Inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract are among the most common among both children and adults. The nasal and oral cavities fall under the main blow, then the trachea, bronchi and lungs. In this article, we will talk about such a pathology as bronchitis and its main companion - sputum.
Definition of the disease and its types
What is bronchitis? This is an inflammatory disease of the upper respiratory tract in which the mucous membrane of the bronchi is affected.
Depending on the cause of bronchitis, it happens:
- Acute. It occurs as a result of a viral or bacterial infection.
- Chronic. Possible in the absence of timely and sufficient treatment of acute bronchitis. Sputum cough is especially characteristic of the first two types.
- Dusty. There is a risk of inflammation with frequent inhalation of industrial dust. It is an occupational disease of some people. For example, miners.
Then, to continue the conversation about what sputum occurs with bronchitis, you need to understand what it is and what its role in the human body.
Sputum. Definition and Functions
Sputum is the secret of the bronchial mucosa, which begins to be produced in excess when an infection enters the respiratory system.
You should always remember that cough and sputum are our friends. The secretion of mucous membranes is responsible for the absorption of foreign bodies, dust or contaminants. In addition, there are cells of the immune system in sputum that fight viruses and pathogens. A cough reflex helps to remove these unnecessary components from the body.
Types of Secret
The color of sputum with bronchitis can be of many different shades. Often its appearance allows you to assess the severity of the disease and stage.
- White sputum is normal. Provided that it is a little. If sputum is contained in large quantities, then this may be a sign of chronic bronchitis.
- A yellow color indicates that neutrophils have entered the mucus. Most often this happens with chronic bronchitis of a viral or allergic nature. Also, yellow sputum occurs in smokers with extensive experience.
- Green mucous secret becomes in the midst of acute bronchitis. This color results from the breakdown of neutrophils and other cells. Often green sputum contains purulent inclusions.
- A brown color indicates that the destruction of blood cells has occurred. With bronchitis, sputum of this color is quite rare.
- Pink or red color indicates that the secret contains a large number of red blood cells, which indicates the destruction of the walls of blood vessels in the upper respiratory tract. It happens that such sputum with bronchitis contains a lot of foam and the consistency is quite thick.
Why is sputum formed?
The reason leading to excessive production of sputum, in fact, is one - the occurrence of an inflammatory process in the upper respiratory tract. When inflammation occurs, mucus is synthesized, which then coagulates. The result is coughing and shortness of breath.
The mechanism of sputum
Normally, there is not much mucus in the bronchial tree (about 200 ml), but this is enough to line the inner wall of the upper respiratory tract with a thin layer. This is quite enough to provide filtering of the incoming air and protect the body from the ingress of foreign components.
If an inflammatory process suddenly occurs, then the movement of the epithelial cilia is significantly slowed down, the mucus is not disposed of properly, accumulates and becomes dense. As a result, a cough reflex is launched, designed to remove this mixture.
Sputum Analysis
Sputum analysis for bronchitis is a study of the secretion secreted by the content of viruses, bacteria, as well as determining the degree of inflammation in the respiratory tract. It is simply impossible to make an accurate diagnosis without laboratory analysis. Often the patient has to take an analysis two or more times to see if the treatment prescribed by the doctor is effective.
Of course, this type of examination is not always prescribed. There are a number of indications for him. Namely:
- The patient for a long time suffers from a copious amount of secretion. Or he has sputum discharge after recent bronchitis.
- The appearance of alarming symptoms that may indicate the development of tuberculosis or oncological process.
- The prescribed treatment has no effect.
- The complex form of bronchitis.
- Clarification of the diagnosis.
How to pass the analysis?
It is advisable to use a large amount of warm liquid before taking the test. It can be water or tea. This action will help to ensure that with bronchitis sputum departs.
An analysis is given in the morning, before breakfast.
Before putting biomaterial, you need to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth with clean water.
It is also advisable to rinse your nose with water or saline. The last two measures are needed in order to prevent foreign substances and bacteria from entering the biomaterial.
To collect the material you need a sterile container with a tight screw cap. The patient should take a few deep breaths and exhale, and then cough. This will help increase sputum discharge. Bronchitis is contagious, so it is best to do this in the absence of other people in a ventilated area. The resulting secret should be spat in the container.
After that, the container is transferred to the laboratory. The interval between the collection of sputum and the beginning of its study should not be more than two hours.
Types of analyzes
There are several possible options for ongoing sputum tests for bronchitis. The attending physician is responsible for choosing the appropriate examination based on the symptoms that accompany bronchitis.
- General examination. It is assigned most often. Allows you to study the consistency of sputum and its approximate composition.
- Bacteriological analysis of sputum. It is prescribed to obtain accurate data on the type of bacteria that caused the disease. In addition, a determination of the sensitivity of pathogenic bacteria to various types of antibiotics is carried out. This analysis allows you to accurately select the effective treatment for the disease.
- Cytological examination of sputum is prescribed in cases where there is a suspicion of the development of a malignant process in the upper respiratory tract. This analysis examines the type of cells contained in sputum, their structure and number.
- Analysis on VK. This type of analysis is necessary in cases where there is a suspicion of tuberculosis. Often, patients suffering from chronic bronchitis need to take this test three times to get reliable data.
Decoding analysis indicators
Standard analysis is an assessment of the appearance of a secret. However, the color of sputum with bronchitis and its other external qualities are far from everything that is checked by laboratory assistants. They also carefully study it under a microscope.
Decoding of possible deviations according to the results of the study:
- If the inflammatory process in the bronchial tree is accompanied by a bacterial infection, then the secret may be brown, yellow and even green.
- If sputum has a thick, viscous consistency, this will indicate that bronchitis is in an acute stage.
- A very important indicator will be the content of white blood cells. The higher this figure, the stronger the inflammation.
- If a larger number of eosinophils is observed in the mucus, this suggests the allergic nature of bronchitis.
- Particles of elastic fibers can lead to thoughts about the degeneration and decay of healthy tissues. This process causes cancer.
- If there are a lot of red blood cells in sputum, then this confirms internal bleeding.
The doctor decrypts the results, after receiving them, he must explain everything to the patient in detail and choose the tactics for further actions. Do not forget that to obtain reliable results, you must follow the rules for the preparation and collection of materials.
Treatment methods
Sputum treatment for bronchitis is the treatment of the disease itself. And sputum, as a symptom, will pass by itself. To understand how to treat bronchitis, you need to determine the cause of its appearance. If the inflammation was caused by a virus, then antiviral drugs should be taken.
If the cause is a bacterium, then antibiotics are used. The choice falls on the drug to which this bacterium has sensitivity. Ideally, treatment begins after appropriate tests.
In any case, the treatment of bronchitis is a systematic integrated approach and consists of three main stages.
- Changing the patient’s lifestyle.
So, for example, the patient is shown a plentiful drink, this will prevent the thickening of sputum, and, therefore, facilitate its discharge.
In addition, dusty air or strong odors should be avoided. All this will contribute to irritation of the mucosa and increase coughing.
Try to maintain humidity. Therefore, daily wet cleaning is indicated.
In addition to lifestyle changes, the complex treatment of bronchitis also includes certain procedures and medications.
- Physiological procedures.
Techniques that effectively help get rid of cough include:
- Chest warming. This procedure is prohibited at the height of the disease or in the phase of exacerbation of chronic bronchitis.
- Massage the chest and upper back. It is indicated several times a day with poorly extending sputum.
- Therapeutic breathing exercises help to normalize breathing and remove shortness of breath.
- Inhalations are a complex of physiotherapy (breathing with a nebulizer) and drug therapy (the use of expectorants).
It is the main treatment method.
Includes the appointment of drugs of several classes. Most often, an expectorant is prescribed and an antibiotic or antiviral agent.
Representatives of the first group are called to make sputum more fluid and contribute to its discharge. These include Mukaltin, a thermopsy-based product (Codelac Broncho, Thermopsol). This should also include drugs based on the collection of herbs (Helomirtol, Herbion, and so on) and Acetylcysteine (ACC) acts directly on sputum.
With bronchitis of a viral nature, "Ingavirin", "Cycloferon", "Kagocel" and the like can be prescribed.
The use of antibiotics for bronchitis is justified in only a few cases:
- With symptomatic and pathogenetic treatment, improvement does not occur.
- There are signs of a bacterial infection (for example, sputum has turned green).
- The patient's condition is rapidly deteriorating.
A specific drug and its dosage should be prescribed only by a doctor. It is unacceptable to self-medicate. Most often, a representative of the following antibiotic groups is prescribed:
- penicillins (Amoxiclav);
- macrolides ("Azithromycin", "Rovamycin");
- cephalosporins ("Ceftriaxone");
- fluoroquinolones (Levofloxacin).
It is worth noting that, regardless of the chosen medicine, the course should be completed completely. Otherwise, it is possible to drown out the symptoms and the transition of bronchitis into a chronic form.
To summarize
In order to properly treat inflammation in the bronchi, you need to accurately determine the diagnosis and the nature of the occurrence of this pathology. Often a good clue is the answer to the question, what kind of sputum with bronchitis in this patient. Having studied the anamnesis and test results, you can get an idea of the stage of the disease and methods of its treatment.
For example, in acute bronchitis, sputum at first goes poorly and has a white tint. But as inflammation progresses, it can turn yellow, green, and even brown.
With chronic bronchitis, sputum can be very worrying for a person, while there may not be any other pronounced symptoms of the disease.
Be sure to remember that only a doctor can prescribe an examination and select a method of therapy. Self-medication is inappropriate here, this can lead to complications.