Acute bronchitis (inflammation of the airways) is when someone has symptoms such as a cough (you may cough up clear or coloured mucus), shortness of breath, a fever, and a runny nose or sore throat. These symptoms are short-lived, typically lasting around three weeks and commonly caused by a viral infection. Bronchitis is an infection or inflammation of the bronchi, which are the largest airways of the lungs. These airways have a protective mechanism built into them where they produce mucus that traps anything that isn’t welcome in the airways and which could be harmful to the lungs. When someone has bronchitis, something has irritated the airways causing increased production of mucus – typically a viral or bacterial infection. This leads to the body trying to get rid of the mucus and causes a productive cough.

Whooping cough is a common bacterial infection that affects the airways and lungs, usually in toddlers and children. It’s spread from one child to another by coughs and sneezes and is highly contagious. There are many different types of coughs in children, so it is important to be able to differentiate. It causes a persistent cough that can last for several months. For this reason, it is also referred to as the 100-day cough. As doctors, we call it pertussis. Hand hygiene, coughing and sneezing into tissues which are immediately disposed of, and staying away from others while they are infectious are paramount to reduce the spread. It forms one part of the usual childhood immunisations.

Sinusitis is inflammation of the linings of the sinuses - the air-filled spaces in your skull behind the bones of your face and forehead. The maxillary sinuses in each cheekbone are most commonly affected by sinusitis which can be short or long-term. Sinusitis lasting a few days to a few weeks is called acute sinusitis but if it lasts three months or more it is known as chronic sinusitis and can affect people of any age. Most bouts of acute sinusitis are caused by an infection such as a cold whereas chronic sinus problems are usually linked to something that regularly irritates the lining of the nose such as infection, pollen, overuse of decongestant nose sprays and allergies. What are my sinuses? These are the four pairs of cavities (air-filled spaces) known as paranasal sinuses in the head. These small hollow spaces, which are located within the skull or bones of the head surrounding the nose, are named for the bones that contain them, namely: Frontal sinuses over the eyes in the brow area. Maxillary sinuses inside each cheekbone. Ethmoid sinuses just behind the bridge of the nose, between the eyes. Sphenoid sinuses behind the ethmoids in the upper region of the nose and behind the eyes. The paranasal sinuses open into the nasal cavity and are lined with cells that make mucus to keep the nose from drying out during breathing and to trap unwanted materials so that they do not reach the lungs. What are the symptoms of sinusitis? The main symptom of sinusitis is a throbbing pain and pressure in the face, which is worse bending forwards. There may be pain above the eyebrows, the forehead may be tender to touch and you may feel as if you have toothache in the upper teeth. Other typical symptoms include a blocked nose, headaches, reduced sense of smell & taste. Very interestingly, dentists often say sinusitis is often associated with toothache, but because the nerves are interconnected, people find their teeth very sensitive. Because your nose can get stuffy or congested when you have a condition like the common cold, you may confuse simple nasal congestion with sinusitis. A cold usually lasts about 7 to 14 days and goes away without treatment, whereas acute sinusitis often lasts longer and typically causes more symptoms than a cold.

Rhinitis simply means ‘inflammation of the nose’ and usually causes symptoms such as nasal congestion (a blocked nose), a runny nose, itching, sneezing and a postnasal drip. There are many different causes of rhinitis so identifying the cause is the key to managing the symptoms. For many people, rhinitis can be a short-term (acute) condition that clears up after a few days or it can be a longer-term (chronic) condition that lasts several months or even all year round. Rhinitis is common and often becomes more common with increasing age.

Respiratory Syncytial (‘sin-SISH-uhl’) Virus (RSV) was first identified in the 1950s and is a cause of illness affecting the respiratory system in infants, young children, and the elderly. It is also one of the leading causes of respiratory infections worldwide. In this article we take a detailed look at RSV, including its symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and how to prevent it affecting you.  What is RSV? RSV is a type of RNA virus, in the same family as the human parainfluenza viruses and the mumps and measles viruses. It is one of the common viruses that cause coughs and colds in winter. The virus primarily targets the epithelial cells in the lungs and throat, leading to inflammation and various respiratory (breathing) symptoms.  One of the distinctive features of RSV is its ability to form ‘syncytia’ or large, multinucleated cells, by ‘clumping’ or fusing neighbouring cells together. This syncytial formation allows RSV to spread quickly in the respiratory tract and is a key reason why it causes illness in people.

Occupational asthma or work-based asthma is where you get asthma as a direct result of exposure to certain substances at work – you may get: new asthma a flare-up of controlled asthma a resurgence of childhood asthma that you thought you had outgrown Asthma is long-term condition where your airways become sensitised to something in the environment – an allergen or an irritant – and they respond with inflammation. As the lining of the airways causes swelling and more mucus production, airflow is obstructed and you will find breathing harder.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK, with just under 40,000 cases diagnosed each year and sadly it often has a poor outlook. Cancer occurs when there is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lung tissue. This can cause a blockage in the airways or fluid on the lungs, making breathing difficult, and ultimately it can spread to other organs and cause widespread damage and threat to life. Smoking is the cause of most lung cancers – because smoking is so common, this makes lung cancer very common. Older people are more likely to be affected, and men more often than women. When cancer starts in the lungs it is called primary lung cancer. Cancer spreading from another organ via the blood to the lungs is known as secondary lung cancer, or metastatic cancer. Breast and bowel cancer often metastasise to the lungs, unless they are diagnosed and treated early.

COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a long-term lung condition that causes inflammation and blockage of the airways making it difficult to breathe. It usually occurs in those over 35 in response to damage from smoking. The more you smoke and the longer you smoke, the more likely you are to develop COPD. Unfortunately this condition cannot be cured or reversed and it tends to get progressively worse over time. Symptoms and flare-ups can be managed with inhalers, medications and breathing techniques to exercise the lungs. Further damage can be reduced by stopping smoking.

Bronchitis is an infection or inflammation of the bronchi, which are the largest airways of the lungs. These airways have a protective mechanism built into them where they produce mucus, this is meant to trap anything that is not welcome in the airways and could be harmful to the lungs. When someone has bronchitis, something has irritated the airways, causing increased production of mucus. This leads to the body trying to get rid of the mucus and causes a productive cough. Bronchitis can be short-term (acute) and longer-term (chronic). Acute bronchitis lasts around three weeks and is most commonly caused by a viral infection. The definition of chronic bronchitis is a chronic cough with mucus reproduction for at least three months in two successive years when other causes have been excluded. Chronic bronchitis is a chronic inflammatory condition in the lungs that causes the respiratory passages to be swollen and irritated. It also increases mucus production and may damage the lungs. The symptoms are coughing and breathlessness, which will get worse over the years. When lung damage results in airflow restriction, the term 'COPD' (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is used. Smoking is the most important cause of chronic bronchitis. Other things that make it worse are air pollution and allergy. The seriousness of the disease depends on how much and for how long a person has been smoking.

Bronchiolitis is a very common lung infection that happens in young children, typically those under 2 years old, and is caused by a virus. The bronchioles are small airways in the lungs, branching off the two main bronchi, and the ‘itis’ part of bronchiolitis means inflammation, so bronchiolitis is inflammation and congestion of these small airways. Symptoms of bronchiolitis start off similarly to a cold with a blocked and runny nose, cough, and possibly fever. Children can also sound quite wheezy. Bronchiolitis is most commonly caused by a virus called RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) during the winter months and often it gets better by itself. In about 20% of cases of all ages, hospital admission may be required and it’s thought that up to 1 in 3 young children get bronchiolitis at some time.

Asthma is a chronic disease in which sufferers have repeated attacks of difficulty in breathing and coughing. People who have asthma have inflamed airways that become swollen and very sensitive. They tend to react strongly to certain inhaled substances and when the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This narrows the airways, causing less air to flow into the lungs and the swelling can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways might make more mucus than usual. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow the airways. This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are inflamed. People of all ages get asthma but 50 per cent of sufferers are children, mostly boys, under 10. Among adults, women are more likely to develop asthma than men. Asthma can be triggered by external things such as irritants in the atmosphere which are breathed in, or by internal reactions within the body that have been caused by external triggers. All asthma patients are affected by a number of things that are referred to as irritants - these include exercise, cold, smoke, scents and pollution. Common irritants or allergens include pollen, dust, animal fur, mould and some kinds of food. A virus or bacteria, chemical fumes or other substances at the workplace and certain medicines, e.g. aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), may also cause asthma. To develop asthma, people seem to need to have been born with a predisposition (a tendency) to the disease but it often does not reveal itself until they have been exposed to some asthma irritants. Asthma is common in childhood, but many outgrow it by their teens. Most cases are mild and managed at home with inhalers, but a few people suffer a severe form, where they may require input from a specialist. You may need constant treatment, or it may flare up from time to time.