Respiratory system diseases are one of the most common. Hundreds of millions of people suffer from them to one degree or another annually. However, not everyone knows what the doctor’s name is for the lungs and bronchi.
Who will help with diseases of the respiratory system?
To date, there are several doctors who are able to provide medical care for such diseases. Among them:
- TB specialist;
- pediatrician;
- pulmonologist;
- therapist;
- thoracic surgeon;
- thoracic oncologist.
All of them carry out their own functions, therefore, each of them should be addressed in certain situations.
Therapist
Most patients who do not know which doctor treats the lungs and bronchi are recommended to consult a physician first. This doctor is engaged in the fight against a wide variety of diseases. If you do not take into account the pathology of the upper respiratory tract, then he can deal with the treatment of the following diseases:
- bronchial asthma;
- pneumonia;
- bronchitis;
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
For this, such a specialist applies various options for conservative effects, which may include:
- drug therapy;
- physiotherapeutic treatment;
- Spa treatment.
In this case, the therapist is a doctor who treats the bronchi and lungs in mild cases. Pathology, which seriously threatens human health and life, is treated in specialized health care institutions that provide inpatient care.
Pediatrician
The essence of this specialist is in many ways similar to the work of a therapist. At the same time, this doctor, dealing with the lungs and bronchi, provides medical care only to minor patients. Pathology of the respiratory system is very common among children. Indications for hospitalization are much wider than in adults. It is for this reason that the pediatrician often refers his patients to specialized centers, treating only the simplest cases of the disease.
Pulmonologist
It is this specialist who is most suitable as an answer to the question of what the doctor is called for the lungs and bronchi. Such a doctor deals with the treatment of those diseases that affect the respiratory system. Usually he has to take on those cases that the therapist or pediatrician cannot handle. Most often, patients with the following diseases are treated by a pulmonologist:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Pneumonia.
- Pleurisy.
- Emphysema.
- Bronchial asthma.
- Bronchiectatic disease.
People with such a pathology not only undergo treatment, but are often and constantly observed by a pulmonologist.
TB specialist
If, after the examination, the patient has suspicions of the presence of tuberculosis, he will immediately be told which doctor deals with the lungs and bronchi in these cases, as well as where to go for specialized care. The doctor treating patients with such a severe pathology is a TB doctor. This specialty is considered one of the most harmful and dangerous among all others. Every year, dozens of medical workers at TB hospitals themselves become infected with tuberculosis.
A patient actively isolating dangerous bacteria will have to spend from a few months to 2-3 years in a specialized hospital. The exact period will depend on the person’s commitment to treatment, the resistance of the infection to antibiotic therapy, and the safety of the immune system.
In the course of therapy, the patient will periodically take sputum for examination, as well as undergo an X-ray of the lungs.
Thoracic surgeon
Very few patients know the name of the doctor for the lungs and bronchi, specializing not in conservative, but in surgical methods of treatment. These doctors are engaged in the fight against the following pathology:
- Pneumothorax.
- Traumatic lung injury.
- Tuberculoma.
- Abscess of the lung.
- Gangrene of the lung.
- Large cysts of lung tissue.
This specialist includes only patients suffering from really serious diseases that cannot be cured without surgery.
Thoracic Oncologist
A thoracic oncologist also deals with the lungs and bronchi. Which doctor would not treat the patient earlier, if there are suspicions of tumor diseases of the respiratory system, the person is referred to such a specialist.
Most often, physicians, pulmonologists or other oncologists are referred to this doctor. In order to treat his patients, a thoracic oncologist uses the following methods:
- surgery;
- chemotherapy;
- exposure to the tumor with radiation.
To date, with oncological diseases of the lungs and bronchi, the most commonly used combination treatment, which includes all of these methods.
Diagnostic Professionals
There are doctors who do not treat, but check the lungs and bronchi. No matter what the doctor is involved in the treatment of the patient, he will definitely need the help of diagnosticians. There are 3 main specialties of this orientation:
- radiologist;
- radiologist;
- endoscopist.
The work of the radiologist is of great importance for absolutely any healthcare institution, both inpatient and outpatient. This specialist not only manages the medical personnel working directly with x-ray units, but also decrypts the data obtained during the examination. Thanks to the conclusion of such a doctor, other doctors have the opportunity to clarify the diagnosis and prescribe to the patient exactly the treatment that he needs.
The radiologist works with computers and magnetic resonance imaging. Such a technique is difficult not only in dealing with oneself, but also in decoding the received data. Radiologists become radiologists after completing their further education. These specialists are not very many, but their work is of great importance. Thanks to them, it is possible to very carefully examine a particular area of the body and identify pathology at the earliest stages of its development.
An endoscopist is also a doctor who checks the lungs, bronchi. He is conducting an examination such as bronchoscopy. The procedure involves the introduction of a fiberscope into the bronchial tree. It is quite heavy in the technique, and is also very negatively perceived by patients. Even the most experienced endoscopists do not always succeed in conducting bronchoscopy in people with an increased vomiting reflex. The solution in this situation may be the execution of the procedure after the patient is anesthetized. Thanks to bronchoscopy, it is possible to evaluate the mucous membrane of the bronchi, as well as to identify a pathology that cannot be diagnosed with other examination methods.
Auscultation
Regardless of what the doctor is called for the lungs and bronchi, in any case, he will use this simplest diagnostic method. It is the use of a stethophonendoscope in order to improve the audibility of air passing through the bronchi into the lungs and back.
Auscultation is taught to absolutely all medical students. This technique is part of a set of classic skills that every doctor should possess. They began to apply it several centuries ago. At first, the lungs and bronchi listened simply by putting the ear to the chest, then they used wooden and metal phonendoscopes, and only about half a century ago they began to use devices with elastic tubes.
For the therapist, pediatrician and pulmonologist, auscultation of the lungs is perhaps the most often used technique for the initial diagnosis of diseases of the respiratory system. Identifying deviations as a result of its implementation, these specialists refer their patients for further examination to a radiologist. Thanks to auscultation, most of the pneumonia and bronchitis are detected.