Bronchial asthma. Symptoms and Treatment

 What is bronchial asthma?

Bronchial asthma may be a chronic lung disease during which there's a violation of the patency of the bronchi. This, in turn, causes the event of symptoms like cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, choking.

asthma symptoms, treatment

What happens to the bronchi during the event of an attack of bronchial asthma?

In healthy bronchi, the lumen is free and allows inhaled and exhaled air to undergo the tract unhindered. thanks to the event of inflammation, swelling of the walls of the bronchi occurs, it thickens, at an equivalent time, this happens when the muscle fibers of the bronchi contract with the event of bronchospasm. within the spasmodic bronchi, an accumulation of mucus occurs, which disrupts the method of free passage of air flows, there's a sense of lack of air, shortness of breath, wheezing.

Unfortunately, to date, it's impossible to offer an unambiguous answer to the question of what's the impetus for the event of this disease. However, some points are often noted that play a crucial role within the development of this disease. the most ones are: a genetic factor, environmental factors (polluted air, tobacco smoke, house dust, flower pollen, viruses and other agents that get into the lungs with the air flow affect the active zones - receptors located in several parts of the bronchi.). this is often important to understand , because different agents act on different parts of the bronchi and on which a part of the bronchi the aggressive factor affects, what drug should be wont to avoid an attack of asthma or to quickly stop it if it develops.

It is important to know that this disease is chronic and you'll need to be treated all of your life. 

What are the goals of asthma therapy?

Although it's impossible to get over asthma , with the proper therapy and strict adherence to the doctor's recommendations, you'll be ready to control the symptoms of the disease, and this is often the most goal of treating asthma . It takes a mean of three to six months to pick therapy to realize control, so it's important to debate an action plan together with your healthcare provider directly to assist you adjust your actions in response to changes within the level of control.

• symptoms of asthma are absent during the daytime (or there are 2 or less episodes); 
• there are not any restrictions on daily activities, including exercise; 
• there are not any nighttime symptoms or awakening thanks to bronchial asthma;
• the frequency of use of ambulance drugs doesn't exceed 2 episodes per week; 
• normal lung function indicators; 
•  there are not any exacerbations.

Remember that the correction of therapy is formed clearly in accordance with the written instructions previously developed and approved by the doctor.

It is also vital to require part in educational programs for patients with asthma , where you'll be taught the way to properly use special devices for injecting drugs into the lungs, called inhalers.

What preventive measures will assist you avoid exacerbation?

Reducing exposure to major risk factors, like quitting smoking, reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, occupational factors that cause asthma symptoms, and avoiding foods, supplements, or drugs that trigger your attacks, improves asthma control and reduces the necessity for medication.

In addition, physical activity is a crucial explanation for asthma symptoms in most patients, in some it's the sole cause. For this reason, persons experiencing bouts of bronchospasm during exercise, albeit the disease is well controlled, should use drugs to stop the attack immediately before exercise or immediately after exercise to prevent an attack.

Therefore, if you've got been diagnosed with asthma , you want to always have a drug "at hand" to alleviate an attack of bronchospasm.

What drugs are wont to treat bronchial asthma?

All drugs for the treatment of asthma are divided into drugs that control the course of the disease (maintenance) and emergency drugs. Drugs for supportive therapy are taken daily and for an extended time, since, thanks to their anti-inflammatory effect, they're designed to make sure control over the clinical symptoms of asthma . Drugs to alleviate symptoms are taken on demand, that is, once you feel that you simply have difficulty breathing or are under the influence of things which will trigger an attack of bronchospasm.

Drugs for the treatment of asthma are often utilized in various ways - within the sort of tablets, with the assistance of subcutaneous, intramuscular and injection , also like the assistance of special dosing devices - inhalers.

The main advantage of inhalation methods of administration is that the ability to deliver the drug directly into the tract , which allows you to realize a locally higher concentration of the drug and significantly reduce the danger of undesirable side effects.

Since there are an outsized number of medicine for the treatment of asthma , it must be remembered that only the attending physician can prescribe or make changes to your treatment plan.

If necessary, you ought to use drugs "ambulance" to alleviate an acute attack of bronchospasm.

Asthma and allergies. 

Suffocating attacks can occur with hypersensitivity to 1) components of house dust. House dust includes: - various fibers (clothes, bed linen, furniture); - dust particles of books, magazines (library dust); - peeled particles of the surface layers of the skin (epidermis) of humans and animals (cats, dogs, rodents), animal dander, feathers of birds; - spores of microscopic molds and yeasts; - particles of chitinous shell and waste products of house dust mites and cockroaches. 2) allergens of pollen of wind-pollinated plants. To be ready to cause an allergy , plant pollen must have certain properties:

• it should be pollen from wind-pollinated plants;
• particles must be volatile;
• pollen should be within the air in significant quantities;
• the size of pollen particles should be no quite 35 microns.

For central Russia, there are three main periods of flowering of allergenic plants:

• spring (April-May) - related to flowering trees (birch, alder, hazel, oak, etc.);
• early summer (June-mid-July) - related to the flowering of cereals and meadow grasses (timothy, fescue, hedgehog, ryegrass, bonfire, rye, bluegrass, etc.);
• late summer-autumn (mid-July-September) - related to the flowering of Compositae (sunflower, wormwood, ragweed) and haze (quinoa).

Food cross-reactions are common if you're allergic to pollen from allergenic plants or mold spores. this is often thanks to the similar structure of the pollen allergen and therefore the specific product.

Allergic reactions are often observed on medicines and cosmetics containing herbal ingredients, and just in case of allergy to fungal allergens - to drugs of fungal origin, for instance , brewer's yeast, antibiotics.

Food and Drugs That Can Cause Cross-Allergic Reactions

Plants that are sensitive to pollen	Foods to which there may be reactions	Medicines and medicinal plants to which there may be reactions
Birch, alder, hazel	Apples, pears, nuts, cherries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, carrots, celery, parsley, honey, potatoes, tomatoes, kiwi, olives, cognac	Birch leaf (buds), alder cones, pine buds, lime blossom
Cereal herbs	Food grains: wheat and rye bread, baked goods, oat and semolina porridge, rice, millet, pasta, muesli, wheat vodka, beer, kvass	Rye, oats, timothy, wheat, etc.
Sunflower, wormwood, ragweed	Sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, halva, mayonnaise, mustard, melon, watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin, eggplant, cucumbers, cabbage, honey, vermouth	Wormwood, dandelion, burdock, tansy, goldenrod, chamomile, calendula, cornflower, string, thistle, coltsfoot, elecampane, zirconia, rosehip, sunflower, yarrow
Quinoa	Beets, spinach	Pigweed
Allergens of molds and yeasts	Sauerkraut, cheeses (especially moldy), sour cream, yogurt, kefir, grapes, dried fruits, beer, kvass, dry wines, champagne	Penicillin antibiotics, B vitamins, brewer's yeast

To diagnose (determine) those allergens that cause a choking attack, doctors use two main methods:

Statement of skin scarification or prick tests

The test isn't carried out:

• with a pronounced exacerbation of the disease (for example, during the dusting season of causative plants);
• with damage to the skin of both forearms and back;
• if it's impossible to cancel antihistamines;
• in infancy (up to three years), during pregnancy and lactation.

If it's impossible to conduct skin provocative tests, the extent of specific IgE antibodies (immunoglobulins of sophistication E) within the serum is decided .

Eliminating the allergen or reducing contact with the causative allergen is that the first and necessary step in allergy management.

Reducing exposure to household allergens:

• try to remove from the space where you sleep and spend most of the time, carpets, soft toys, bookcases, boxes, curtains made from thick fabrics, a TV, a computer (near them, the concentration of dust increases significantly);
• replace carpeting with easy-washable laminate, linoleum or wood flooring;
• wall covering: washable wallpaper and painted walls should be preferred;
• replace down, feather and woolen pillows, mattresses and blankets with synthetic or cotton; wash pillows and blankets every month; change pillows and blankets per annum , mattresses a minimum of once every 10 years, use protective covers for mattresses;
• bed covers should be made from easily washable lint-free fabrics;
• carry out wet cleaning a minimum of 2 times a week; use cleaning vacuum cleaners with disposable bags and filters or vacuum cleaners with a water tank;
• install an air conditioning or air cleaner within the apartment; be careful for normal filter changes;
• keep the humidity within the apartment no quite 40% - this reduces the reproduction rate of mites and molds;
• do not keep pets, birds or fish (even if you're not hypersensitive to epidermal allergens);
• do not keep indoor plants;
• do not store things under the bed or on cabinets;
• do not smoke;
• do not use perfumes and other pungent substances, especially in sprays;
• cleaning is best wiped out the absence of the patient; if you've got to wash yourself, use a special respirator when cleaning;
• do not throw clothes round the room; store clothes during a closed closet; put woolen and fur clothes in covers with a zipper;
• use acaricidal agents - special agents that kill ticks.

Reducing exposure to epidermal allergens:

• allergen-free animals don't exist;
• it is necessary to spare pets and not have new ones;
• if possible, it's necessary to thoroughly vacuum the premises, upholstered furniture; exclude the presence of animals within the bedroom; regularly wash pets;
• do not visit the circus, zoo and houses where there are animals;
• do not use clothing made from wool or animal fur.
• Reducing contact with mold allergens:
• keep the humidity within the apartment no quite 40%;
• constantly clean and dry rooms that are conducive to mold growth (showers, basements);
• make sure to regularly change filters in air conditioners;
• after using the toilet , wipe dry all damp surfaces; for cleaning, use solutions that prevent the expansion of mold (containing chlorine, boric acid or baking soda);
• in the presence of leaks, the formation of black dots on the walls, it's necessary to hold out repairs using special fungicidal agents (killing fungi and preventing their growth);
• you should not keep aquarium fish, don't breed home flowers; dry clothes during a ventilated area, outside the living room;
• do not participate in gardening add autumn and spring;
• when planning your vacation, avoid traveling to countries with warm, humid climates;
• avoid visiting poorly ventilated areas (basements, cellars);
• do not eat foods of fungal origin.

Reducing contact with plant pollen:

• during the flowering season of causative plants, it's not recommended to go away the city;
• if possible, occupy home, don't open doors and windows;
• install an air conditioning or air cleaner within the apartment; be careful for normal filter changes;
• if possible, you ought to attend another zone where causal plants bloom at a special time or don't grow in the least (desert, mountains at an altitude of quite 1500-2000 meters);
• wear safety glasses;
• regularly rinse the cavity with warm saline (1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1 cup of boiled water) employing a syringe or syringe, or with special means;
• do not eat foods which will cause food cross-reactions, especially during the flowering season of the causative plants;
• do not use medicines and cosmetics containing plant components;
• during the flowering season of causative plants, routine surgical interventions and preventive vaccination are prohibited.

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) is that the only method that exists today which will change the attitude of your body to the allergen and stop further development of allergies.

The allergen that's the explanation for your illness (house dust, house dust mite, tree or grass pollen) is diluted 1,000,000 times and injected into your body in gradually increasing doses. As a results of the treatment, your body "gets used" to the present allergen and stops reacting thereto so strongly.