Asthma, a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract, has a long history. As of today, asthma is still a recognized medical problem worldwide, listed as one of the four persistent diseases by the World Health Organization, and the second deadliest and most disabling disease in the world after cancer. Patients who do not take any immediate anti-inflammatory measures during an attack will suffer from bronchial obstruction or contracture, and may even suffer from life-threatening respiratory distress. Famous people we know, such as Beethoven, the “father of the symphony” and Teresa Teng, a Taiwanese artist, both died of asthma.
Data show that the incidence of asthma in some developed countries in the West is very high, in some cases as high as 40%. Although China does not have such a high incidence rate, asthma is quietly eroding people’s health as their living environment changes. Data from a survey conducted by the China Asthma Alliance shows that the incidence of asthma in Beijing and Shanghai has increased by 116.5% in ten years, a very rapid growth rate and a very obvious trend towards younger people.
Despite this, unfortunately, many people have very low awareness of asthma, and some do not even know they have asthma; patients who have been diagnosed with asthma have very poor standardized use of medication, regular follow-up and monitoring of their condition, making it difficult to control their condition, and half of them are restricted in recreation, education, childbirth and employment as a result, and 3.98% of them have even thought about suicide.
Usually, when asthma develops, its symptoms are mainly coughing (usually occurs at night or in the morning), wheezing (high-pitched whistling sound when exhaling), shortness of breath (feeling that there is not enough air and it is difficult to breathe), chest tightness (feeling as if something is pressing on the chest), insomnia due to breathing difficulties, and inability to participate in physical activities. However, some patients do not always have shortness of breath, but simply have a cough, and the symptoms come and go, making it more difficult to judge for yourself. Therefore, if you do not have a cold but have a chronic cough, it is highly suspicious that it is asthma.
The possible causes of asthma include the following seven main aspects.
1. Family history and personal history. On the one hand, people whose parents or close relatives have allergic diseases or asthma are more likely to be “targeted” by asthma. On the other hand, individuals with allergic rhinitis or allergic skin disease will also have a much higher chance of developing asthma.
2. Environmental factors. Cold air and pollutants in the air can irritate the airways, causing airway inflammation and triggering asthma.
3.Inhalable dust. Pollen, lint, dust mites on yellow plum days, bacteria and molds parasitized in animal fur, etc., may induce asthma.
4.Food allergy. Some people are allergic to food such as eggs and seafood, and the allergic symptoms either manifest on the skin or manifest as asthma.
5.Decoration pollution. The paints, panels, adhesives, etc. used in renovation contain some harmful chemicals that can induce asthma. Home decoration pollution is an important trigger of asthma, especially children and adolescents are vulnerable to suffer. Of course, not everyone will be exposed to this pollution will trigger asthma, like the small just such patients belong to susceptible groups.
6, respiratory infections. Respiratory tract infections, especially viral and mycoplasma infections, can aggravate or trigger asthma.
7, occupational factors. Occupational asthma is caused by exposure to certain chemicals at work and is manifested by coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or symptoms such as rhinitis and conjunctivitis during or after work.
Although genetic factors and the external environment are difficult to avoid, but good hygiene habits can reduce the chance of “meeting” with asthma.
1. Keep your home environment clean. Open the windows every day and clean regularly. If the bedroom is carpeted, it is best to ensure that vacuuming 2 to 3 times a week. The use of flooring or tile bedroom every night before going to bed is best to wipe.
2, if there are asthma patients in the family, try not to keep pets at home.
3, do not smoke in the room.
4.It is best to have a hygrometer at home to monitor indoor humidity every day. Too high humidity can aggravate asthma, and it is best to control it at less than 50%.
5. Try not to use perfume, hairspray and other sprays.
In addition, although asthma is difficult to cure, but it can be controlled. As long as patients master the correct use of medication, measures to be taken during an attack, maintain close contact with their asthma specialist, develop a treatment plan that is suitable for them, and carry out long-term effective self-monitoring through scientific methods, they can have good control of asthma.
The so-called “good control” needs to meet the following six goals: no daytime symptoms, that is, no symptoms during the day; no symptoms at night, no sleep disturbance at night, no awakening; no restrictions on daily activities, that is, you can go out, can participate in outdoor activities, can travel, can travel long distances, etc.; no need to take asthma relief drugs, only the usual maintenance drugs. Only the usual maintenance medication is needed; normal lung function; and no acute attacks.
And to achieve these six goals need to follow the following treatment principles.
1. Treatment according to the cause. For the two direct causes of asthma attacks, there are two main control methods, namely controlling airway inflammation and relieving bronchospasm.
2.Adhere to long-term treatment and monitoring. Since asthma is characterized by long-term, recurrent and partially reversible attacks, it is usually necessary to adhere to long-term anti-inflammatory therapy and to monitor and evaluate the condition.
3.Cooperation between doctors and patients to establish partnership. The readily changing nature of asthma determines that most of the daily tasks of managing asthma require the active participation of patients and families and close cooperation between physicians and patients.
4.Individualized treatment is the key. The signs and symptoms of asthma vary greatly from patient to patient and from severity to severity; the same patient may have different signs and symptoms at different times.
Therefore, each patient should not use a fixed treatment plan, but should take different treatment measures according to the severity of asthma, i.e., stepwise treatment plan or individualized treatment, using as few drugs as possible to achieve the ideal control of asthma.
It should be reminded that when an acute asthma attack occurs, most patients only take hormones and aminophylline to control asthma temporarily and do not continue regular treatment when the symptoms are relieved; some patients also have an unwarranted fear of inhaled hormones and stop taking them without permission. These unregulated treatments lead to impaired lung function in many patients, resulting in refractory asthma. Therefore, asthma patients should be reminded not to discontinue their medications without authorization. A large global clinical trial showed that about 80% of patients who continued fluticasone propionate/salmeterol inhalation therapy could get good control of their asthma and live like normal people. In addition, patients are advised not to use oral hormones indiscriminately. Although these drugs are fast-acting, they are easy to cause side effects such as elevated blood glucose and osteoporosis after long-term mass administration because they are systemic drugs, which are more harmful compared to inhaler local medication.