Bronchitis vs. COVID-19: How to Tell the Difference

Acute bronchitis is caused by a viral infection, often the same virus that causes a cold or the flu. It makes your bronchioles — the small tubes in your lungs that carry air — become irritated and inflamed and produces a telltale cough.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It also affects your respiratory system and produces a telltale cough, but it isn’t the same disease as bronchitis. In fact, SARS-CoV-2 is one of the viruses that can cause acute bronchitis.

At Mercy Medical Urgent Care, Dr. Bilal Khoder and our staff treat many cases of bronchitis at our Lake City, Florida, location. We also provide testing for COVID-19. 

We’re trained to know the difference between the two conditions, and we want to know what to expect from each condition and treatment.

What are the symptoms of bronchitis?

Acute bronchitis usually develops suddenly and causes respiratory problems, including:

• Chest congestion
• A cough that brings up thick mucus that can be clear, white, yellow, or green
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing or a whistling sound when you breathe

Symptoms may also include:

• Body aches and chills
• Feeling extreme fatigue
• Low fever
• Runny, stuffy nose
• Sore throat

Symptoms generally resolve within 10-14 days. However, the cough may last a few more weeks as the bronchial tubes heal and the swelling diminishes.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are:

• Fever 
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Persistent, hacking cough
• Tight chest or chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Hoarse voice
• Muscle aches
• Loss of sense of smell and taste

It’s easy to mistake symptoms of a cold, the flu, or bronchitis for COVID-19, especially when they’re mild. However, you won’t be able to tell if COVID-19 is causing your symptoms without a specific test for the virus.

The main distinctions are that bronchitis produces a phlegmy cough, while COVID-19’s cough is more dry and hacking. Furthermore, COVID-19 can lead to the loss of taste and smell, which is not the case with bronchitis.

We should also note that acute bronchitis doesn’t cause COVID-19 or make you more likely to get it. However, if you have a form of chronic bronchitis or other major health problems, you’re more likely to get very sick if you develop COVID-19.

Treating bronchitis and COVID-19

Most cases of acute bronchitis resolve without treatment, usually within 10-14 days. In some cases, we may prescribe medications to treat respiratory symptoms. If your cough prevents you from sleeping, we may prescribe a cough suppressant at bedtime.

If you have allergies, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), our team may prescribe an inhaler or other medications that reduce inflammation in the bronchioles, opening the narrowed passages. 

Since most cases of acute bronchitis are caused by viral infections, antibiotics aren't useful.

Before you can treat COVID-19, you need to get tested. Rapid tests are now available that give you results within about 15 minutes. If you have a mild case with no loss of smell or taste, you’ll need to be quarantined from other healthy people, but the virus will run its course in about a week.

If you test positive and you’re more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 (e.g., the elderly, the unvaccinated, or the immunocompromised), the FDA has approved several antiviral medications to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19. 

These medications must be started within 5–7 days after the onset of symptoms. The most common antiviral is Paxlovid, an oral medication.

If you’ve developed respiratory symptoms and aren’t sure what illness you have, Mercy Medical Urgent Care is here to help diagnose and treat you. We’re open seven days a week, and you can walk in or give us a call at 386-758-2944 to schedule.