What is bronchiolitis?
Bronchiolitis is a viral lung infection that causes inflammation in the smallest air passages in your lungs called bronchioles. Although it’s generally a childhood condition, bronchiolitis can also affect adults.
Inflammation of your bronchioles can cause a blockage of oxygen in your airways that leads to symptoms such as coughing or trouble breathing. Bronchiolitis generally causes mild illness, but serious cases can progress to lung failure.
Read on to learn more about bronchiolitis including symptoms, causes, and treatment options.
Bronchiolitis vs. bronchitis
Bronchiolitis and bronchitis are both viral infections of your lungs, but they affect different structures.
When you breathe in air, it travels from your windpipe to the main passage in each of your lungs called the primary bronchi. From there, air passes through smaller bronchi and then to even smaller passages called bronchioles.
Bronchitis is an infection of your bronchi. Bronchiolitis is an infection of the smaller bronchioles.
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