1.What is bronchial asthma? Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways involving a variety of inflammatory cells such as eosinophils, mast cells and T lymphocytes. This inflammation makes the patient’s airways highly reactive to various excitatory factors and causes airway narrowing. 2.What are the conditions that may be associated with bronchial asthma? (1) Recurrent episodes of wheezing, expiratory dyspnea, chest tightness, and cough; (2) Often occurring at night or early in the morning and may resolve on their own or with treatment; (3) Symptom attacks may be caused by exposure to animal fur, dust mites, pollen, climate change, etc., or the attacks may be distinctly seasonal. If two or more of the above are met, you may have bronchial asthma and should seek medical treatment. 3.What tests can clarify the diagnosis of bronchial asthma? (1) Typical symptoms: diffuse croup can be heard on examination, with a predominantly expiratory phase and a prolonged expiratory phase; (2) Pulmonary function tests show a positive bronchodilator test, or a positive excitation test; (3) Bronchodilator treatment is effective. 4.What drugs can treat bronchial asthma? (1) Inhaled glucocorticosteroids or combination agents: budesonide, fluticasone, fluticasone/salmeterol, budesonide/formoterol, etc. This is the drug of choice for the treatment of bronchial asthma, which can effectively control airway inflammation, relieve symptoms, reduce exacerbations and delay the deterioration of lung function. (2) Inhaled β2 agonists: such as salbutamol aerosol, terbutaline, formoterol, etc. This is an effective drug to relieve the symptoms of acute bronchial asthma attacks, but it cannot replace inhaled glucocorticoids, and long-term use in large quantities may reduce the activity and number of airway β2 receptors, which is detrimental to disease treatment. (3) Oral drugs. (1) β2 receptor agonists, such as salbutamol and terbutaline; (2) leukotriene receptor antagonists, such as montelukast. These can effectively control the symptoms of bronchial asthma, and the dose and duration of medication should be selected according to the severity of asthma attack or persistent state. (4) Systemic hormones. Oral prednisone or intravenous methylprednisolone is used for the treatment of severe attacks or persistent bronchial asthma, and the treatment plan should be decided according to the condition. 5.What are the common misunderstandings in the treatment of bronchial asthma? Myth 1: Bronchial asthma can be cured According to current medical conditions, bronchial asthma cannot be completely cured. However, long-term effective treatment can enable the majority of patients to live and work normally. Myth 2: Bronchial asthma attacks need to be treated with antibiotics The airway inflammation in bronchial asthma is different from that caused by pathogenic infections; therefore, antibiotics do not relieve asthma symptoms, and inhaled or oral glucocorticoids or β2 agonists should be used. However, if the asthma attack is combined with airway bacterial infection, that is, antibiotic treatment should be combined as appropriate. Myth 3: The use of inhaled hormones can be dependent The long-term treatment plan for bronchial asthma needs to be decided according to the severity of the disease. Inhaled glucocorticosteroids are still the effective and safe drug of choice for the treatment of moderate to severe asthma attacks, and their local effects, with few systemic side effects, still outweigh the benefits of long-term use.