The main thing about asthma: what to treat it, and when to call an ambulance

What is asthma?

Asthma - a disease in which difficulty breathing due to inflammation in the bronchi. Bronchi - is a tube through which air enters the lungs. When the bronchi and bronchioles smaller swell and narrow, airway path does not work and the person begins to choke.

Every 10 seconds in the world someone happens to an asthma attackAsthma attacks. Each attack can be fatal.

The World Health Organization estimates that 235 million people (or even more) have asthma. And among children is generally the most common chronic disease10 facts on asthma. It is so widespread that there was even a problem of overdiagnosis: record in asthmatic children, even those who do not need treatment, but it is certainly not contribute to the child's healthAsthma in children: PROBLEM overdiagnosis.

Where does the asthma?

Asthma - a heterogeneous disease. This means that the causes her a lot, but to carve out a home is impossible. Simply put, no one knows exactly, where does disease.

List of demons that cause asthma begins with heredity. This is followed by allergy (Which may be genetically linked to asthmaShared genetic origin of asthma, hay fever and eczema elucidates allergic disease biology, Smoking, harmful working conditions or life (when polluted air), some sports or infection (eg, influenza).

Some even accuse the modern standards of cleanlinessClean environment and the risk of asthmaBut such claims have not yet been provedAsthma.

What are the symptoms of asthma?

Asthma is usually recognized by attacks that have plagued man for some time. symptomsAsthma attacks asthma are:

1. Man is hard to breathe, so there is a whistle when breathing.
2. Breathing quickens.
3. It becomes difficult to say.
4. The chest appears oppressive feeling as if it is compressed.
5. a cough. Sometimes when coughing sputum departs transparent.
6. Sometimes a person takes a characteristic pose, leaning on hands when trying to clear his throat. It appears even chest pain.

Pressure and pain in the chest, whistling while coughing and breathing and expectoration like glass and help to distinguish asthma from other diseases.

But the fact is that there is more obstructive bronchitis - a disease that is similar to asthma, but it is quite another, and often occurs in children. In addition, not all symptoms may occur at the same time, asthma can easily be confused with other diseases of the respiratory system.

Therefore, the symptoms that resemblePediatrician Sergey Butrim broncho-obstructive syndrome asthma, should definitely consult a doctor and do not diagnose yourself. The doctor will conduct a series of testsDiagnosing Asthma and uses a spirometer - a special device, which will determine the respiratory capacity.

However, it is psychosomatic, and all the nerves?

Not really. Asthma can provoke stress, emotions, depression, powerful emotions. In this sense, asthma can loosely be called psychosomatic disease. But in asthma triggers not only mental. And less to provoke attacks, it is necessary to meet less often with these triggers:

1. Allergens. Including animals and even cockroachesCommon Asthma Triggers.
2. Frequent infections and SARS.
3. Stress.
4. Smoking, including passivePassive smoking: protect your family and friends (When people smoke next to, and you just breathe in smoke).
5. Air pollution (at work or in town).
6. MoldHumidity.
7. Certain medicines, such as painkillers.
8. Sports.
9. Some smells, even harmlessAsthma: just believing an odor is harmful 'could trigger airway inflammation'.

I think I have an asthma attack. What to do?

Try to take a comfortable position while standing (leaning on hands) or sitting. Try to make uniform breaths. The main thing - do not panic.

If this happens for the first time and you do not have any medicine, but the attack fails, call an ambulance after a couple of minutes.

If you already have been attacks and medicine, take it as you teach the doctor. If you do not get better, call an ambulance after medication.

How to cure asthma?

To eliminate the root cause of asthma can not be, because no one knows what the reason. All that is available - this time to prevent attacks or just stop them. Every asthmatic with an inhaler should beAsthma, Nebulizer or inhaler spacer.

All these devices contain a medication that the doctor picks: inhaled β2-agonists, short-acting bronchodilators or otherPRACTALL. International Recommendations for asthma in children and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Together with them, using hormonal treatments - glucocorticosteroidsInternational Consensus on asthma in childrenQuickly acting on the bronchial mucosa. If you take a deep breath medicine, bronchial lumen becomes larger, and therefore breathing is restored.

What kind of medicine to buy a particular asthmatic, solves only a doctor, so we deliberately do not call names and active ingredients.

The problem is that every kind of inhalera, spacer or inhaler must be used correctly, only in this case the drug reaches the bronchial tubes and help. Therefore, we must listen carefully to the doctor and to train in the use of short-acting drugs.

If the asthma attacks occur twice a week or more, patients prescribed corticosteroids in other formsBRONCHIAL ASTHMA. Underestimating AND CONSEQUENCESAs well as drugs from other groupsTreating asthma in children ages 12 and older.

Whether harmful hormones to treat asthma?

Asthma can not be cured10 facts on asthma. It happens that children with asthma attacks occur less and less over time. It is said that children "growSpecialists Say Childhood Asthma Is Overdiagnosed"Illness. It happens that the changes in life reduces the risk of attack and asthma practice never reminds himself. But we can not forget about it.

With regard to hormones - it's therapy for health reasons. Simply put, they rescue patients from death.

Of course, all medications have side effects, and therefore the selection of the drug has always been a doctor, taking into account many factors. The most common pobochkiTreating Asthma with Inhaled Steroids using hormones to treat asthma - this irritation and mucosa thrush in the oral cavity (so after using drugs need to rinse your mouth).

Inhaled hormones can reduce the rate of growth of children, but only slightlyICS AND GROWTH OF CHILDREN: 0.5 cm per year, compared with their peers. This is a side effect, but asthma is much worse.

Why you should not be afraid of drugs for asthma?

On this question, we asked to answer an expert pulmonologist.

However, according to doctors, some risk is still there. If the treatment of asthma only use salbutamol or any other bronchodilators long or short-acting, then after a while it will cease to operate. And then it happens a heavy asthma attack that will be difficult to stop, because the sensitivity to the drug is quite another. Ie risks of therapy are not associated with the drugs, but rather with their misuse.

What are the traditional methods of treating asthma?

No. As long as we are afraid to use hormones and inhalers, so invent different means like "to put the banks." Basil Shtabnitsky gives three pieces of advice how to do it is not necessary:

1. Do not use mineral water for inhalation. They have a lot of salts, which are useful if they are thirsty, but can cause bronchospasm.
2. Do not use miramistin and chlorhexidine. These funds are quite another. What might be the reaction to inhalation - is unknown.
3. Do not use essential oils. If the oil gets into the lungs with a deep inhalation and not with aromatherapy, it can cause even pneumonia.

In general, the attacks did not take place, a person feels tired all the time, it is depressed, forced to miss work or study because of frequent visits to the doctor (or the healer), cold end pneumonias, then treat asthma badlyAsthma. It is necessary to change the doctor and methods.

Frivolous attitude to asthma only increases mortalityAsthma: is it still seen as a 'minor' condition?.

You say the sport causes asthma. I can not play sports at all?

It is not always the sport is trigger an attack. Most often provoke asthma lessons in a cold and humid air, or in poorly ventilated areas, or where the use a lot of chlorine - in the same basin, for example.

Just pick a sport and a place that does not prevent you to do. If properly used inhalery (eg before exerciseExercise and Asthma), The risk of getting an attack is reduced.

What else you need to know with asthma?

That the successful treatment of asthma should be monitored.

It will be useful to measure the peak expiratory flow rate - an indicator of respiratory function. To measure peak flow meter will need to purchase a home. Reduction of peak expiratory flow rate may indicate an impending aggravation or loss of asthma control.

Basil Shtabnitsky

It is worth to keep a diary. It is necessary to record when and how there was an attack: the morning or evening, after some event or meeting with a trigger. According to the diary of a doctor and a patient oriented in the course of the disease, understand the disease progresses or, on the contrary, it is time to switch to a lighter treatmentInternational Consensus on asthma in children.

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