The rhinovirus (from the rhis "nose", ῥινός, romanized: "of the nose", and the vīrus) is the most common viral infectious agent in humans and is the predominant cause of the common cold. Rhinovirus infection proliferates in temperatures of 33–35 °C (91–95 °F), the temperatures found in the nose. Rhinoviruses belong to the genus Enterovirus in the family Picornaviridae. The three species of rhinovirus (A, B, and C) include around 165 recognized types that differ according to their surface antigens or genetics.
Moraxella catarrhalis is a fastidious, nonmotile, Gram-negative, aerobic, oxidase-positive diplococcus that can cause infections of the respiratory system, middle ear, eye, central nervous system, and joints of humans. It causes the infection of the host cell by sticking to the host cell using trimeric autotransporter adhesins. Moraxella catarrhalis is a human pathogen with an affinity for the human upper respiratory tract. Other primates, such as macaques, might become infected by this bacterium.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms of COPD include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce mucus. COPD progressively worsens, with everyday activities such as walking or dressing becoming difficult. While COPD is incurable, it is preventable and treatable. The two most common types of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis and have been the two classic COPD phenotypes.
Acute bronchitis, also known as a chest cold, is short-term bronchitis – inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) of the lungs. The most common symptom is a cough. Other symptoms include coughing up mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, fever, and chest discomfort. The infection may last from a few to ten days. The cough may persist for several weeks afterward with the total duration of symptoms usually around three weeks. Some have symptoms for up to six weeks.
Phlegm (ˈflɛm; φλέγμα, phlégma, "inflammation", "humour caused by heat") is mucus produced by the respiratory system, excluding that produced by the nasal passages. It often refers to respiratory mucus expelled by coughing, otherwise known as sputum. Phlegm, and mucus as a whole, is in essence a water-based gel consisting of glycoproteins, immunoglobulins, lipids and other substances. Its composition varies depending on climate, genetics, and state of the immune system.
Chest physiotherapy (CPT) are treatments generally performed by physical therapists and respiratory therapists, whereby breathing is improved by the indirect removal of mucus from the breathing passages of a patient. Other terms include respiratory or cardio-thoracic physiotherapy. CPT are treatments which are performed on people who have mucus dysfunction in respiratory disease conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis.
Occupational lung diseases are work-related, lung conditions that have been caused or made worse by the materials a person is exposed to within the workplace. It includes a broad group of diseases, including occupational asthma, industrial bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiolitis obliterans, inhalation injury, interstitial lung diseases (such as pneumoconiosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, lung fibrosis), infections, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Bronchiolitis is inflammation of the small airways in the lungs. Acute bronchiolitis is due to a viral infection usually affecting children younger than two years of age. Symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, wheezing, and breathing problems. More severe cases may be associated with nasal flaring, grunting, or the skin between the ribs pulling in with breathing. If the child has not been able to feed properly, signs of dehydration may be present.
Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (the trachea and bronchi). In medicine, sputum samples are usually used for a naked eye examination, microbiological investigation of respiratory infections and cytological investigations of respiratory systems. It is crucial that the specimen does not include any mucoid material from the nose or oral cavity. A naked eye exam of the sputum can be done at home by a patient in order to note the various colors (see below).
An upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is an illness caused by an acute infection, which involves the upper respiratory tract, including the nose, sinuses, pharynx, larynx or trachea. This commonly includes nasal obstruction, sore throat, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, sinusitis, otitis media, and the common cold. Most infections are viral in nature, and in other instances, the cause is bacterial. URTIs can also be fungal or helminthic in origin, but these are less common. In 2015, 17.
