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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. Bronchitis is assessed by video; antibiotics are prescribed only for the minority who are significantly unwell or at higher risk, and breathlessness at rest or chest pain on breathing in needs in-person care.
- What it is: inflammation of the bronchi, the airway tubes into the lungs, with a chesty cough and phlegm; acute bronchitis is caused by viruses in about 9 in 10 cases.
- How long: the cough settles within 3 to 4 weeks in most adults; up to a quarter of people are still coughing at 3 weeks, and a cough beyond 4 weeks needs review.
- Antibiotics: make little or no difference for most otherwise healthy adults, shortening the cough by about half a day on average; green or yellow phlegm occurs in viral bronchitis too and is not a reason on its own.
- Pneumonia instead: suspect it with high or returning fever, breathlessness on mild exertion, chest pain when breathing in, rust-coloured phlegm or new confusion.
- Emergency: if you are struggling to breathe, call 112.
If you are breathless at rest, coughing up blood, have chest pain when breathing in, or a high fever with shaking chills, do not book a video appointment: those signs need in-person assessment today. If you are struggling to breathe, call 112.
Can an online doctor treat bronchitis?
Yes, in most cases. Acute bronchitis is usually a viral infection of the large airways, and its treatment is symptom relief rather than antibiotics, which a doctor can assess and organise by video. The consultation also screens for the exceptions: possible pneumonia, wheeze needing an inhaler, and smokers whose bronchitis keeps returning.
The honest limit is the stethoscope: nobody can listen to your chest through a screen. A video consultation on Mobi Doctor handles that limit by design: the doctor counts the pointers in your story and your breathing on camera, treats what is clearly bronchitis, and sends you for a same-day chest examination when the picture could be pneumonia rather than guessing in your favour.
Listen: What Is The Best Medicine For Bronchitis?
The audio version of this topic from the Mobi Doctor podcast. Open the episode.
How an online consultation helps with bronchitis
- The bronchitis-or-pneumonia sort: the doctor works through fever pattern, breathing, chest pain and how unwell you are, the same pointers used in clinics to decide who needs examination and who can safely recover at home.[2]
- An honest antibiotics answer: most acute bronchitis is viral, and trial evidence shows antibiotics barely shorten it.[1][5] You get a clear explanation of whether you are one of the exceptions, not a reflex prescription.
- A symptom plan that works: what genuinely eases the cough, what to take for fever and aches, and what over-the-counter products are not worth your money.
- The returning-bronchitis conversation: if this is your second or third winter of "bronchitis", the doctor talks plainly about smoking, COPD and breathing tests, which is the consultation that changes the next ten years.
What the doctor checks in an online bronchitis consultation
The assessment is a structured history plus what the camera shows. The doctor will typically check:
- How the illness unfolded: a cold or flu-like illness that turned chesty fits bronchitis; sudden fever and breathlessness without a cold first raises other possibilities.
- Fever behaviour: a mild early fever fits bronchitis; a high, persistent fever, or one returning after you had improved, points towards pneumonia.[2]
- Your breathing on camera: rate, effort, and whether you can speak in full sentences, watched while you talk rather than taken on trust.
- Chest pain: soreness behind the breastbone from coughing is typical of bronchitis; sharp pain on breathing in is not, and moves the assessment on.
- What you cough up: clear, white, yellow or green phlegm can all occur in viral bronchitis; rust-coloured or blood-streaked phlegm needs examination.
- Wheeze and tightness: whistling breathing or a tight chest may need an inhaler and follow-up rather than nothing.
- Smoking and past pattern: repeated winter bronchitis or a daily morning cough reframes the question from infection to airways.
- Risk factors: age over 65, pregnancy, diabetes, heart, lung, kidney or immune conditions lower the threshold for antibiotics and for in-person review.[1]
What is bronchitis?
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi, the large airways that carry air into the lungs. The name covers two very different conditions, and knowing which one you are dealing with decides everything that follows.
Acute bronchitis
The common one: a viral infection, often on the tail of a cold, that leaves the airways inflamed and twitchy. The signature is a chesty cough, with or without phlegm, some soreness behind the breastbone, and sometimes a mild fever or wheeze in the first days. The cough routinely outlasts everything else and can take three to four weeks to settle completely; feeling mostly well while still coughing is the normal ending, not a sign of failure.[1]
Chronic bronchitis is a different disease
A cough with phlegm on most days for at least three months in each of two consecutive years is the classical definition of chronic bronchitis, and it belongs to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), almost always in current or former smokers. It is not treated with repeat antibiotic courses; it needs breathing tests (spirometry) in person, inhaled treatment, and above all support to stop smoking. If that paragraph sounds like you, say so at the start of the consultation, because it changes the whole conversation. (Bronchiolitis, despite the similar name, is a separate illness of babies' smallest airways, not adult bronchitis.)
Bronchitis or pneumonia: how can I tell?
Bronchitis inflames the airway tubes; pneumonia infects the lung tissue itself and makes people more unwell. Suspect pneumonia rather than bronchitis if there is high or persistent fever, breathlessness on mild exertion, chest pain when breathing in, rust-coloured phlegm, confusion, or a fever that returns after you had started to improve.[2]
Pneumonia needs in-person examination and sometimes a chest X-ray, so the video consultation's job here is triage: counting those pointers honestly and sending the right people in the same day. Our chest infection page covers the pneumonia warning signs in more detail.
Do I need antibiotics for bronchitis?
Usually not. Acute bronchitis is nearly always viral, and antibiotics shorten it little, if at all, while adding side effects now and antibiotic resistance later.[1][4] Doctors reserve antibiotics for people who are significantly unwell or at higher risk of complications, such as those over 65 with other conditions, or with serious heart, lung, kidney or immune disease.
Phlegm colour deserves its own myth-busting line: green or yellow phlegm alone does not mean bacterial infection and is not, by itself, a reason for antibiotics.[3] Antibiotics are only prescribed when there are genuine signs of bacterial infection or a risk profile that justifies them, and that assessment, not the colour in the tissue, is what the consultation is for.
How doctors decide what a chesty cough needs
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Presentation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When referral or in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesty cough after a cold, mild or settled fever, breathing comfortable | Self-care: fluids, rest, honey, paracetamol or ibuprofen; no antibiotics | Usually yes | If not settling by three to four weeks, or new warning signs |
| Cough with wheeze or a tight chest | Video assessment; sometimes an inhaler and follow-up | Usually yes | In-person if breathless on mild exertion or at rest |
| High or returning fever, breathless on mild exertion, chest pain on breathing in | Possible pneumonia: same-day examination | Online for triage only | Chest examination, sometimes an X-ray, the same day[2] |
| Smoker with bronchitis most winters, or daily morning phlegm | Assessment for chronic bronchitis and COPD | Initial assessment yes | Spirometry and examination in person |
| Breathless at rest, coughing up blood, blue lips, confusion | Emergency care | No | Call 112 immediately |
Not sure which row is you? A doctor can tell you in one consultation.
See available times →How long does bronchitis last?
The cough of acute bronchitis typically lasts up to three or four weeks and commonly outlasts every other symptom; the fever and heavy-cold feeling usually settle within the first week.[1] See a doctor if the cough passes three weeks, keeps worsening instead of easing, or gains breathlessness, blood or chest pain along the way. Our cough page explains the three-week rule and what assessment involves.
Is bronchitis contagious?
The viruses that cause it are, in the same way colds are: mainly in the first days, through coughs and hands. Stay home while feverish, cough into your elbow and wash your hands often. The lingering dry cough in week three is airway irritation, not ongoing infection, and does not make you a hazard to your colleagues.
How long are you infectious? Roughly as long as the cold or flu that started it, typically the first few days to a week of symptoms; see how long the flu lasts. You cannot catch someone’s bronchitis itself, only the virus behind it.
Special situations
Smokers and vapers
Smoke keeps the airway lining inflamed, which is why bronchitis in smokers runs longer, returns sooner and eventually stops being "acute" at all. A smoker or ex-smoker over 40 with a new or changed cough, or anyone whose bronchitis comes back most winters, should have spirometry and an in-person review. The most effective treatment on this whole page is stopping smoking, and the doctor can talk through support options without lecturing you.
Asthma and COPD
A chest cold that sets off wheeze, tightness or night waking may be your airways condition flaring rather than simple bronchitis. Step up your existing flare plan if you have one, and get assessed if you are using your reliever more than usual. Worsening breathlessness in known COPD is in-person territory from the start.
Pregnancy and older age
In pregnancy, stick to paracetamol and honey first and check anything further with a doctor before taking it; ibuprofen is not routinely used, especially in later pregnancy. Adults over 65, and anyone with several long-term conditions, sit lower on the threshold for both antibiotics and in-person review, which the doctor applies openly rather than silently.[1]
Treatment options for bronchitis
What you can do yourself
Rest, fluids and time do most of the work. Honey genuinely eases the cough for adults; paracetamol or ibuprofen handle fever and the chest-wall soreness that coughing causes; warm drinks and steamy showers soothe irritated airways. Over-the-counter cough syrups have weak evidence of shortening anything, though they are safe for most adults if you find one comforting. Avoid smoke, including other people's, while your airways recover.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation, and for most bronchitis the honest prescription is none. Where antibiotics are justified, because you are significantly unwell or at genuine risk of complications, the doctor prescribes a course per local guidance and explains what should improve by when.[1][3] Where wheeze suggests airway narrowing, a short-term inhaler with follow-up may be appropriate. One firm limit: codeine-based cough suppressants are opioid medicines and are not prescribed through Mobi Doctor.
When bronchitis is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: typical acute bronchitis, with a symptom plan and a written safety net; bronchitis with mild wheeze suitable for inhaler treatment and review; antibiotic decisions where the assessment genuinely supports them; and the first honest conversation about repeated bronchitis, smoking and breathing tests.
In-person care: possible pneumonia, for same-day examination and sometimes an X-ray; any cough that has lasted more than three weeks, which needs assessment in its own right; coughing up blood; breathlessness at rest or on mild exertion; suspected COPD flares in people already diagnosed; and severe illness of any kind, which is a 112 call, not a booking. In each case you leave the consultation knowing exactly which door to walk through next.
When to get in-person care
Get same-day in-person care if you become breathless on mild exertion, develop chest pain when breathing in, cough up rust-coloured or blood-streaked phlegm, or your fever returns after you had started to improve. Call 112 immediately if you are breathless at rest or struggling to speak, your lips or face turn blue or grey, you cough up more than streaks of blood, or you become confused or unusually drowsy.
Treating bronchitis at home: what helps and what does not
Acute bronchitis is usually viral, and home care is genuinely the treatment: rest, plenty of fluids, honey for the cough, and simple pain relief. The cough commonly lasts up to three weeks, which is normal and not a sign antibiotics are needed.
What home care cannot do: it cannot listen to your chest. Breathlessness, wheeze, chest pain, coughing blood, a fever that returns after improving, or a cough beyond three weeks needs assessment, and people with asthma, COPD, heart disease or a weakened immune system should involve a doctor earlier, because bronchitis behaves differently on top of an existing condition.
You do not have to leave home for that step either: a video consultation is at-home care with a licensed doctor in it, and if treatment is right for you, the prescription can be used at a pharmacy near you. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. Book a video consultation: no subscription, exact price before payment.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, exact price up front.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about bronchitis: a private video call: you describe what you feel, the doctor asks what matters, and you agree the right plan together.
- Leave with your plan: everything agreed before you hang up: your plan, and a prescription to use at a pharmacy near you where medication is clinically right for you. If your doctor decides you need to be seen in person, you get a full refund.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s bronchitis? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Chest Infection and Cough can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about bronchitis
What is bronchitis?
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi, the airway tubes that carry air from the windpipe into the lungs. Acute bronchitis follows a cold or flu, is caused by a virus in about nine out of ten cases, and brings a chesty cough with phlegm that lasts around three weeks. Chronic bronchitis, a daily productive cough for months in consecutive years, is a form of COPD and is usually caused by smoking.
What are the symptoms of bronchitis?
Bronchitis causes a persistent cough, dry at first and then bringing up clear, white, yellow or green phlegm, with a sore or tight chest from coughing, wheeze, mild breathlessness on exertion, a low fever, tiredness and the cold symptoms that usually came first. The cough typically outlasts the other symptoms by two or three weeks.
What causes bronchitis?
Acute bronchitis is caused by the same viruses that cause colds and flu, which spread down from the nose and throat into the airways; bacteria are responsible in fewer than one in ten cases. Smoking, air pollution, dust and fumes irritate the airways and make bronchitis more likely and longer-lasting, and repeated irritation over years causes chronic bronchitis.
Is bronchitis contagious?
The viruses behind acute bronchitis are contagious, spreading by coughs, sneezes and hands for the first few days while you are feverish and coughing hardest. The inflammation itself is not passed on, so catching the virus gives someone a cold or cough, not necessarily bronchitis. Cover coughs, wash hands and stay home while feverish.
How long does bronchitis last?
Acute bronchitis usually clears within three to four weeks: the cold symptoms go in about a week, and the cough lingers, with up to a quarter of people still coughing at three weeks. Antibiotics do not shorten that noticeably. A cough beyond four weeks, or one that keeps returning, needs a review to check for asthma, reflux, chronic bronchitis or another cause.
Is bronchitis the same as a chest infection?
Chest infection is the umbrella term. Bronchitis is a chest infection of the airway tubes, usually viral and self-limiting; pneumonia is a chest infection of the lung tissue itself, usually more serious and more often needing antibiotics. Telling the two apart is the main job of a bronchitis consultation.
Bronchitis or pneumonia: how can I tell?
Bronchitis makes you cough; pneumonia makes you ill. Pneumonia is more likely with a high or returning fever, breathlessness on mild exertion, sharp chest pain when breathing in, rust-coloured or bloody phlegm, a fast pulse, or new confusion, especially in older people. Any of those signs needs in-person examination rather than a video assessment of bronchitis.
Can an online doctor prescribe antibiotics for bronchitis in Europe?
Yes, when the assessment genuinely supports it, which for bronchitis is the exception rather than the rule. Most acute bronchitis is viral, so the doctor prescribes antibiotics only for people who are significantly unwell or at higher risk of complications, such as those with COPD, heart failure, a weakened immune system or over 65 with other conditions.
Is green phlegm a sign I need antibiotics?
No, green phlegm alone does not mean bronchitis needs antibiotics: phlegm turns yellow or green in viral bronchitis too, because immune cells discolour it as they clear the infection. Colour alone does not decide anything. Doctors judge antibiotics on how unwell you are, your risk factors and signs of pneumonia, not on the shade of the phlegm.
What is the fastest way to get rid of bronchitis?
There is no shortcut to getting rid of bronchitis that trials support. Rest, fluids, honey for the cough, paracetamol or ibuprofen for fever and aches, steam or a humid room, and not smoking give your immune system the best conditions, and the cough still takes up to three or four weeks. Cough medicines add little, and antibiotics do not speed recovery from viral bronchitis.
When should I worry about bronchitis?
Worry about bronchitis when the cough passes three to four weeks, when breathing becomes hard rather than just noisy, when chest pain arrives with breathing in, when phlegm turns rusty or bloody, or when fever returns after you had improved. Any of those changes the diagnosis from bronchitis to something that needs examination, and struggling to breathe means 112.
How can I avoid getting bronchitis again?
Reduce repeat bronchitis by not smoking and avoiding smoke and fumes, washing hands often during cold season, having the yearly flu vaccine and keeping COVID-19 and pneumococcal vaccines up to date if you are eligible, treating asthma and reflux properly, and wearing a mask around dust at work. Three or more episodes a year deserve a check for asthma or COPD.
Is bronchitis different in pregnancy, with asthma or COPD, or in older people?
In pregnancy, bronchitis is treated with rest, fluids and paracetamol, and antibiotics safe in pregnancy only when needed. With asthma or COPD, bronchitis commonly triggers a flare, so inhaler use is stepped up and the threshold for steroids or antibiotics is lower. In people over 65, pneumonia can hide behind bronchitis with little fever, so new confusion or going off food means in-person assessment.
- Cough (acute): antimicrobial prescribing (NG120), NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2019.
- Chest infections - adults, NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries, revised 2024.
- Antibiotic prescribing: respiratory tract infections, HSE, Health Service Executive (Ireland), reviewed 2024.
- Antimicrobial resistance, ECDC, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2023.
- Antibiotics for acute bronchitis (Cochrane Review), Cochrane, Cochrane Collaboration, 2017.
- Bronchitis, NHS, National Health Service (UK), accessed October 2026.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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