Asthma: What You Should Know

If you have severe asthma attacks you should better follow the doctor’s recommendations. This article will help supply you with some sound and practical suggestions as to the right asthma medication.

It is often the case that the asthmatic regardless of his compliance to an opened treatment still suffers from the periodic asthma attacks.
The physicians recommend adults and children the following steps as the adequate medication during the asthma attack:

1. First of all it is recommended to keep in readiness the inhaler
2. Do not wear tight clothes. Make sure that your collar (or tie) is loosened. Try to stay standing on your feet or to sit down upright during the flare-up
3. If there is no change for the better try to inhale from your blue respirator with 5-minutes interval till the attack is over
4. In case the symptoms do not improve you should call the doctor immediately
5. It is advisable to continue inhaling from the respirator every minute till the doctor arrives Read the rest of this entry »

Bronchial asthma is an allergic disease, which is based on chronic inflammation in the respiratory tract and bronchi’s hyperactivity to the impact of various incentives. The disease is characterized by recurrent episodes of bronchial obstruction, partially or completely reversible, accompanied by fits of coughing, wheezing and by tightness in chest.

The increase in prevalence of asthma in all age groups is considered to be due to the following factors:
•    The impact of air pollutants inside homes, due to the peculiarities of modern building materials and recycling of air (nitrogen dioxide, cigarette smoke, etc.) and an increase of different allergens (dust mites, cockroaches, fungi, and animal hair).
•    The incidence of acute respiratory viral infection in early childhood.
•    The syndrome of respiratory disorders, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, etc.
•    Smoking in the family; smoking while pregnancy or nursing pregnant affects the lungs of the protembryo or infant.

The development of bronchial asthma in children is due to genetic predisposition and the environmental factors. There are three main groups of factors that contribute to the development of the disease:
•    Predisposing factors (genetic burden to allergic diseases, atopy, and bronchial hyperactivity).
•    Etiological agents/sensitizing factors (allergens, viral infections, drugs).
•    Aggravation factors (or so-called triggers) that promote inflammation in bronchi and/or provoke the development of acute bronchoconstriction (allergens, viral and bacterial infections, cold air, cigarette smoke, emotional stress, physical stress, weather conditions, etc.). Read the rest of this entry »

Most often, bronchial asthma occurs against the background of respiratory diseases, bronchitis, and pneumonia. In all cases, the disease develops as a result of the body hypersensibility to allergens.

Attacks of suffocation may have their outset during inhalation of air polluted with smoke, the products of combustion, and other substances like paint, odors. Food substances (eggs, some vegetables and fruits) may also serve as allergens. Besides, there is an important factor of genetic burden to bronchial asthma. We mean here hereditary predisposition to asthma, not the inheritance of the disease.

Attack of asphyxia occurs during overexcitation of some parts of the involuntary nervous system, thus causing spasm of bronchial tubes and defluvium (mucus release). Most attacks start suddenly, at night. At this point the patient must be in sitting position. He is pale in the face, has a labored respiration, a frightened face covered with perspiration; cyanosis is noted.

Duration of the attack is from several minutes to some hours. The arresting of attacks is accompanied by thick, viscous sputum. Breathing is restored; the patient calms down and falls asleep.
Read the rest of this entry »

Bronchial asthma is one of the most common lung diseases in pregnant women. During pregnancy there may occur different forms and stages of bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma usually begins before pregnancy, but it may first appear or develop during encyesis.

Those pregnant women, who had asthma attacks prior to gravidity, may suffer from attacks of asphyxia both in early pregnancy and in the midpregnancy. Asthma, arose in early pregnancy, similar to early toxicosis, may pass over by the end of its first half. In these cases, the prognosis for the mother and the fetus is usually quite favorable.

Bronchial asthma that began before gravidity may have different development. The asthmatic women while progressive pregnancy may have pathological changes in the immune system, which have negative impact both on the course of the disease, and on pregnancy.

The run of asthma is usually impairs in the first trimester of pregnancy. In the second half of pregnancy the disease runs easier. If deterioration or improvement emerged in the previous pregnancy, it can be expected in the next one.

The expectant mothers down with asthma are more likely to have an early developed toxicosis (37% of pregnant women), threatened miscarriage (36%), violations of pregnancy course (19%), fast and rapid delivery (metrypercinesia), resulting in a high rate of birth injuries (23%). That means that dysmature infants and low-birth-weight children can be born. Pregnant women with severe asthma run high risk to experience spontaneous miscarriage, premature birth and cesarean operation. Cases of death of the fetus before or during birth occur only during severe disease and inadequate treatment of status asthmaticus.

The patients down with bronchial asthma at the full-term pregnancy generally give birth through natural delivery path, as the attacks of suffocation at birth can be prevented. Frequent attacks of suffocation, and asthmatic conditions observed during pregnancy, the ineffectiveness of the treatment serves as the indication for early delivery at 37-th or 38-th week of pregnancy.

Attacks of bronchial asthma during the delivery are rare, especially during prophylactic use of glucocorticoid drugs (prednisolone, hydrocortisone), or bronchodilators (aminophylline, ephedrine).

After giving birth the running of asthma is improved in 25% of women (the patients with mild disease). Fifty percent of women experience no changes in status asthmaticus, 25% of asthmatic expectant mothers suffer from deterioration of the disease and they have to take prednisolone, with the dose to be increased.

The disease of the mother can affect the child’s health. Five per cent of children develop asthma during the first year of life, 58% are down with the disease in subsequent years. Newborn infants during the first year of life often have diseases of upper air passages.

Any physical irritation meets its response of the stimulated object. Similar occurs in the human organism. But this respond to the trigger is called an allergic reaction of the body to the physical action of the “invader”. The body perceives the “different” substance, which is also named an antigen. It is normal that the immune system protects the organism from hazardous bacteria and toxins by mucifying process. This overreaction to the substances detrimental to health is named hypersensitivity reaction.
Absolutely different substances or conditions can turn out to be allergen for the human organism. Thus, for instance, such things as dust, pollen, various plants or foodstuffs, definite medicines, insect venoms, viruses and bacteria may be typical allergens. These reactions can have various forms and places of its presentation. Consequently, the sufferer may complain of itchy eyes, skin rash. The latter can be presented either in one spot or all over the body. The reaction to the exogenous irritant may have more than one symptom simultaneously. Read the rest of this entry »