Treating Bronchitis With CBD

Bronchitis is a painful and potentially dangerous condition in the lungs. It can be either acute or chronic. Some researchers have examined whether CBD can be helpful in treating bronchitis. If research shows that it is effective, CBD could become an important new treatment for this condition.

What Is Bronchitis?

In the lungs, there are structures called bronchial tubes. The function of bronchial tubes is to let air into and out of your lungs. They connect the trachea to the lungs.

Bronchitis is the inflammation of the lining of these tubes. The symptoms include coughing, excess mucus production, fatigue, chest pain, fever and shortness of breath. The causes of bronchitis are typically a viral infection (for the acute version) and smoking (for the chronic version). However, there are many other causes that can cause inflammation.

Complications from bronchitis include pneumonia which can be more dangerous. Additionally, repeated bouts may indicate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Again, this can lead to more serious lung problems.

What Are the Current Treatments?

Typically, acute bronchitis is treated with pain medication and cough suppressants. In some cases, it can be caused by a bacterial infection. If this is the case, a doctor may prescribe antibiotics. Typically, rest, fluids and treating symptoms is enough to handle acute bronchitis. Mucolytic medicine can also be used to thin the amount of mucus in the lungs.

Chronic bronchitis may require pulmonary rehabilitation. This is a breathing exercise regimen intended to help improve your ability to breathe. Additionally, lifestyle changes such as avoiding irritants and increasing exercise may be used.

How CBD Can Help

Cannabidiol may be able to help with treating both types of bronchitis. It has noted pain relief properties. This may be able to reduce pain from coughing, headaches and general aches. It can also improve back pain which sometimes results from bronchitis.

Furthermore, CBD has anti-inflammatory properties. This may be able to help lessen the inflammation of the bronchial tubes.

The same benefits apply to chronic bronchitis but may require long-term use. However, CBD should not be used as a treatment without supervision and guidance from a medical professional. In most cases, for a chronic case, CBD use should be combined with other treatments including lifestyle changes.