What is Respiratory Tract Infection?

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are a very common type of condition that affects any area of your body involved in breathing.

They are generally divided into Lower respiratory tract infections (affecting lungs and airways) and Upper Respiratory tract infections (affecting the nose, sinuses, and throat).

Ahmeys prescribers will assess your symptoms and once you have been diagnosed they will recommend the most effective treatment.

Lower Respiratory Tract Infection

Symptoms

Lower RTIs affect your airways and lungs. Examples include bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and bronchiolitis.

Common symptoms include:

Tight feeling in the chest

Breathlessness

Breathing faster than normal

Wheezing

Upper Respiratory Tract Infection

Symptoms

This type of RTI affects your sinuses, throat, and nose. The common cold, tonsillitis, and sinusitis are all examples of Upper RTIs.

Symptoms Include

Headaches

Runny or blocked nose

Sneezing

Sore Throat

Treatment

RTIs can be caused by bacteria or viruses. Before an Ahmeys prescriber can recommend treatment they need to diagnose what sort of RTI you have.

They will discuss your symptoms with you during your consultation and undertake a medical history and use the information provided to make their diagnosis and suggest effective treatment or medication.

Causes

Respiratory tract infections can be passed on through contagious viruses and bacteria. The virus can be caught through direct contact ( such as someone’s breath) or indirect contact (such as touching a surface that someone with a virus has touched).
As the symptoms of viruses often take a few days to appear, it is easy to become infected without realizing it.