the trunk to the leaves are the limbs and branches.
In our lungs, the limbs would be called the bronchi, and the branches the bronchioles. Bronchitis is inflammation of the trachea and bronchi, the larger airways of our respiratory system.
Having bronchitis often occurs in conjunction with a typical cold, usually involves coughing up yellow/green sputum, and can last for several weeks.
People may also experience shortness of breath, wheezing, nasal congestion, headaches, and fever.
It is mostly triggered by viral illnesses such as the flu or COVID, but can involve bacteria as well.
It is not uncommon for people to experience an annoying dry cough for up to 2 months after a bout of bronchitis.
While bronchitis is very common, it is important that it is not mistaken for an exacerbation of a chronic lung disease such as asthma or emphysema, and not confused with pneumonia.
Pneumonia is an infection that affects the alveoli (leaves) of the lung. These other potentially more serious conditions are treated very differently.
Australian GPs are often encouraged to look to what is known as Australia's “Therapeutic Guidelines” for up-to-date, best practice guidance on how to treat various conditions. These guidelines include a chapter on “acute bronchitis”.
There are two key messages in these guidelines that may surprise people.
Firstly, “chest X-ray is not indicated for patients with acute bronchitis”, though your GP may order one to investigate for pneumonia or other conditions.
Second, “do not use antibiotic therapy for acute bronchitis”. Most cases of bronchitis resolve by themselves over 3 to 4 weeks, with perhaps a cough lasting longer.
GPs are encouraged to explain to patients that “antibiotic therapy is of no benefit” and can cause unnecessary harm.
The guidelines even go on to mention that “despite this, antibiotic therapy is often inappropriately prescribed for acute bronchitis.”
With time and increased awareness of up-to-date evidence-based guidelines, GPs are prescribing less and less unnecessary and potentially harmful antibiotics.
This all said, it is often important to talk to a health professional if you think you have bronchitis.
There are various potentially serious health conditions that might initially behave like bronchitis, such as pneumonia, an asthma or emphysema exacerbation, a pertussis infection, also known as whooping cough or even heart failure.
If you are at risk of serious illness, have prolonged, progressively worsening, unusual or severe symptoms, or are concerned it is wise to seek independent medical care.
If you are unsure if you should see a GP, you can always call the Healthdirect Helpline on 1800 022 222 and speak to a nurse.