Chest infection

Chest infections are common, and you're most likely to get one after a cold or flu in autumn and winter. Some are mild and get better on their own. Others can be serious or even life-threatening.

A chest infection can cause a number of symptoms. These include:

• a persistent cough
• coughing up yellow or green phlegm (thick mucus), or coughing up blood
• breathlessness, or rapid and shallow breathing
• wheezing
• a high temperature (fever)
• a rapid heartbeat
• chest pain or tightness
• feeling confused and disorientated

You may also have the more general symptoms of an infection, such as:

• a headache
• fatigue
• sweating
• loss of appetite
• joint and muscle pain

• you have severe difficulty breathing (for example, you struggle to speak without pausing, gasping or choking)
• you have severe chest pain in the middle of your chest that isn't going away, and it may feel like pressure, tightness or squeezing
• you have pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw
• you feel more drowsy than usual or find it more difficult to wake up
• your lips or skin are turning very pale, blue or grey (on brown or black skin this is easier to see on the palms of your hands)

Information on breathing problems in children

• are more short of breath than usual
• have pain when you breathe in or cough
• feel confused, dizzy or lightheaded
• feel sick or are being sick (for example, you can't keep food or fluids down)
• are coughing up blood (haemoptysis)
• have heart palpitations (this may feel like your heart is racing, going too slowly or skipping a beat, or like a fluttering feeling in)
• are peeing less than usual (this can be a sign of dehydration)
• have a very high or low temperature (for example, you feel either hot or cold to touch, or you're shivering)

If your doctor's chamber is closed, call a doctor or the 16263 health line.

Speak to a doctor if:

• you have breathlessness which is not improving
• you have had a cough for more than 3 weeks
• you have a fever
• your symptoms are not improving or they are affecting your daily life

A doctor can usually diagnose a chest infection from your symptoms. They'll also listen to your chest with a stethoscope, which is a medical instrument used to listen to the heart and lungs.

Sometimes further tests may be needed, such as:

• a chest X-ray
• breathing tests
• phlegm tests
• blood samples

Most chest infections aren't serious, and they get better within a few days or weeks. You usually won't need to see a doctor unless your symptoms suggest the infection is a more serious one.

While you recover at home, there are things you can do to ease your symptoms.

• get plenty of rest
• drink lots of fluid to prevent dehydration and to loosen the mucus in your lungs, so it's easier to cough up
• treat headaches, fever and aches and pains with pain relief like paracetamol or ibuprofen
• drink a warm drink of honey and lemon to ease a sore throat caused by persistent coughing
• raise your head with extra pillows while you're sleeping, to make breathing easier
• stop smoking if you smoke

Avoid cough medicines, as there's little evidence they work. Coughing actually helps you clear the chest infection more quickly, because it gets rid of the phlegm from your lungs.

Antibiotics aren't recommended for many chest infections. They only work if bacteria cause the infection.

Your doctor will usually only prescribe antibiotics if they think you have pneumonia. They may also prescribe them if you're at risk of complications like fluid building up around the lungs (pleurisy).

If there's a flu outbreak in your local area and you're at risk of serious infection, your doctor may also prescribe antiviral medicine.

A chest infection is an infection of the lungs or airways. The two main types are bronchitis and pneumonia. Most cases of bronchitis are caused by viruses, while most cases of pneumonia are due to bacteria.

These infections usually spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Tiny droplets of fluid carrying the virus or bacteria are thrown into the air, and other people can breathe them in.

They can also spread if you cough or sneeze onto your hand, an object or a surface. Someone else then shakes your hand or touches that surface, and later touches their mouth or nose.

Some people have a higher risk of developing a serious chest infection, including:

• babies and very young children
• children with developmental problems
• people who are very overweight
• elderly people
• pregnant women
• people who smoke
• people with long-term health conditions, like asthma, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• people with a weakened immune system (this could be due to a recent illness, a transplant, high-dose steroids, chemotherapy or a health condition, like an undiagnosed HIV infection)

If you keep getting chest infections, or you're at risk of getting one, you can:

• ask your doctor about the annual flu vaccine
• ask your doctor if you should have the pneumococcal vaccine, which helps to prevent pneumonia
• try to stop smoking, if you smoke
• cut down how much alcohol you drink