Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease localized in the upper respiratory tract. With it, a person’s breathing is disturbed, he is tormented by a strong cough. According to statistical data, asthma occurs in 10% of the population, and the number of patients is growing every year.
One of the reasons for this is the deterioration of the environment in places where a large number of people live. Asthma can occur in anyone, even a small child, so parents should be well aware of how to avoid asthma. This question is especially relevant for residents of large metropolitan areas. About why the disease occurs and how the prevention of bronchial asthma is carried out , we will describe below.
Causes of bronchial asthma and risk factors
There are many pathological factors that negatively affect the respiratory system. They provoke increased production of secretions by the bronchi, narrowing of the lumens in them. Due to the narrowing of the lumen, the amount of air entering the body decreases, and a person has a cough, suffocation, a feeling of heaviness, and congestion in the chest. Due to the lack of air flowing to the brain, the person develops hypoxia, and he can die. Compliance with the primary and secondary measures of prevention of bronchial asthma helps to prevent this.
Pathological factors provoking the disease are divided into 2 types. They are internal and external.
Heredity is considered the main underlying cause leading to the development of asthmatic syndrome. In 35% of cases, it is because of bad heredity that a person develops asthma. In addition, it develops due to pathologies in systems such as the immune and endocrine.
External factors
External irritants are:
- Allergens. These include dust, mites. Allergens accumulate in carpets, furniture, and bedding. They also include animal hair, down and feathers. Therefore, asthmatics at home should not have bedding on the down. In addition, pollen belongs to allergens, so asthmatics are not recommended to walk in the spring, when plants are actively blooming outside. Allergens also include perfumed products with a pungent odor, paint. Doctors recommend asthmatics to closely monitor what they eat. Foods such as chicken eggs, fish, oranges, lemons, peaches, and nuts are strong allergens.
- Infectious diseases. The development of chronic diseases in the body provokes the appearance of bronchospasm.
- Eating junk food. If a person eats a lot of fatty, high-calorie foods, then he has not only excess weight, but also problems with the cardiovascular system. Eating salted foods is also not good. Salt retains excess water in the body, which increases blood pressure.
- Climatic conditions. Asthmatics are highly undesirable to visit countries with hot, dry, very cold, humid climates. Heat contributes to the development of the disease, and cold provokes bronchospasm.
- Poor environmental situation. Asthmatics cannot live in large cities, near factories. Plants emit a large amount of harmful substances into the air, and a lack of oxygen provokes bronchospasm.
- Psychological problems. Stress, excitement make the heart beat faster and increase blood pressure. Because of this, the patient breathes more often, he does not have enough air, he develops an attack.
- Bad habits. Any tobacco, even very high quality, contains toxins. They irritate the mucous membrane of the throat, corrode the protective layer of the bronchi, and harmful resins easily settle on the walls of the respiratory system. These are all the reasons for the development of dangerous ailments in humans, including asthma.
- Excessive physical activity. Sport is good, but a person should not overload his body too much. You need to periodically give him a rest. Vigorous exercise raises blood pressure, speeds up breathing, and increases heart rate. All this contributes to the development of asthma. But we cannot say that sport is harmful. Doctors recommend every person to play sports available to him and sometimes give his body a rest.
Doctors recommend to all people predisposed to this ailment to observe precautions and get a memo from a doctor on the prevention of bronchial asthma.
What leads to asthmatic syndrome
Below we will talk about the internal factors leading to the appearance of asthmatic syndrome. It:
- Hereditary factor. Remember that if a parent has asthma, the child’s risk of it increases. Moreover, it can develop in people of any gender and age. But this does not mean that the disease will necessarily appear. It all depends on the patient’s lifestyle.
- Hypersensitivity of the bronchi.
- Immune system disorders. If a patient has lowered immunity, then he often develops respiratory diseases. Frequent illnesses lead to chronic diseases of the respiratory tract, the appearance of bronchospasm, the development of asthmatic syndrome. The increased performance of the immune system is also dangerous. The person becomes sensitive to every allergen and develops asthma syndrome.
- Pathologies in the endocrine system. They usually appear due to an increased sensitivity of the body to certain allergens.
What are the symptoms of asthma syndrome? It is characterized by the appearance of:
- wheezing;
- shortness of breath;
- severe cough that also accompanies bronchitis;
- rapid or shallow breathing;
- pallor of the skin;
- tachycardia;
- dizziness, headache.
Important: each person needs to pay attention to risk factors, because the effect of even one of them leads to the fact that the lumen in the bronchi narrows, the person slowly develops suffocation. Therefore, if a person belongs to a risk group, then he should carefully monitor his health and, if he has unpleasant symptoms, immediately visit a doctor.
Asthma classification
Bronchial asthma is divided into several types, and this division depends on the factors that caused it. It happens:
- Exogenous. It is caused by non-infectious allergens that penetrate the bronchi and provoke suffocation. It develops due to dust, pollen of some plants, animal hair, and pungent odors. In addition, tobacco smoke provokes asthma. Its particles remain on the surface of the bronchi and lead to a severe cough, the development of asthma.
- Endogenous. It is provoked by infections that enter the body, frequent hypothermia, excessive physical exertion, and some psychological factors. Also, in some asthmatics, signs of choking appear due to ordinary aspirin, after eating lard, onions, smoked meats.
- Mixed. This type of ailment includes signs of the previous types. The disease occurs for various reasons, so it is very difficult to treat it.
Depending on the severity of the development of the disease, asthma is:
- intermittent . This is the mildest form of the disease. With her, the patient has seizures 1 time per week;
- light persistent . With her, the patient has seizures 2 times a week, but not more than 2 times a day;
- persistent moderate severity. With this form of the disease, the patient has seizures every day;
- persistent severe. This is the most dangerous form of the disease. A person very often has dangerous complications, it is difficult for him to move, he suffers from insomnia.
The importance of disease prevention
Anyone can get bronchial asthma. But most often it develops in individuals who:
- often suffer from colds;
- work to the detriment of their health, come to work with the first signs of a cold, malaise;
- exhaust themselves with heavy physical exertion;
- suffer from fatigue, depression. By this, the body tells its owner that it needs to rest.
Therefore, all patients should be treated and prevented from bronchial asthma. Prevention of bronchial asthma is based on the fact that a person must observe a number of precautions. It is very important at the first signs of the development of an ailment to consult a doctor in time and prevent its further development.
It is important to observe this rule for all people, and especially for those who face hard work and frequent stress, therefore, primary and secondary prevention of bronchial asthma is especially important for people at risk.
Important: the lack of prevention leads to the progression of the disease and an increase in the list of irritants to which a person has a negative reaction.
For example, if earlier he had an allergic reaction to the pollen of one plant, then later it may appear on the pollen of all plants. If the patient was tormented by allergic manifestations only in the summer, then later they will appear in him in early spring and will torment him all summer.
How to avoid this, the patient can find out during a conversation about bronchial asthma with the attending physician. Some patients begin taking medications to help stop the symptoms of the disease.
Prevention of bronchial asthma in adults
Asthma manifests itself in different ways in adults. Symptoms depend on the type of allergen. Conventionally, the disease is divided into allergic and infectious-allergic. Allergic asthma syndrome is caused by allergens.
An ailment of an infectious-allergic nature develops against the background of an infectious process in the body, localized in the respiratory organs. Very often, such ailments become chronic and provoke asthma. But here, too, the allergen plays an important role.
Prevention of exacerbation of bronchial asthma is based on preventing the appearance of an allergic reaction and the penetration of infections into the body.
The goal of prevention is to reduce the likelihood of a negative reaction in the patient and the transition of diseases of the respiratory system to a chronic form. Prevention of asthma in adults includes taking special medications, massage, breathing exercises.
Primary
Primary prevention of bronchial asthma includes measures that, if followed, will help people at risk to avoid asthma.
It is necessary to follow the recommendations for the prevention of bronchial asthma:
- people with allergies;
- residents of megalopolises with polluted air;
- chemical plant workers;
- people with bad habits;
- parents of young children;
- patients suffering from frequent bronchitis, rhinitis. Remember that allergic rhinitis is a prerequisite for the development of bronchial asthma.
The following rules must be strictly observed:
- Every day, wipe the floors in the apartment, all surfaces, cabinets, household appliances.
- Do not leave things under the bed, take all carpets and soft toys out of the room.
- Do not install bookshelves, do not put decorative flowers.
- Use hypoallergenic bedding, change it once every 2 weeks and wash it at 60 degrees.
- In hot weather, ventilate the room and bed linen.
- Refuse potted plants, animals, as they often provoke allergies.
- Eliminate bad habits, ask loved ones not to smoke nearby, give up strong-smelling household aerosols, perfumes.
- Every day wash your hands and face with baby soap, follow a diet, exclude nuts, chocolate, preservatives, dyes from the diet.
- Carry out hardening procedures, walk in the park every day, located far from the busy road.
- Change jobs and every year have a rest at the sea, in the mountains.
- Timely treat diseases localized in the respiratory tract and prevent their reappearance, do not take dietary supplements.
Secondary
If a citizen could not protect his body from harmful factors, and he developed an ailment, then he needs to think about secondary prevention of bronchial asthma. It is based on the observance of certain conditions by the asthmatics, which reduce the risk of recurrence of serious consequences.
Secondary prevention of bronchial asthma includes compliance with the following rules. A person needs:
- less walking on the street in spring. At this time, plants begin to bloom, and their pollen is a strong allergen;
- prevent insect bites;
- take a course of massage of the chest, back;
- carry an inhaler with you at all times;
- ask your doctor about the possibility of using acupuncture, reflexology;
- learn the technique of correct breathing and visit salt rooms, caves;
- treat acute bronchitis and other respiratory diseases;
- buy a humidifier, open the vents during a night’s sleep. This prophylaxis in bronchial asthma is used to prevent attacks.
- in the spring to move to another city, preferably closer to the sea. Important: you can move after seizures, and not during an exacerbation;
- do not wear fur and woolen clothes, eat dinner no later than 2 hours before going to bed.
If a patient with bronchial asthma takes all the above preventive measures, he will be able to achieve remission of the disease.
Tertiary
Tertiary prevention of complications of bronchial asthma includes not only treatment, but also prevention of the negative consequences of the disease. It helps to improve the patient’s health during an exacerbation.
First of all, it is necessary to eliminate the external irritant, that is, the patient needs to find out what exactly he has an allergic reaction to. This includes house dust, pollen from flowering plants, animal hair, and some food.
Prevention of exacerbations of bronchial asthma is based on the use of medications. The patient is prescribed:
- Inhaled hormonal medications. They have anti-inflammatory effects on the body.
- Hormonal medications that are taken by mouth. These drugs for the prevention of exacerbations of bronchial asthma are used in the severe stage of the disease.
- Bronchodilator medicines. They help eliminate the signs of suffocation and other symptoms that occur during an exacerbation of the disease. If the medication did not help relieve the attack, then the patient must be taken to the resuscitation doctors.
In addition, the prevention of bronchial asthma is based on the elimination of contact with the allergen, this is called the elimination effect in medicine.
Prevention in children
Prevention of bronchial asthma in children is also very important. It will help prevent this dangerous ailment from developing in them. Especially carefully you need to monitor children who have not reached 1 year of age. It is to them that parents begin to give the first complementary foods and adult foods to which the child may be allergic. Also, the ailment may appear in children whose relatives suffer from asthma.
Prevention of bronchial asthma in children is based on the following measures:
- for the first six months, give the baby only breast. It is breast milk that helps the baby to improve immunity and normalize the intestinal microflora. Remember that infants who eat formula often get potential allergens with it;
- introduce complementary foods in small portions and only after the baby is 6 months old. A large variety is not required for the child. Do not start complementary foods with oranges, lemons, strawberries, honey, eggs, cocoa, store-bought purees, and preservative-laden juice packs. Such prevention does not help prevent bronchial asthma in a child;
- go outside with the child every day, wash the floors in the room where he is, switch to a healthy diet with the whole family;
- observe the rules of personal hygiene with the baby.
Not only parents should be engaged in primary and secondary prevention of bronchial asthma in children. Also, these procedures are carried out by a nurse. She:
- controls the cardiovascular system, detects pathologies at the initial stage;
- measures blood pressure in a child;
- teaches the child to breathe correctly and to engage in prevention. Such methods prevent the onset of seizures;
- evaluates the effectiveness of therapy. If there is no effect, then the nurse sends the baby to the pediatrician. He must change the treatment regimen, prescribe other medications.
Finally
To summarize: bronchial asthma is dangerous. And it is easier to prevent it than to try to cure it. For the prevention of bronchial asthma, follow the above recommendations and listen carefully to yourself.
If there are any unpleasant signs, then do not self-medicate. It is better to consult your doctor. Only a physician will be able to carry out the necessary diagnostics and select really effective medicines that will help the patient.