Does respiratory infection lead to bronchitis and COPD?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 47-year-old male and am a patient with allergic asthma. I have been using an Aerocort inhaler for the last 10 to 15 years, and more or less, there has not been any serious issue. A day before yesterday, I was on an official trip, checked in at a hotel the previous night, and took a chilled beer. After some time, I got a whizzing sound from my chest or respiratory tract. My situation worsened slightly, and I started coughing out mucous sputum. The sputum was pink and red. This made me very uncomfortable for another 30 to 45 min or an hour or so. I again used an Aerocort inhaler to control my breath and revert to normal. The coughing every time and more than 15 to 20 times, I spitted out with reddish or tinge red sputum. Since then, I was on an official trip; I controlled my breath and continued going out and doing some agricultural field research jobs, which I was supposed to do. Please help and advise suitable onward investigation and confirmation of my being well.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

To better understand your condition and provide the right guidance, I need a few more details:

Did your wheezing start after visiting a specific agricultural field or coming into contact with a particular plant?
Did you eat anything unusual, like nuts or shellfish?
Do you know what you're allergic to? Have you ever had allergy testing or a skin prick test?
Was there any pus in your sputum?
Did you have a fever, sore throat, chest pain, or a history of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)?
Do you smoke?

Based on your symptoms, I recommend the following tests at this point:

Sputum examination.
Sputum culture and sensitivity.
Complete blood count (CBC).
Serum IgE (immunoglobulin E) levels.
Chest X-ray.
If your IgE levels are elevated, you may need a skin prick test or a blood test like ImmunoCAP to help identify specific allergens.

Please feel free to reach out with any more questions.

Thank you.