Catarrhal syndrome involves inflammation of the mucous membrane of the respiratory canals with the process of overproduction of secretion and activation of local defense reactions. Against the background of inflammation of the mucosa above the vocal cords, symptoms of rhinitis, pharyngitis or tonsillitis may occur. In the area below the vocal cords, the appearance of laryngitis, as well as tracheitis, epiglottitis, bronchitis and pneumonia, is not excluded.
Causes
Diseases that are accompanied by catarrhal syndrome belong to the group of acute otolaryngological infections. Most often, their main pathogens are various viruses, less often bacteria. The causes of catarrhal syndrome may be exposure to allergens and irritating colds. Very often the effect of various factors is expressed, for example, colds and viral.
In this case, the main pathogens are viruses that have high tropism with respect to certain parts of the respiratory canals.
What causes the disease
The clinical manifestations of catarrhal syndrome include the following manifestations:
• Acute rhinitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane in the nasal cavity. The typical symptoms are sneezing with the separation of mucus from the nose and impaired nasal breathing. The process of outflow of mucus along the back of the throat, as a rule, causes a cough.
• Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa. It is typical for him that suddenly appearing sensations of perspiration with dryness in the throat, as well as soreness when swallowing. Qatar of the upper respiratory tract may be accompanied by fever, weakness, refusal to eat.
• Tonsillitis is expressed by local changes in the tonsils, which have a bacterial (often streptococcal) or viral etiology. For this condition, intoxication is characteristic with hyperemia and swelling of the tonsils, as well as the palatine arches, tongue, posterior pharyngeal wall. May be accompanied by loose application in gaps.
• Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx, which involves the vocal cords and the ligamentous space. The first symptoms in this case are a dry and barking cough with a hoarse voice.
• Epiglottitis is an inflammation of the epiglottis with a characteristic and pronounced disturbance in the work of breathing.
• Tracheitis. The disease is an inflammatory process of the mucous membrane of the trachea. Symptoms in this situation are manifested in the form of a dry cough. Most often, with infectious diseases, a catarrhal syndrome is observed.
• Bronchitis. This disease is a defeat of the bronchi of any caliber. The main symptom is coughing. At the very beginning of the disease, the cough is usually dry, and after a few days it becomes wet and is characterized by an increase in the amount of sputum, which often has a mucous character. In the second week of the disease, sputum excreted with a cough can become greenish due to an impurity of fibrin. In this case, the cough can persist for fourteen days, and sometimes up to one month. Cough, as a rule, is delayed in the presence of adenoviral, respiratory syncytial, mycoplasma and chlamydial factors. Symptoms and treatment in adults with acute respiratory infections and influenza are discussed below.
Signs
What are the main symptoms of the disease? When examining patients on the background of catarrhal syndrome, as a rule, the following phenomena are observed:
• The mucous membrane of the nose looks swollen and hyperemic. Often it can be covered with crusts.
• Tracheitis can be manifested by unpleasant sensations in the form of pain behind the sternum, cough of varying intensity, which can be dry or with some sputum.
• Pharyngitis may be accompanied by a sore throat and a feeling of difficulty during swallowing.
• The mucous pharynx is thickened and hyperemic.
• The main manifestation of laryngitis is a change in the timbre of the voice, hoarseness occurs, speech can become difficult to distinguish. In rare cases, the voice disappears completely.
Qatar upper respiratory tract is able to spread to the lower regions. In this case, patients develop acute tracheobronchitis. For a complete description of the catarrhal syndrome in infectious diseases, a detailed examination of the pharynx is considered informative. An important condition is directional lighting by using a reflector or a table lamp. Symptoms of catarrhal syndrome are very unpleasant.
Temperature rise
An illness that has an infectious nature of origin, as a rule, is very often combined with an increase in temperature. The development of intoxication is not excluded. Respiratory diseases can be viral, bacterial or mixed viral-bacterial in nature. The most extensive is considered the first group, which includes the flu and other acute respiratory infections, which also include mycoplasmosis. The second group of diseases combines bacterial catarrh of the upper respiratory canals, as well as associative viral elements that complicate the pathology.
It must be borne in mind that, in the framework of diagnostics, taking into account various approaches to treating patients, one should strive for a preliminary nosological examination.
Flu
Almost always, the catarrhal-respiratory syndrome manifests itself in the group of acute respiratory infections. The leading place in the category of acute respiratory viral infections is influenza.
This disease is still classified as an unresolved problem, due to the fact that in the total number of sick and infected (mainly during epidemics), influenza exceeds all infectious diseases taken together.
Influenza, as a massive disease, has been known since ancient times. The first pandemic was recorded in 1580. In the twentieth century, several epidemics that went down in history were described. One of them is known as Spanish flu, and the other is Asian flu. During pandemics, the number of patients was not in the hundreds of thousands, but in the millions. The ailment got its name in the eighteenth century from the French word “gripper”, which means “to grab”.
Pathogens
The causative agents of influenza are viruses, which are divided into three genera: "A", "B" and "C". The highest pathogenicity is influenza A. The main source of infection in this case is a sick person with a clinically pronounced form of the disease. The transmission mechanism of this infection, as is the case with most acute respiratory viral infections, is the airborne transmission of viruses. The susceptibility of people to this disease is absolute. This virus is very widespread among the population. This affects the fact that in newborns they find anti-influenza antibodies received from the mother through milk, due to which temporary immunity to this infection is caused. Catarrhal syndrome in children from 3 years old is as common as in adults.
The influenza clinic varies significantly, depending on the age of the patient, on the state of his immunity, the serotype of the virus along with virulence and many other reasons. Influenza can develop in complicated or uncomplicated forms. According to the severity of its course, it may have a mild, moderate or severe form.
Catarrhal flu treatment
As part of influenza therapy, patients are prescribed strict bed rest, a fortified diet, and frequent drinking, such as herbal tea, a raspberry drink (can be prepared from fresh berries or from frozen, dried, canned). Lemon tea and fruit juices also help.
Of the antiviral agents currently available, most often doctors prescribe Remantadine. To reduce the temperature, reduce headache and muscle pain, the use of such classic drugs as Analgin, Ascorutin and Amidopyrine is suitable.
In debilitated patients
For patients with severe influenza, as well as people weakened by concomitant ailments, the introduction of influenza gamma globulin is recommended. Antibiotics are prescribed by doctors exclusively in cases of complications, as well as to patients in whom the disease is severe. The use of antibiotics is considered appropriate in the presence of severe concomitant diseases, for example, with rheumatism, diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis and so on.
Prevention
This disease can be prevented in many ways. Influenza prophylaxis reduces to isolation of patients from healthy people. Frequent ventilation of the rooms in which patients are located is necessary. Wet treatment with a solution of chloramine does not hurt. Dibazoloprophylaxis can give a good result. In recent years, a live inactivated vaccine, which is manufactured on the basis of strains A and B, is increasingly being used. Live vaccines are administered internally or orally, as well as subcutaneously.
A wonderful method for preventing influenza are :.
- Hardening.
- Good nutrition.
- Doing sports.
These simple methods help strengthen immunity, which is required to withstand the entry of microbes into the body.
Parainfluenza
This is called acute anthroponotic infection, which is caused by four types of viruses. It is transmitted by airborne droplets. The virus is capable of secreting with nasopharyngeal mucus. This is especially intense in the early days of the disease during coughing and sneezing.
Parainfluenza accounts for about twenty percent of SARS in adults and the same in children. Parainfluenza, as a rule, occurs all year round and is marked by a slight increase in the incidence in the cold. The disease can begin with a slight runny nose and be accompanied by cough, dryness, sore throat and low-grade fever. In this case, intoxication is expressed moderately or completely absent. Symptoms of laryngitis may prevail in the overall picture of the disease, which will be accompanied by hoarseness or hoarseness of the voice, as well as a barking cough.
Consider how to identify acute catarrhal syndrome.
Diagnostics
The decisive role in the framework of confirming the diagnosis of diseases accompanied by respiratory syndrome is played by the laboratory diagnostic technique, which includes the following techniques:
• Methods aimed at identifying pathogens.
• Techniques that detect specific antibodies in the blood serum of patients.
It should be noted that the method of immunofluorescence is currently the most preferable for catarrhal bronchitis syndrome, since it makes it possible to conduct an accurate morphological analysis with high specificity. This method is quite simple to reproduce and provides the ability to get results in just a few hours. The presented method is widely applicable in order to establish specific antibodies in the blood serum of patients suffering from viral or bacterial ailments. During diagnosis, patients also have an x-ray of the chest.
Treatment
Symptoms and treatment in adults with acute respiratory infections and influenza are often interrelated. The diagnosis of respiratory diseases is established in the absence of a clear predominance of a special nosological form. It suggests not only the bacterial, but also the viral nature of the disease. The term “ARVI” directly means the presence of a viral etiology of the disease.
The strategy for the treatment of the catarrhal respiratory syndrome is determined according to the mechanism of pathogenesis, etiology and generality of the clinical manifestations of the pathology.
For etiotropic treatment, doctors use drugs from the adamantane series, for example, Rimantadine. Also widely used are drugs from the indole group, as an example in this case we can cite "Arbidol" and "Oseltamivir", which is often prescribed for influenza.