Respiratory Treatments

💡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: A peak flow meter is a small home tool that shows how open your airways are by measuring how fast you can blow out (L/min). Check it daily and compare the highest of 3 blows to your personal best to guide your asthma action plan. Green 80–

💡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: If you are wheezing, first decide if it is an emergency, then use the fastest safe steps to open your airways. Mild wheezing with easy breathing can often be calmed at home with rescue inhalers, nebulizers, or breathing exercises, while severe shortness of breath, blue lips, or noisy

💡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

💡TL;DR: The fastest way to calm a cough is a 30-second sequence: briefly hold your breath, switch to small nose breaths, and sip water. Most coughs from colds settle in 1–2 weeks without prescriptions; quick home fixes cost $0–$10 (water, honey, lozenges), while a bedroom humidifier runs

💡TL;DR: Chest pain that worsens with deep breaths often points to pleurisy, while pain you can reproduce by pressing the chest usually means costochondritis. Musculoskeletal chest wall pain is common in primary care (about 20–40%) and costochondritis is a frequent cause, while pleurisy signals inflammation of the lung

💡 TL;DR: Use your rescue inhaler 10–15 minutes before exercise and warm up for 10 minutes — these two steps prevent most episodes. Quick-relief inhalers protect for about 2–4 hours; if you need them often, a daily inhaled steroid or an ICS/formoterol plan can cut symptoms. Montelukast may

💡TL;DR: Most kids with croup can spread the virus from about 1 day before symptoms start until around day 3 of illness. A steroid such as dexamethasone eases breathing within hours, but it does not shorten how long your child is contagious. Plan for home rest for about 3–