A disease of the upper respiratory tract, accompanied by a long intermittent cough, is bronchitis. It affects both the lungs and the bronchial tree. This disease comes in two forms: acute and chronic.
Chronical bronchitis
Many colds are accompanied by damage to the bronchial tree. The chronic form of bronchitis is no exception. You can distinguish this disease from others during the first weeks by intermittent severe cough. Before we talk about how bronchitis is treated in adults at this stage, let's look at the causes of its occurrence. First of all, it is active and passive smoking. Doctors associate frequent outbreaks of this disease with increased slagging of the gastrointestinal tract. People of advanced age are also prone to chronic bronchitis, and women are sick much more often. The list of causes leading to this disease includes poor ecology, work in hazardous industries, and heredity. The main symptoms of chronic bronchitis are a prolonged cough with sputum, chest pain and shortness of breath. With untimely treatment, bronchitis progresses rapidly, and infectious complications are possible.
Acute form of bronchitis
The main symptoms of the acute form of bronchitis: swelling of the bronchial mucosa, severe chest pain, thick sputum, wheezing during breathing, periodic increase in temperature. In medicine, many cases of this disease with a fatal outcome have been recorded.
How to treat bronchitis in adults in stages
If treatment of bronchitis begins on time, that is, literally in the first week of its progression, complications can be avoided.
- At the first stage, it is recommended to stop smoking. This is the key to successful further treatment and prevention at the same time.
- How is bronchitis treated in adults in the second stage? Basically, drugs are prescribed that stimulate receptors, thereby expanding the bronchi. According to statistics, the best remedies are Salbutamol, Fenoterol, Terbutaline and Bromide.
- The third stage is the stimulation of sputum production. Expectorant and mucolytic drugs - this is what treats bronchitis in adults at this stage. If it is an acute form, then herbal medicines are used. If it’s chronic, then they take synthetic mucolytics. The list of the most effective drugs included Lazolvan, Ambroxol, and ACC. These drugs tend to thin the sputum, enhance its secretion and restore the function of the bronchial epithelium. For greater effectiveness, complex treatment is used: they take mucolytics along with antibiotics.
- In the fourth stage, antibiotics are used exclusively. They are usually administered intramuscularly or intravenously, but can also be taken orally. Medications for bronchitis in adults are prescribed individually, based on the stage of the disease, the characteristics of the body, age and individual intolerance to some components.
Folk remedies for bronchitis
In some cases, the use of drugs is undesirable or impossible. The reason for this may be any individual characteristics of a person. How is bronchitis treated in adults in such cases? Of course, resort to recipes of traditional medicine. Sweaty tea made from lemon balm, elderberry and linden flowers seasoned with honey is quite effective for bronchitis. An indispensable assistant in the treatment is onion:
- A mixture of onions, sugar and honey taken by 5 r. Will facilitate the patient's condition. in a day. To prepare it in a liter of water, boil half a kilogram of chopped onion, 2 cups of sugar and 50 g of honey.
- This recipe is also well established: chopped onion (1 tbsp.) Pour ¼ tbsp. vinegar and insist for a while. Then strain through several layers of gauze or bandage and take a spoon every half hour. This infusion even copes with the most severe cough.