My mother has been diagnosed with chronic airways disease but has never smoked or been around much smoking. She had bronchitis in December and still has a dry cough occasionally which sometimes causes her to wheeze for a few minutes. Is chronic airways disease related to bronchitis. Does it have the same symptoms and will it go away in time?

To get Respiratory Diseases you don't need to be a smoker. Everyone can get those diseases, only if you smoke the likelyhood to get such diseases ist higher. Because it just is not true that only smokers get these diseases and it is also not true that all smokers will get sick. My aunt died of lung cancer that spread to her brain. She never smoked a cigarette in her life and was not around anyone who did.

Best wishes to your mom. I hope she gets better! There are several types of COPD that are not related to smoking.Asthma,bronchitis,emph... to name a few.COPD can be managed with medication and inhalation type treatments.Take care. SW RNP With any chronic illness, it has the opportunity of showing up at any susceptible time. Sometimes a bad bout of flu, bronchitis, or pneumonia can lead to permanent tissue scarring in the bronchi and lungs. These scars can cause inflammation, that in turn, helps to produce mucus that irritates the lung. You can get lung disease from any number of things: cotton mills(brown lung), coal mines(black lung), allergy induced asthma, pollution, using wood heaters, kerosine heaters, exhaust, etc. 24% to 27% of the people that have lung disease never smoked