I. What is asthma?
Asthma is short for bronchial asthma and is often referred to as “howling disease”, “shortness of breath”, “asthma”, etc. It is the most common chronic non-specific inflammatory disorder of the airways. This inflammation is not associated with infection, so no antibacterial medication is required. The pathogenesis of chronic airway inflammation in asthma is complex and is mainly related to allergic reactions and abnormalities in immune regulation. In layman’s terms, it is an allergy or sensitivity of the airways, resulting in recurrent cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. These symptoms may resolve on their own or quickly with treatment. Bronchial asthma is a common and frequent disease. More than 10 million people in China and about 150 million people worldwide suffer from this disease. In recent years, the incidence and death rate of asthma are on the rise. According to statistics, about 100,000 people worldwide die from asthma every year. This phenomenon has caused widespread concern among the World Health Organization, national governments and clinicians.
Second, how is asthma formed?
The occurrence of asthma is the result of a combination of internal and external factors.
1.Internal factors
(1)
Genetic factors: Asthma is a polygenic genetic disease, generally caused by the joint action of pairs of disease-causing genes located on different chromosomes. It is found that the more people in the family have asthma, the higher the chance of their children having asthma.
(2)
Physical factors: Asthma patients are mostly allergic, suffering from infant eczema, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, etc. in infancy.
2.External factors
(1)
Allergens: ① Inhalation allergens: dust mites, cockroaches, molds, animal fur, pollen, etc. Among them, dust mites are the most important inhalant allergens that induce asthma. House dust mites in particular are the most common. Food allergens: seafood, milk, meat, eggs and even some vegetables such as bamboo shoots and mushrooms can be allergens for a particular patient. ③ Contact allergens: such as paint, certain cosmetics, etc.
(2)
Infections: viral or bacterial infections, especially viral respiratory infections are the most common. Parasitic infections such as roundworms, hookworms, etc. induced asthma can also be seen in some rural areas.
(3)
Smoking and passive smoking: One study found that babies born to mothers with no history of allergies who smoked during pregnancy were two times more likely to develop asthma than those who did not smoke during pregnancy. Also, the concentration of toxic particles in the smoke of a cigarette inhaled by a smoker is 1-4 times higher than that inhaled by a smoker. The main components are polycyclic hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nicotine, etc., all of which can irritate the airways and trigger asthma.
(4)
Climate change: changes in temperature, humidity and air pressure can also induce asthma.
(5)
Exercise: Up to 70% of childhood asthma patients have asthma triggered by exercise. Especially in the cold season, long outdoor runs with a high level of exercise or competitive sprinting, ice skating and continuous jumping rope can trigger asthma.
(6)
Drugs and chemical agents: such as aspirin, insulin, penicillins, sulfonamides, certain wheezing drugs such as ephedrine, epinephrine, etc. can cause asthma. Dyes and preservatives such as tartar yellow, gemstone blue, nitrite, etc. can also induce asthma.
(7)
Mental factors: mood swings, mental tension, intimidation, excitement, and even after laughing can easily trigger asthma.
Third, how do I know I have asthma?
Almost all asthma patients are characterized by chronicity and attacks, so a typical asthma attack more than three times has an important diagnostic significance. The patient’s conscious symptoms include chest tightness, shortness of breath, i.e. dyspnea, which can be relieved by themselves or by treatment with asthma calming drugs. Before each attack, the patient has allergic rhinitis as a precursor, itchy nasopharynx, itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, with chest tightness, light cough, and sputum that is not easily coughed up. In patients with pronounced seasonal attacks, these prodromal symptoms are usually quite obvious; they are followed by chest tightness, a feeling of chest pressure, insufficient inhalation of air, or even a loss of breath. The patient cannot lie flat, is forced to sit up, head is bent forward, both shoulders are high, both hands are propped up on the knees or on the table, exhalation is long and inhalation is short, a high-pitched honking sound is made, various respiratory muscles are involved, cervicothoracic muscle movement is obvious, and a very deep sinkhole appears during inhalation. If the disease develops further, hypoxia occurs due to excessive residual gas in the alveoli, which affects gas exchange, with dull complexion, purple lips and nails, cold extremities, increased heart rate, weak pulse, profuse sweating, and emotional tension. Some patients have asthma attacks without obvious periodicity and have frequent attacks throughout the year, thus requiring year-round medication. Many patients can be controlled with medication, but the remission period is very short.
With the symptoms mentioned above, the appropriate tests are then performed in the hospital, including pulmonary function tests, blood tests, and allergen tests. Pulmonary function tests are important for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma patients. And the allergen test is to find the allergen and determine the allergen, and also can do desensitization therapy by the leachate of the allergen.
Fourth, how to treat asthma
Asthma is different from other diseases in that it has the remarkable characteristics of long-term and periodicity, so the design of the treatment plan should be based on the basic principles and with reference to the severity of the disease. During acute asthma attacks, treatment is mainly with bronchodilators, such as β2 agonists, such as salbutamol, terbutaline, etc. For the purpose of quick effect, aerosol inhalation is usually used in the form of aerosol, which usually works to calm asthma in 15 to 30 minutes, but the maintenance time can only be 3-6 hours, and asthma may attack again after stopping the drug. Therefore, after the acute symptoms of asthma are relieved, the consolidation of the efficacy and the prevention of recurrent attacks are essential. For this purpose, simultaneous and combined use of inhaled corticosteroid anti-inflammatory drugs is required to eliminate airway inflammation and reduce airway reactivity. The core of treatment for chronic asthma or recurrent asthma in remission is the control of airway inflammation, and the entire treatment is best designed in a stepwise regimen.
There is no cure for asthma, so patients should not spend more money than necessary to “pursue a cure”. Remind asthma patients and their families to pay special attention to the following treatment misconceptions.
Myth #1: Expectations are too high and the desire for speed is not enough. Some asthma patients are so eager to achieve that they go around looking for the “panacea” to cure asthma. As soon as they see an advertisement saying “this method can make asthma never attack”, they immediately go to buy it and try it, and fail repeatedly. Not only did they spend a lot of money, but also delayed the regular treatment. Many patients wait until the emergence of serious complications such as obstructive emphysema or chronic pulmonary heart disease, only to go to a large hospital to find experts, the treatment effect is already much worse than the disease early consultation efficacy.
Myth 2: Only go to the doctor at the onset of the disease, and usually do not use drugs. Bronchial asthma is a chronic respiratory disease, and long-term inflammation in the bronchial tubes is the root cause of asthma symptoms. Only long-term application of inhaled hormones and other drugs can inhibit the metabolic inflammation in the airways and thus prevent the onset of the disease. If you go to the hospital only after the onset of the disease, you will not only suffer more pain and spend more money, but also increase the side effects of drugs and aggravate the disease. For patients with persistent asthma, it is very important to insist on long-term inhalation of hormones when there is no attack.
Myth 3: I am afraid to use inhaled hormones for fear of becoming dependent. Many asthma patients worry that inhaled hormones will cause systemic side effects such as osteoporosis, diabetes and hypertension, or create hormone dependence. Therefore, they do not use hormones all the time, or stop using them after just one month. In fact, the inhaled hormones recommended by doctors are different from systemic hormones such as oral prednisone and intravenous dexamethasone. Inhaled hormones not only have stronger local anti-inflammatory effects than prednisone and dexamethasone, but also have much fewer systemic side effects, and are quite safe even when applied for a long time, and do not produce hormone dependence. Some asthma patients have been inhaling hormones continuously for nearly ten years without any systemic adverse reactions, and they work and study normally like healthy people.
V. Home care of asthma
1.The room should be airy and sunny. It should be warm in winter and cool and ventilated in summer. Avoid contact with special odors.
2, diet should be light and nutritious, avoid cold, greasy, spicy, sweet and sour, as well as seafood, fish and shrimp and other allergy-prone food.
3. Pay more attention to the changes of heart rate and pulse of patients to prevent the occurrence of asthma attacks.
4. Patients should take appropriate physical exercises, such as swimming, qigong, taijiquan, walking, jogging and medical gymnastics. Among them, swimming is the best. Avoid strenuous exercise with.
5, away from allergens and other triggers, when the patient is known to have a clear allergen, must be away from allergens. Also beware of climate change, lung infections and other triggers.
6.Patients should keep their spirits happy, optimistic and cheerful, calm and emotionally stable. To establish confidence in overcoming asthma, to eliminate tension, overcome low self-esteem, and actively cooperate with various treatments.
7, patients can also take internal Chinese medicine, acupuncture, massage, compress and other methods according to their own situation.