Bronchial asthma: causes and treatment methods

The organs of the respiratory system are primarily attacked by foreign agents, whether viruses or bacteria. Therefore, their diseases are found in almost everyone. But some of them are quite harmless and pass quickly with timely treatment and do not cause complications, but there are quite serious ones with which a person has to live his whole life. These include bronchial asthma. The causes and methods of treatment of this ailment will be considered further.

What is this pathology?

Asthma is a serious respiratory illness . Recently, such a diagnosis has been found more and more often due to poor ecology, lifestyle and many more reasons.

This disease belongs to the group of pathologies of immuno-allergic origin, which develops as a result of a non-infectious inflammatory process in the respiratory system. Asthma has distinctive signs, among which the main place is occupied by asthma attacks. It is characterized by a chronic course, gradually progressing with the development of periodic seizures.

This pathology develops as a result of a combination of many factors, so it can be noted that the causes of bronchial asthma are quite diverse.

What factors provoke the development of the disease

Among all factors, those that are provocateurs of the attack can be noted, and some are able to constantly maintain the inflammatory process in the bronchi. In all patients, this is purely individual, but the following causes of bronchial asthma in adults can be distinguished:

1. Genetic predisposition. If there are relatives in the family, and especially parents suffering from this disease, then the risk of developing it in a child increases significantly. This kind of pathology is atopic in nature, it is rather difficult to trace the provoking factors.
2. Exposure to harmful production factors, which include hot or cold air, chemicals, dust, and many others.
3. The presence of chronic bronchitis can also trigger the development of asthma.
4. Frequent viral and bacterial infections of the respiratory tract.
5. Adverse environmental conditions. It was noted that residents of villages and villages suffer from this pathology much less often.
   
6. The presence of bad habits and, above all, smoking.
7. Dust mites, which are abundant in house dust. Where you can also find many allergens in the form of animal hair, chemicals. On the street, more pollen is added to the plants.
8. Medicines, which can also quite easily become provocateurs of the development of the disease.

Not all patients have the same causes of asthma. They are established as a result of the examination, and only after this therapy is prescribed.

Causes of bronchial asthma in children

The child’s body is even more vulnerable to various external and internal factors, so asthma can develop for many reasons:

1. Hereditary predisposition to allergic manifestations. If one of the parents has such a pathology, then the baby's health must be treated more carefully. It is better to immediately discuss everything with the doctor in order to prevent the development of the disease.
2. Quite often, in children, the provocateurs of asthma are infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, frequent acute respiratory viral infections, colds, bronchitis. Pathogens easily change the mucous membrane of the bronchi, so it becomes easily susceptible to various allergens.
3. In children, often the cause of asthma is various allergens that enter the body. First of all, these are dust mites from house dust, plant pollen, animal hair, and medicines. In infants, everything can begin with a food allergy.
4. If you already have a predisposition to the disease, then a physical attack on the body can provoke an attack: hypothermia, sudden changes in temperature, increased physical activity. The disease is quite insidious asthma. The reasons for the occurrence may be psychological when a baby develops an attack against a background of stress, fear, or excitement.
   
5. Doctors often recommend that parents change their place of residence if they have asthma in their baby, because the polluted city air constantly provokes new attacks.
6. Smoking parents, especially in the presence of a child, may also be responsible for the development of this pathology.
7. Doctors have such a thing as “aspirin asthma,” which occurs on Aspirin. The drug itself does not belong to allergens, but it provokes the release of substances that cause bronchospasm.
8. Some gastrointestinal diseases can also cause asthma. These include: dysbiosis, gastritis, stool disorders.

At the first suspicion of the development of the disease, it is necessary to show the child to the doctor.

The first precursors of bronchial asthma

This insidious disease can torment a person all his life. The success of therapy depends entirely on the timely detection of the disease. Therefore, it is very important to be able to distinguish the first bells, which may indicate an approaching pathology.

1. The appearance of shortness of breath or suffocation, which develops against the background of complete well-being, for example, at night or during rest. This condition can develop after physical exertion, inhalation of tobacco smoke or pollen from plants. Most importantly, an attack always develops suddenly.
2. The appearance of dry cough. It often accompanies shortness of breath and is unproductive. A person wants to clear his throat, but he does not succeed.
3. Superficial breathing, in which it is impossible to make a full expiration.
4. When breathing, wheezing appears, which is often audible even to a person standing nearby.

All these symptoms can appear for a very short time, and then disappear and not be disturbed for a long time, and it does not matter at all what the causes of asthma are in adults.

Signs of asthma

It has already been noted that this disease is characterized by its periodic seizures. If the diagnosis has already been confirmed by asthma, the causes are identified, then each patient should be ready for the periodic manifestation of the disease.

Despite the suddenness of the attack, you can always note some of the precursors:

• There is some concern.
• Irritability.
• Weakness.
• Drowsiness and apathy may occur.
• Tachycardia.
• Nausea and vomiting may occur.
• Redness of the face.

All these signs can be observed 2-3 days before the attack.

If the precursors of an attack occur at any time, then the attack itself often begins at night, although not always. Many muscle groups take part in the respiratory act; one can observe retraction of the supraclavicular and subclavian spaces, which indicates difficulties with breathing.

The breath is noisy and a quiet whistle is heard on the exhale, the body temperature remains within normal limits. The attack can last up to several hours and has its stages with characteristic symptoms:

1. At the first stage, the attack is quite easy, many patients do not even go to the doctor, gradually getting used to the discomfort. Breathing is noisy and weak, wheezing is not heard.
   
2. In the second stage of the disease, an attack leads to a serious respiratory failure, which can result in respiratory failure. The pulse quickens, blood pressure decreases, the general condition of the patient worsens. Hypoxic coma may develop.
3. The third stage is dangerous with complete decompensation and a rather high risk of death. This stage of the attack is characterized by: progressive hypoxia, tachycardia, shortness of breath and loss of consciousness.

The post-attack period also has its own symptoms:

• General weakness.
• Low blood pressure
• Gradual normalization of breathing.
• When you exhale, wheezing can still be heard.

If the causes of asthma in adults are identified, then with the help of instrumental diagnostics it is necessary to establish the stage of the disease in order to select the appropriate treatment.

How to recognize asthma in children

Now doctors note an increase in the number of patients with this pathology, which is worrying, so this is a large number of children among them. Parents, with an attentive attitude to the health of their baby, can suspect a disease at the very beginning of its development according to some characteristic signs:

• Periodically, breathing becomes wheezing and labored.
• A cough appears, especially at night.
• Congestion in the chest after exercise or during a cold.
• After contact with allergens, a cough appears.

In order not to miss the development of a serious pathology with the first symptoms, you need to visit a specialist.

Symptoms of asthma in a child

The causes of asthma in children are considered, but are there any differences in the manifestations? The attack of this disease in a child most often has the following symptoms:

• Feeling of lack of air.
• Severity and stuffiness appear in the chest.
• The child breathes noisily, breathing is heard even from a distance. Wheezing wheeze as you exhale.
• A painful cough when sputum is difficult to pass.
• Often the child sits down and rests on his hands during an attack, while his shoulders are raised and his head is pulled in.
  

If the baby is diagnosed with asthma, the causes of occurrence no longer play a role, most importantly, parents should know how to help the child at this point. If seizures develop frequently, the brain may lack oxygen, and this is fraught with developmental delays.

Once, having experienced this condition, the child begins to fear the threat of a new attack.

Children become vulnerable, emotionally labile, a neurosis forms, disinhibition appears.

Differential diagnosis of asthma

Sometimes, even the most experienced specialists can hardly distinguish bronchitis from asthma. But the correctness of therapy depends on this. Bronchitis and bronchial asthma have characteristic differences, which are presented in the table.

Usually, only at the first stages of the development of bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis are there fundamental differences. If pathologies occur for a long time, then they are combined under the general name "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease".

Therapy of bronchial asthma

We examined what asthma is, symptoms, the causes of the disease are also studied, but the main question arises, is it possible to completely recover from this ailment? The answer to it will depend on the severity of the disease.

The disease must be treated in stages, and therapy involves:

1. Drug treatment.
2. Change diet.
3. The use of traditional medicine recipes.

All therapy should be prescribed only by a doctor.

Drug treatment

Drug therapy involves the use of tablets and injections, which, when used regularly, restore the normal functioning of the respiratory system. The list of drugs usually includes:

• Glucocorticosteroids, for example, "Acolate".
• Xanthines, among which often on the table of asthmatics you can see “Theopec” and “Neophylline”.
• Monoclonal antibodies: Closar.

Pills and injections are not suitable for emergency care, which is simply necessary during an attack. For these purposes, inhalers are used. They help to alleviate the attack of suffocation and should always be with you.

Doctors recommend using the following:

• Berotek.
• Berodual.
• "Atroven."
• Symbicort.
• Intal and others.

These funds are suitable not only for emergency care, but also for regular use.

Diet for bronchial asthma

If there are chronic pathologies, which include asthma, then you have to not only use medications, but also reconsider your lifestyle and diet.

For patients who have asthma, the causes of its occurrence are no longer so important. The main thing is to reduce the likelihood of an attack. in this regard, you must adhere to the following recommendations in food:

• Reduce sugar and salt intake.
• Reduce the number of pastries and sweet confectionery.
• Use only one-day dairy products.
• Of the first courses, vegetable soups, beef broth are recommended.
• Porridge better prepared on water.
• Vegetables and fruits that are not able to provoke an allergic reaction.
• White bread, but not rich.
• Boiled potatoes.

Folk recipes for asthma

Alternative treatment can not completely get rid of such a pathology as bronchial asthma, but it is within his power to weaken the attacks and their frequency. You can use the following recipes at home:

1. Use rye pollen, which must be collected during flowering. It is necessary to prepare an infusion from a glass of pollen and 0.5 liters of alcohol, insist 3 weeks in a dark place and take a teaspoon before meals.
2. Ginger powder has proven itself. It is necessary to insist 400 grams on 1 liter of alcohol for 2 weeks, strain and take twice a day for 1 tsp.
3. The use of propolis also gives its effect. It is necessary to take 20 grams of raw materials and pour 80 ml of alcohol, insist 7 days and strain. Consume 20 drops 30 minutes before meals, after diluting them with water or milk.

It must be understood that the use of alternative methods of treatment should only be after consultation with a doctor. Do not self-medicate, this is fraught with complications and aggravation of the condition.

Bronchial asthma, the causes of which can be any, is a serious pathology that should not be taken lightly. If you visit a doctor when the first precursors of the disease appear, then coping with the disease is much easier.