Cannot believe this but I just got diagnosed with bronchitis (viêm phế quản).
After a month of almost daily coughing, two days ago I got a fever. It began with gradual fatigue in the afternoon of 15/5, then somehow I managed to teach the evening class. By 9.30 pm the fatigue intensified, and I started to feel muscle soreness. Classic symptoms of a fever here. Bought a thermometer and my temperature read a whopping 39 degrees.
That night I was sweating and feeling chilly at the same time. Also had a throbbing headache so I could barely sleep. Was dead worried I’d contracted either dengue fever, malaria, or even worse, tuberculosis. All the symptoms I had experienced (prolonged coughing and fever) seemed indicative of tuberculosis. I had to go see a doctor soon.
Woke up the next morning and somehow my temperature was back to 37. That’s weird; normally a fever lasts for several days. Anyway, I went to the doctor and was ordered to do a blood test for certain viruses, a chest X-ray, and an endoscopic exam of my nose and throat.
The final result is that I have bronchitis. I was pretty surprised by this diagnosis — I thought even with an upper respiratory infection, my body would be able to stop it right at the throat. I thought I was pretty healthy. How on earth did it manage to get all the way down to my bronchi??
The doctor says I’m lucky to have it treated early, otherwise I’d be in deep trouble if it made it way to my lungs and turned into pneumonia.
Anyway, so now I still have a lingering cough and a mild headache. Not the worst case scenario I guess. The biggest bummer is the realisation that my immune system is more vulnerable than I thought. How did you let a damn throat infection develop into bronchitis man.
I did some Google research afterwards and came up with a couple of takeaways for my future habits:
- It’s best to sleep with a rotating fan. Unless it’s scorching hot outside, sleeping with the AC on is not exactly a good idea as the temperature at night can dip below the body’s liking.
- Mild, moderate exercise is ideal for improving immune functions. Intense exercise might actually have the reverse effect.
- There are viruses, bacteria, and pathogens everywhere in the air. There isn’t much you can do to prevent them from invading your body except for perhaps washing your hands regularly.