If you have a persistent cough that just won’t seem to go away, perhaps after having a cold or upper respiratory infection, it’s possible you have bronchitis. Typically, as annoying and disruptive to your life bronchitis may be (loss, interrupted sleep, etc.) it is possible, over an extended period of time, to heal from bronchitis without a doctors help for otherwise healthy people. But, it should be noted that the possibility for developing more serious conditions such as pneumonia do still exist even for otherwise healthy people.
However, for the elderly, young children and those with pre-existing respiratory issues untreated bronchitis can pose serious health risks and or consequences and should always be addressed by seeking medical expertise from a doctor.
A nagging persistent cough may not seem reason enough to have to take time off from work or from your child’s school day to sit in a crowded doctor’s office with sick people, but the truth is that you really should see a doctor to receive a diagnosis and afterword develop a treatment plan to prevent possible complications.
The good news is that it’s not necessary for you to miss work or your child to miss school, a video chat doctor consultation can allow you to consult face-to-face with a U.S. board certified doctor licensed from the state you live in to make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan for you.
Telemedicine offers patients the option to choose the time and place their video chat doctor appointment occurs. You can schedule your doctor appointment to occur from the comfort and privacy of your home, office, or if you’re away from any location you happen to be. Most importantly is that you can see (virtually) a doctor within a matter of minutes rather than days, which is often key to getting you back to robust health.
To have a (virtual) video chat doctor appointment takes less than an hour typically; it only takes minutes to register online with a telemedicine company answering simple questions about your health history, allergic reaction to medications, who your primary care doctor is and health insurance provider information (because your insurance may cover telemedicine doctor appointments). Once you are registered online with the telemedicine company of your choice you can then choose the date you want to schedule your video chat doctor appointment, inputting as soon as possible as the time frame. Typically, you will have a response within just a few minutes with a list of U.S. board certified doctors who are available to provide you with a video chat consultation. Now the choice is yours.
How A Video Chat Doctor Will Treat Bronchitis?
Now that you have selected the doctor of your choice and the time you want the video chat consultation to take place, let the examination begin. The doctor will have carefully reviewed your medical history information and will now face-to-face via video chat ask you about the symptoms you are presently experiencing as well as any recent occurrence of a cold or flu (influenza). Your virtual examination will include the doctor visually examining you and may include the doctor asking you to perform physical aspects of the exam such as taking deep breaths, coughing, and other diagnostic manipulations in order to evaluate you.
Once your video chat consultation is complete and the doctor has diagnosed you with bronchitis he or she will lay out a treatment plan for you. For bronchitis the treatment is primarily one of a supportive nature which typically will include medications to reduce the coughing and a decongestant to reduce chest congestion in aiding your body to eradicate the infection. Antibiotics are not typically prescribed for bronchitis unless it has been confirmed that the infection is bacterial and will benefit from antibiotic treatment.
What Information You Will Need to Have Ready For The Doctor
Any time you are going to see a doctor it is always good practice to make a list of questions you want to ask your doctor, hard as we try most people forget to ask the doctor something they wanted to ask, making a list will eliminate any possible “senior moments”. Included in your list should also be your symptoms; what they are, when they began and any unusual occurrences you may have experienced since getting sick i.e. yesterday I coughed up phlegm (mucous) and it was speckled with blood. Provide the doctor with as much information regarding your illness as you can. Just before or during your video chat doctor appointment take your temperature to give the doctor a current reading. In case the doctor orders a prescription(s) have the phone number and address of the pharmacy you will want any prescriptions sent in to ready for the doctor if it is different from the one that is in your telemedicine registration information.
What Kind of Resolution Can I Expect From The Doctor
You can expect your video chat doctor to thoroughly review your medical history and then proceed with a face-to-face video chat consultation whereby the doctor will ask you a series of questions related to your current chief health complaint. Upon making a visual and practical examination, taking into account all of your symptoms and health history the doctor will make a diagnosis and provide you with a proper treatment plan to put you on the path of restoring your health.
Should the doctor find your diagnosis is bronchitis he or she will prescribe a treatment plan that is primarily of a supportive nature in assisting you to minimize symptoms while your body’s natural immune system fights off the infection. Your treatment plan may include over-the-counter medications to assist in your recovery and lessen cough and congestion. Typically, antibiotics are not required to treat bronchitis and likely will not be prescribed by your telemedicine physician.
Your telemedicine doctor will answer any and all questions you may have regarding your illness and thoroughly explain your diagnosis and prognosis (expected outcome). In the event you should have any questions you failed to ask during your video chat doctor consultation most telemedicine companies will allow you a grace period of up to seven days to ask any questions you may have forgotten to ask (the grace period varies from one company to another) however the subject matter must be related to the illness your video chat consultation was initiated for.
