pneumonia

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how can you differentiate between bronchitis and pneumonia?

my daughter 6 days ago had strep throat. she and i started taking amoxicillin. she got much better, while i declined into fevers and coughing up green phlegm. my doctor put me on levaquin and said it is probably a strep induced bronchitis. i've been on the levaquin for 24 hrs., i only feel mildly better. i'm very fatiqued and still coughing up phlegm, but to a lesser degree. what do i have and am i contagious?

Bobby · Moderator Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 385

If your doctor said you have bronchitis, then it must be bronchitis. Nobody online or just by hearing your symptoms can decide what you have developed better than a doc can by listening to your lungs.

The symptoms of pneumonia and bronchitis are similar but bronchitis seems to be harder to treat, it may take several weeks in order to do so, so you can’t expect much after just 24 hours of antibiotics.
Both of the diseases are diagnosed by listening to symptoms, physical examination and by listening to the chest by stethoscope. If a doc is not sure, then s/he may order further tests like chest x-rays, blood tests, phlegm cultures, etc

Your bronchitis is not contagious but the organisms that contributed to you getting sick are. This is why you shouldn’t share your eating utensils or towels with others, neither should others touch your tissues and avoiding hugging and kissing may be good as well.
If you developed bronchitis, it doesn’t necessarily mean that others will too. It depends upon their immune system.

pneumonia

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