Sputum in asthma is a normal phenomenon, which indicates a violation in the functioning of the bronchial mucosa. Due to the nature of the disease, the patient needs to pass a number of tests to determine the cause and severity of the pathology. Only then will the doctor prescribe the appropriate treatment.
In what cases an analysis is prescribed
Sputum analysis allows you to determine the type of pathogen, which is especially important for the treatment of bacterial pathologies of the respiratory tract, since the doctor must select an effective antibiotic.
In order for the analysis of sputum in bronchial asthma to be as accurate as possible, you need to follow the rules:
- it is recommended to donate mucus in the morning;
- on the day of delivery you need to drink a lot of water;
- Before the procedure, you should rinse your mouth with an aqueous solution of baking soda: this will help kill bacteria in the mouth and reduce the chance of a false diagnosis.
When expectoration , it is the sputum that should get into the container, not the saliva. Usually, patients provoke a cough to facilitate its excretion, while 3-5 ml of mucus is enough. Adults should show the child an example of how to properly submit a biomaterial for analysis.
It happens that the patient cannot cough up mucus, then the doctor suggests inhalation or percussion massage. If the sputum does not come off, one option remains – to use a catheter, which is inserted into the trachea and pumps out some biomaterial. This method is not common, since it provokes bronchial spasms, from which only emergency remedies help.
Thanks to the analysis of sputum, the number of microorganisms, neutrophils, epithelial cells, macrophages and fibrins can be detected. The laboratory assistant divides the obtained biomaterial for the application of different diagnostic methods: microscopy and bacterial seeding . The course of treatment largely depends on the indicators obtained , so the procedure must be taken seriously.
The nature of sputum in asthma
The composition of mucus in asthma is individual for each patient. As a rule, the phlegm is vitreous, odorless and colorless, looks viscous and therefore difficult to remove from the bronchi. However, with an advanced form of asthma, nonspecific inclusions can be noticed in it : clots of pus or blood. A greenish color and a purulent odor are usually signs of a bacterial infection or tumor.
It should be noted that a change in the shade of sputum does not always indicate the vital activity of microorganisms hazardous to health. Yellow or green color may indicate that the breakdown of eosinophils, a subtype of blood leukocytes, has begun in the bronchi .
Red clots in sputum indicate trauma to the mucous vessel caused by intense coughing. In this case, the rupture of the capillary wall can occur in any organ of the respiratory tract, so you need to check for other diseases.
If the phlegm is getting bigger, it could mean worsening of asthma. Nevertheless, this disease is not characterized by large volumes of mucus, therefore, with a serious increase in the separable, it is necessary to check for another pathology, for example, pneumonia.
Is sputum dangerous for asthma?
In fact, viscous mucus is constantly produced in the bronchi. It is part of the respiratory tract cleansing system and has an important property – it retains particles of dust and dirt, and then leaves along with foreign substances, rising to the throat. The bronchial secretion is pushed out thanks to the cilia on the bronchial mucosa . Normally, no more than 150 ml of sputum is produced per day.
Usually, a person either coughs up mucus or swallows it, while its presence in the throat does not cause much discomfort. Another thing is sputum in asthma, which carries a direct danger to the patient. The mucous membrane of the bronchi produces a large amount of secretion, which can block the respiratory lumen. The situation is complicated by the fact that the patient is constantly coughing due to bronchial spasm, which already leads to a deterioration in the passage of air. With late or improper treatment, the consequences can be severe, up to heart disease, therefore, at the first signs of pathology, you should consult a doctor.
How to treat phlegm for asthma
It is important to remember that therapy should be discussed with a specialist, since self-administration of drugs leads to a deterioration in well-being.
As a rule, for asthma, the choice of medication is limited to the following groups of drugs:
- Antibiotics: Amoxicillin, Azithromycin , Ciprofloxacin . After sputum culture, the doctor determines the best antibacterial agent to which the infection is not resistant. These drugs destroy not only pathogenic microflora, but also useful, therefore it is necessary to take additional prophylactic agents, for example, lactobacilli .
- Mucolytics : Mukaltin , Ambrobene . These medicines are needed to thin the phlegm and strengthen the work of the cilia, which improves the secretion discharge and prevents it from stagnating.
- Expectorants: Bromhexine, ACC, Thermopsol . The drugs stimulate the functioning of smooth muscles and ciliated epithelium, due to which sputum is easier to excrete.
Together with pharmaceutical medicines, traditional medicine recipes are used to get rid of excess bronchial secretions. The following “classic” methods help:
- honey and aloe in a ratio of 1: 5;
- garlic and onion syrup;
- radish with honey.
Pine milk is considered an effective remedy: take 3 green cones, a piece of resin and ½ liter of warmed milk. The ingredients are mixed, infused for a couple of hours, and then the mixture is filtered. A decoction of pine buds also helps to remove phlegm, as it has mucolytic and antiseptic effects. Sputum in asthma is a dangerous symptom that can lead to suffocation. It must be properly treated so as not to harm the body with an additional allergic reaction or worsening of the condition due to side effects. If you follow the doctor’s recommendations, therapy will be successful, and the disease may go into remission.