Respiratory Diseases

💡TL;DR: Shortness of breath when you lie flat is called orthopnea and it usually points to a heart or lung issue that needs checking. If it eases when you sit up or you need two or more pillows to sleep, schedule a medical visit; sudden or severe symptoms are

💡TL;DR: Hemoptysis = blood with a cough from the lungs; hematemesis = blood with vomiting from the stomach or esophagus. Look for bright, frothy blood in mucus during a cough versus dark coffee‑ground or bright red blood mixed with food after nausea. Any vomiting of blood warrants emergency care; coughing

💡TL;DR: Epiglottitis is a sudden, bacterial throat infection that can block the airway within hours and needs emergency care, while croup is a common viral illness with a barky cough that usually improves in 3–4 days with calm care and a single steroid dose from your doctor. Look

💡TL;DR: Yes, pneumonia can be contagious when it is caused by a virus or bacteria, and it spreads at close range in cough and sneeze droplets. Viral cases are contagious for several days. Bacterial cases usually stop spreading about 24–48 hours after effective antibiotics. Walking pneumonia (Mycoplasma) can

💡TL;DR: Stridor is a harsh, high‑pitched sound on inhale from the upper airway; wheezing is a musical whistle on exhale from the lungs. Location (throat vs chest) and timing (in vs out) are the fastest ways to tell them apart. Stridor at rest, blue lips, or trouble swallowing

💡TL;DR: Bronchitis irritates the airways and is usually viral; pneumonia infects the lung's air sacs and tends to be more severe. Expect bronchitis to improve in 1–3 weeks and pneumonia to take 1–2+ weeks, with fatigue lingering. Antibiotics usually don't help acute bronchitis,

💡TL;DR: Most sore throats are viral and get better in a few days; only about 5–15% of adults and 20–30% of children have strep (CDC). Strep usually starts suddenly with severe throat pain and fever and no cough, while viral sore throats build more slowly with cough

💡TL;DR: Croup = a barky upper‑airway cough that peaks over 1–2 nights, RSV = a wet cough with wheeze that runs about 1–2 weeks, and whooping cough = long coughing fits with a whoop that can last for weeks. Nearly all children encounter RSV by age 2 (CDC), while

💡TL;DR: After COVID-19, a new or returning low fever, a cough that worsens instead of easing, and new shortness of breath within 1–3 weeks can signal walking pneumonia. See your doctor to confirm with a chest X-ray; don’t assume it’s just long COVID. Most people feel