Angina Symptoms

Angina - was known to doctors in ancient times. The name itself is borrowed from the Greek language. In the literal sense it means "soul", "narrow", "squeeze".In the old days, called quinsy a fairly large group of throat diseases, in which a person felt an unpleasant feeling of restraint, compression in the throat. So they said at the same time: "The throat", or "Angina".

It is now common to call an angina common infectious disease with acute inflammatory lesions, primarily throat and tonsils. Often, the larynx is affected. A person feels pain when swallowing and breathing is restrained. Sometimes doctors call such diseases acute tonsillitis, but in the medical literature and in the hostel the term "angina" is firmly rooted. How to treat angina with folk remedies, see here.

It would seem that if a person has a sore throat when swallowing, as is the case with angina, the disease can be considered "local".

Nevertheless, angina is considered to be a "common" disease, in which a painful process involves not only the tonsils, but the entire body. This has its scientific explanation.

When a disease with angina usually increases the temperature, there is a headache, loss of appetite and sleep, there is a weakness, aches in the joints. Started with an inflammatory process in the throat and tonsils, tonsillitis is often accompanied by complications from the internal organs( heart, joints, kidneys).In this disease, the doctor directs the blood and urine of the patient to a laboratory test. With the help of the study establish changes in their composition, characteristic of angina.

Often it happens, the pain in the throat has disappeared, a person believes that he recovered from a sore throat. However, in order to really find out if the patient has recovered, an in-depth clinical examination is necessary;only with his help the doctor determines how fully all the functions of the organism, disturbed by the disease, are restored.

How and why does the disease occur? The state of the organism depends on the influence of external conditions of existence, on relationships with the environment. The disease does not occur immediately, not suddenly. It is caused and prepared for quite some time by many external and internal causes.

Medical workers are making efforts to prevent the development of a painful process and to stop it at distant approaches to vital human organs.

In the emergence of the disease an important role is played by the so-called reactivity of the organism, its ability to respond to various external and internal phenomena. This ability, subject to the regulatory activity of the nervous system, can change under the influence of certain external factors.

Violation of the body's mode, its rhythm, leads to improper metabolism, suspends or completely turns off certain processes and functions. Often violations come from the influence of various external factors: cooling, fatigue, exhaustion, weakening of the nervous system, etc. Among the external factors include the impact of pathogens that enter the body from the outside or, for a number of reasons, activating their activity in one or another organ.

In tonsils of healthy people who have never had tonsillitis, various microorganisms can sometimes be found. It is estimated, for example, that in 25% of cases it is streptococci - microbes, which are usually found in a number of serious diseases, including angina. However, for the time being, they do not harm a person. This continues as long as the balance between the external environment and the organism remains. But it is necessary to break the equilibrium, as a person falls ill.

Angina is caused by the fact that due to various external causes, the pathogenic force and activity of the microbe have increased. The microbe has the ability to allocate so-called toxins - microbial poison. The person falls ill and because, for reasons of the same external nature, the body itself is weakened, it loses its ability to resist the disease, there is an increased susceptibility to angina.

Science has irrefutably proven that angina is an infectious disease. Practice confirms the possibility of transmission of sore throat from patient to healthy with direct contact by the so-called "drip method", through discharge from the patient's nose during coughing, sneezing, etc. The fact that the angina is contagious is also evidenced by group outbreaks of diseases,or a collective, when people eat food contaminated with microbes.

To better understand why a disease occurs, one should imagine how a healthy person's throat is arranged.

If you open your mouth, look in the mirror, you can see behind the tongue a hole connecting the mouth and pharyngeal cavity, ie, the pharynx. It is limited to the right and left by special formations, sometimes reminiscent of almonds. Hence the name of this tissue - "tonsils".A total of eight tonsils.

The largest tonsils are in the throat. The first and second tonsils, or, as they are also called, the palatine, the zoonal, are located in the oropharynx. The third amygdala, also known as the pharyngeal, or adenoid, is adjacent to the posterior or to the posterior-superior wall of the nasopharynx. The fourth amygdala, called linguistic, is at the root of the tongue.

In addition to these four major tonsils, lymphadenoid accumulations can also be found in other parts of the pharynx - near the mouth of the Eustachian tubes( tube tonsils), in some cases - in the larynx( laryngeal tonsils).

All these formations of lymphadenoid tissue are commonly called the lymphadenoid glotular ring.

We have already indicated that in the lacunae of the tonsils, even in healthy people, a different microflora is found. This is a kind of "dormant" infection, for the time being it does not cause harm. Therefore, in order to protect yourself from a disease with angina, you must ensure that the balance between the external environment and the body is not disturbed. Let's give some examples.

It is known that one of the most unfavorable factors of the external environment is hypothermia. Cooling even distant from the pharynx sites can cause angina. Often you can hear: got your feet wet - your throat hurt. This connection is understandable. Therefore, each person should observe the island, do not allow the body to subcool, do not walk with wet feet, especially guarded in wet, windy weather, etc.

Infection, that is, a pathogen, enters the human body in various ways. Sometimes the cause of the disease can be a profuse bacterial flora of the mouth and palatine tonsils.

In other cases, microbes - the causative agents of the disease - pass, as we have already pointed out, from one person to another when coughing, sneezing, or talking. It also happens that the onset of the disease with tonsillitis is caused by bacteria that nest in the hollow of a spoiled tooth. And in this case, personal prevention is crucial. Care of teeth and their timely treatment by a dentist - treatment by filling with sick teeth - in a number of cases, prevent the disease with angina.

Protect yourself and others from possible angina - this means to eliminate anything that reduces the body's resistance and reduces its protective forces: cooling, exhaustion, overwork, nervous breakdown.

All efforts should be directed to raising the defenses of the body and thereby excluding the possibility of disease.

Depending on the nature and severity of the disease, the angina proceeds in different ways. What are the symptoms?

It is accepted to distinguish between catarrhal, follicular and lacunar angina.

Catarrhal angina develops rapidly and acutely. The person falls ill as if suddenly: just that he was quite healthy and suddenly felt sick, dry, sad, shivering in the throat. Within a few hours after the first unpleasant sensation, the patient begins to feel that half of the pharynx is swollen and pain occurs when swallowing. Palatine tonsils, if you consider them using a spatula or a teaspoon, will turn out to be swollen, strongly reddened. The palpation of the neck in the place of the submandibular lymphatic gland causes pain.

Pains during swallowing are increasing, increasing with every hour, reaching its highest point on the second and third day from the onset of the disease. The patient raises the temperature( up to 38-39 °).

Angina, especially at the very beginning, is often accompanied by a severe, excruciating chill. A person experiences joint pains, general weakness, complains of a headache. Sometimes he is delirious.

In normal cases of tonsillitis, when viewed, it is evident that the tonsils are somewhat swollen, reddened, covered with a yellowish mucous coating. In more severe cases, the mucous membrane of the throat is affected by pinpoint hemorrhages, the tongue and palatine arches swell.

Catarrhal tonsillitis is a frequent companion of many other infectious diseases: scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles. This should always be remembered and at the first signs of sore throat should always seek help from a doctor.

Signs of follicular sore throat are almost the same as catarrhal. However, from the second day of the disease, against the background of different redness of the tonsils, it is possible to see distinctly inflamed inflamed follicles in the form of yellowish or yellowish-whitish points. This means that the inflammatory process has taken hold of the follicular apparatus of the tonsils and, thus, the functions regulating immunity( immunity) of the organism have been violated.

Follicular angina - a more severe and long-lasting disease than catarrhal, it gives serious complications. With this disease, the main signs of angina are more pronounced - fever, headache, joint pain, general malaise. The voice of the patient becomes dim, indistinct. Pain during swallowing is very strong, in the mouth there is an increased content of saliva. Daily medical supervision of the patient is necessary.

No less serious disease is lacunar angina .With this form of the disease, the general state of the organism is noticeably worse, the temperature rises sharply, and in children it often reaches 40 °.The head aches and pain swallows. Pain in the pharynx is rapidly growing, giving in the ear. Mucous tonsils swell and blush, in lacunas white or yellow raids are formed - corks. These plugs consist of bacteria and rejected cells with a significant number of white blood cells( white blood balls).Often, the tonsils are covered with a continuous coating of yellowish white films or bands. On examination, the redness and puffiness of the soft palate and palatine arches stand out sharply.

In angina, the very tissue of the amygdala is involved in the painful process, it swells up, increases in volume. They become noticeable during palpation and pain the submaxillary lymph glands.

Among the anginal diseases there is also the so-called phlegmonous angina .Phlegmon - in Greek, inflammation. This condition means diffuse inflammation of the amygdala and peri-min-delicate tissue. The patient experiences pain when swallowing, refuses food, suffers from insomnia, often complains of pain in the ear. Body temperature rises to 39 °.As a rule, phlegmonous tonsillitis is one-sided. Before the doctor comes, you can take a streptocide and inhale the water vapor - breathe over a kettle with steep boiling water.

A comparatively rare disease is the ulcerative film angina of Simanovsky-Vincent .The disease occurs as a result of simultaneous exposure to the body of several different types of microbes. Most often the disease affects one amygdala. When swallowing pains appear, the temperature is 37.3-37.5 ° or, as it is called, subfebrile. One of the tonsils clearly shows a white-yellow oval plaque.

On average, this form of angina lasts two to three weeks, but sometimes takes a protracted character.

The angina is contagious, it is transmitted from one person to another. Therefore, it is necessary to isolate the sick person and immediately call a doctor.

Sometimes there is a form of angina, such as acute inflammation of the nasopharyngeal tonsil .The person falls ill suddenly, he suddenly feels dry in the nasopharynx, feels that there is persh and burns, the temperature rises to 38-39 °.Headache, sore throat, nosebleed, general weakness, weakness in the joints, and the next day - mucopurulent discharge from the nose - the right signs of developing nasopharyngeal angina. Nasopharyngeal angina is mainly affected in childhood and adolescence. The disease usually lasts 3-4 days.

A person suffering from inflammation of the nasopharyngeal tonsil should not blow his nose, as the inflammation can easily pass into the Eustachian tube. With this illness, you should also immediately call a doctor.

Acid inflammation of the lateral ridges of the pharynx is often observed . It arises from the disease of the tissue in the side grooves of the pharynx. The disease begins with unsharp pain when swallowing, the general condition is markedly disturbed. An increase in temperature with this form of angina may not be. When examining the throat, the lateral ridges appear as red bands.

It is noted that after inflammation of the lateral grooves of the pharynx, rheumatism is often aggravated in a person. Hence, acute inflammation of the lateral ridges of the pharynx - it is such an innocuous disease, as it is customary to think. And therefore it is important to consult a doctor in time.

A variety of angina is acute inflammation of the lingual tonsil .Characteristic signs of the onset of this disease are gradually intensifying pain when swallowing and sticking out the tongue. Pain increases with every hour, a sick person refuses food. The temperature is high( 38-38.5 °).When viewing, you can establish a limited mobility of the tongue;if a spoon to touch the root of the tongue - the patient is experiencing a sharp pain;the root of the tongue is sore and swollen. Naturally, at the first signs of this disease the patient should be shown to a specialist doctor.

Larynx angina is an acute inflammatory process of the larynx. It flows at a high temperature, reaching 39-40 °.High fever with laryngeal angina is accompanied by severe pain while swallowing;reception of solid and even liquid food becomes impossible. The general state of weakness and malaise increases and increases hour by hour. Even the slightest touch to the patient's neck in the larynx causes severe soreness. The head is tilted forward, as each turn of the neck causes pain. Sometimes there are signs of suffocation - breathing becomes more frequent, lips and nails acquire a blue or purple color. Timely intervention by a doctor and proper treatment usually lead to a favorable outcome. Success in the fight against the disease is more fully and quickly achieved, the earlier the doctor is called to the patient.

If care is important and necessary for any disease, caring for a sick angina is especially necessary. With this disease, it is difficult for a person to eat - you should prepare easily assimilated, nutritious liquid dishes and give them to the patient in a warm state. It is necessary to show a lot of patience and tact: patients usually refuse - from food, because eating causes pain, meanwhile the lack of nutrition further weakens the already undermined organism. It is important to help the patient find a position of the head and neck, in which swallowing does not cause pain.

It should be remembered that all medical devices, all procedures and prescriptions are especially effective and effective provided they are reinforced and supplemented by full-fledged care of the patient.

As you can see, sore throat is manifested in various, not similar to each other forms. To know about the variety of angina is necessary in order to timely notice the first signs of the onset of the disease and immediately go to the doctor.

If the necessary therapeutic measures are taken in a timely manner, the disease can be influenced at the very beginning and in many cases - to prevent a possible complication.

It has already been noted that angina is often accompanied by infectious diseases. So, angina can be accompanied by diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles.

There is such a sharp expression: "There is no scarlet fever without angina."Indeed, in the initial stage of scarlet fever, usually there is an angina, which has characteristic distinctive features. With scarlet fever, the inflammatory process takes the form of small round bright red spots in the pharynx and the sky, above the tongue. Within a few hours they spread to surrounding tissues, merge with each other and a solid red covers the entire mucosa of the soft palate. On the first day of the disease, scarlet fever is affected by a large area. The clinical picture of the inflammatory process in this case was very figuratively called "glowing throat".Already at the end of the first or at the beginning of the second day of the illness, a peculiar rash appears on the human body that helps the doctor recognize scarlet fever. However, in some cases scarlet fever occurs without an eruption.

Scarlet fever is a contagious disease easily transmitted from a sick person to a healthy way of both direct and indirect contact - through dishes, towels, toys, books, clothes. Infection is transmitted through third parties. A person who communicates with a sick person while remaining healthy can infect another healthy person. All this must be taken into account, and immediately take vigorous action. First of all, you need to call a doctor, on his instructions to send the sick with scarlet fever to the hospital, make disinfection in the apartment( calling a disinfectant team through the regional sanitary-epidemiological station).

Children are especially prone to scarlet fever, starting from the second half of life, teenagers and young men under 20 years old. This age group should be first of all paid attention in the implementation of preventive measures in the hearth of scarlet fever( apartment, day nursery, kindergarten, school).

Sometimes it is extremely difficult to distinguish angina from the initial phase of diphtheria throat. Diphtheria is an acute infectious disease. Most often, the disease is transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person, but it is possible to get infected through food or objects that were in use in the patient. A healthy person can get infected from a bacill carrier - from a person who has had diphtheria, recovered, but Leffler's pathogens continue to live and multiply in the pharynx. When talking, coughing, sneezing these bacteria with sprays of saliva can get to a healthy person and cause him a disease. That's why bacilli carriers are often a source of infection with diphtheria.

The latent period of the disease lasts from two to twelve days. During this time, the diphtheria bacillus, which has fallen on the mucous membrane of the pharynx, manages to penetrate into the tissue and begin to produce a toxin( a special microbial poison that acts depressingly on the entire human body).

Children younger than 8 years old are more susceptible to diphtheria. Most often affects the area of ​​throat and tonsils. The clinical picture and severity of the disease in different cases are not the same;Several forms of diphtheria are distinguished.

It is important to remember that the lungs and initial forms of diphtheria can proceed as lacunar or follicular angina, and in sick children the temperature will be moderate, and in adults even normal.

In our country, remarkable results have been achieved in the fight against diphtheria. Children are given preventive vaccinations against diphtheria through the introduction of a special drug - diphtheria antitoxin. Vaccination of children significantly reduced the incidence. Nevertheless, diphtheria is still present.

What should you do if you suspect a diphtheria disease?

First of all, you should call a doctor who urgently sends a smear from the pharynx to the bacteriological laboratory for examination. The earlier treatment is initiated, the sooner the recovery comes, the higher the effect of the drugs.

If treatment is not started on time, individual punctation on tonsils soon merge and form whitish, grayish-white or less often yellowish islets. These islands grow, grow and become like tightly seated films. So they are called "diphtheria films."They cover the whole surface of the tonsils, palatine arches, soft palate.

Diphtheria often occurs as a serious disease with signs of general toxicosis( poisoning of the body with microbial poison).With this form, the temperature rises to 39-40 °, the patient is pale, he has muscular and cardiac weakness, an unpleasant smell from his mouth, and the swollen and reddened tonsils are covered with a thick, dirty, membranous coating. Lymph glands are enlarged, neck tissue is edematous.

Toxic form of diphtheria requires immediate medical intervention and special medical measures. In these cases it is quite possible to say that procrastination is death alike. And, on the contrary, early treatment truly does wonders.

For diphtheria, hospitalization of patients in an infectious hospital is mandatory.

Everyone who is in contact with the sick, whether children or adults, it is necessary to make a bacteriological analysis. If in the nose and throat it was not possible to find diphtheritic bacilli and there are no clinical signs of the disease, in 7-10 days adults and children can again visit teams( places of work or study).Immediately after the illness was sent to the hospital, the apartment must be disinfected. The same decontamination measures are applied in case the diphtheria patient visited children's institutions, etc. A team of disinfectors is called through a district epidemiologist.

As already mentioned, the microbes of diphtheria can be isolated not only by patients, but also by healthy( ill) people. That is why children-bacilli carriers should not be admitted to schools, orphanages, orchards, nurseries, pioneer camps, sanatoriums. Their treatment is carried out under the guidance of a doctor and consists of general health activities( outdoor activities, gymnastics, enhanced rational nutrition, intake of vitamins) and in local procedures-physiotherapy, antiseptic rinses. Only in that case it can be considered that a child can not infect others with diphtheria if triplicate analyzes with negative results in a few days have shown that there are no diphtheria rods in the mucus of the pharynx and nose.

Health education, promotion of methods and means for the prevention of diphtheria are of great importance for the successful fight against this disease. The skills of personal and public hygiene are especially important in families where there are children, susceptible to angina, who have undergone scarlet fever, diphtheria or measles.

It should be remembered that persons caring for an infectious patient should wash their hands with soap every time after contact with it and rinse them with a solution of thieme or another disinfectant solution. You can not sit on the bed to the patient, admit visitors to him, take out of the room the objects that the patient used. All this must be observed in order to protect others from infection with a serious illness.

After a person has had a sore throat, he can develop a chronic disease, which will cause the tonsils to be in an inflamed condition all the time. This disease, which is not always the case and not the same in all people, has received the name of chronic tonsillitis. With this disease there are multiple exacerbations in the form of repeated angina.

Chronic tonsillitis is a fairly common cause of various lesions of the body.

Anginas in chronic tonsillitis sometimes follow one after another at short intervals. The cause of their occurrence are microorganisms nesting in tonsils, most often in lacunae. It is in the gaps formed by purulent plugs, consisting of decomposed particles of the mucous membrane, bacteria and their decay products. Hence the infection often penetrates into the general flow of blood and into the lymphatic ways. Of course, the presence of traffic jams in the tonsils in itself does not at all prove the presence of chronic tonsillitis. It is known that healthy people in tonsils have a lot of traffic jams. For the time being, these festering plugs in some people do not have a significant effect on health. However, in these cases, it should always be remembered that the presence of stoppers in the lacunae of the tonsils can eventually become a source and cause of a chronic disease with frequently recurring tonsillitis. And after all, every angina that is transferred leaves a trace in the body, causing a profound change in the tonsils. There are people who have tonsils in their appearance completely unchanged, and yet these people get sick with angina 8-10 times a year. It can be assumed that they have chronic tonsillitis.

It is impossible to recognize the man's chronic tonsillitis from external signs alone. That is why when a disease with angina is very important thorough and comprehensive examination by a doctor of the whole body with the use of methods of laboratory analysis of blood, urine, smears from the pharynx, etc.

Frequent tonsillitis is only one of many severe consequences of chronic tonsillitis. In addition to angina, this disease is often accompanied by significant changes in the body. There are possible near-term dandruff suppurations( abscesses), complications on the heart, kidneys, joints, and sometimes the phenomenon of blood infection.

The modern level of medicine makes it possible to apply various effective means and methods against this disease. In some cases, on the advice of a physician resort to surgical intervention - removal of affected tonsils operatively.

In a normal state, the tonsils are a kind of barrier restraining the infectious origin, which prevents microorganisms from penetrating into the tissues. However, with chronic disease, tonsils facilitate the penetration of infection into the tissue;moreover, they often represent a hotbed of infection.

The case of the attending physician is to determine whether to resort to surgery.

Statistics show with conviction that children and young people are more often infected with angina. Three quarters of all patients with angina are people under the age of 30.Particularly large proportion among the sick is a group of children and adolescents aged 7 to 14 years. It is noted that girls get sick with angina more often than boys.

Clinical studies conducted by scientists confirmed the close interdependence of angina and rheumatism. It turned out that people who consulted a doctor for tonsillitis often recognized rheumatism along with her.

Starting from the infant age and up to 35 years, the tissue of the tonsils progressively increases in volume. By the age of three, the follicles grow and their number in each amygdala reaches 35-40.After 35-40 years of age, the number of follicles gradually decreases, and in old people, 70 years, it is only 9-12, that is less than a one-year-old baby.

Age changes in the tissues of the tonsils, apparently, are closely related to the resistance of the body. Of course, it would be erroneous to explain the incidence of diseases in different age groups by changes in the tonsils alone. Of course, the decisive role is played by the age-related changes in the reactivity of the organism, its ability to resist the disease. The interaction of local and general conditions( the state of tonsil tissues and the resistance of the body) allows you to determine whether a person is susceptible to angina.

Apparently, in most children and young men this interaction does not create the necessary stability of the organism with respect to angina. Therefore, the measures of public and personal prevention must first of all be directed to strengthening, tempering the body, gymnastics, physical training, etc.

If we study the figures of the incidence by months, the pronounced seasonal nature of the sore throat is striking. So, for example, in Moscow polyclinics noted the greatest number of cases of angina in October, November and December, and the smallest - from May to August.

This means that in the occurrence of angina, weather plays a role. However, the seasonality of morbidity depends not only on the meteorological conditions inherent in the autumn and winter months. Of great importance is the different diet of the population at different times of the year. It is known that in the content of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins, the diet in summer and autumn differs markedly from spring-winter.

The state importance of the problem of controlling angina is determined, firstly, by the massiveness of this disease, and secondly, by the fact that it, as a rule, entails a temporary loss of ability to work.

An analysis of the data shows that among the adult part of the population, the doctors for angina were mainly workers and employees, the overwhelming majority being women. It can be assumed that a part of the adult population, who does not need to be released from work due to illness( housewives, invalids, etc.), does not go to a medical institution even with a severe form of angina. These individuals repeat the treatment that the doctor prescribed for them with past angina.

We can also note a characteristic feature of the structure of morbidity: prevalence of cases of angina in employees in comparison with workers. This feature allows us to consider physical labor a factor that increases the resistance and defenses of the body.

In all age groups of women among the sick are more than men.

The action of high temperature causes increased sweat secretion, which is inevitably accompanied by loss of vitamins C and Bb by the body. The protective forces are weakened, the possibility of a cold is created. If we add to this one-sided food with carbohydrate-rich food, it becomes clear that a combination of all these factors is the cause of an increased incidence of quinsy in confectionery workers.

Preventive measures against sore throats consist of general and personal prophylaxis.

The task is primarily to achieve a truly massive implementation of measures to temper the body. Gymnastics, physical education and sports contribute to the improvement of the whole organism, mobilize its protective forces, increase its resistance, resistance to temperature fluctuations in the environment and various influences of unfavorable external factors.

The prophylactic value of vitamins C and B1, especially in winter and spring, when the greatest number of cases of angina is noted.

As is known, purulent foci in the area of ​​the adnexal cavities of the nose and ear are often the source of infection and ultimately the cause of the disease with angina. Get rid of these outbreaks with the help of a doctor - this is the mandatory rule of personal hygiene.

Remembering that bad teeth often lead to troubles in the form of complications of angina, everyone should consider it as their indispensable duty to care for the oral cavity, you should periodically show your dentist, treat sick teeth, take care of the gums and the entire oral cavity.

Strengthening health, tempering the body with air baths, cold wipes, pouring water at room temperature and then rubbing the skin with a towel, regular gymnastics, physical education and sports - all this, along with many other measures, are effective methods of personal prevention of sore throats.

Remember that you should well ventilate the room in which you live, daily spend wet cleaning in it. It is extremely important to comply with the rules of prevention of housing and hostels, if a sick angina has appeared in the room.

In the past, the whole patient has to be isolated from healthy sore throat. This is achieved in various ways. Suppose that the patient can not be placed in a separate room( although this would be the best way out).As far as possible, the bed of the sore throat should be covered with a screen or canopy. Communication of the patient with sore throat and healthy should be limited as much as possible. The patient should use a separate dish and a towel.

The room in which the patient is located should be well ventilated and wet cleaned in it. Persons surrounding the patient, and even more caring for him, must be twice a day( morning and evening) subjected to preventive sanitation( improvement) of the oral cavity and throat. The upper respiratory tract should be accompanied by regular cleaning and deactivation of air in public and residential areas by means ofphysical( ventilation, ultraviolet radiation, violets) and chemical methods.

Everyone should know the mandatory measures that must be taken in relation to the patient with sore throat.

Bed rest is a prerequisite preventing complications that accelerate the healing process.

Even before the arrival of a doctor, it is useful for a patient to prescribe an easy diet and follow the regular work of the intestine.

Treatment of patients with sore throat should be performed by a doctor.

With sore throat, gargling should be avoided, as they do not do any good and can cause harm, as they cause a reduction in the inflamed pharyngeal musculature and injure the mucous membrane of the throat. It is recommended to rinse the oral cavity, teeth, a weak solution of disinfectants( boric acid, potassium permanganate, etc.).However, it is best to do warm inhalation - alkaline and menthol( 15 drops of 10% alcohol solution menthol to a glass of boiling water).

Lubricating the throat can cause harm, and do not follow this procedure.

It is common to distinguish between general and specific prevention of diseases. By common prevention we mean a system of measures that affects the environment and strengthens protective forces, the body's resistance to infections. Specific prophylaxis is called methods of exposure, which are primarily directed against the causative agent of infection, against this particular disease.

A variety of specific prevention are inhalations.

This is one of the surest ways to prevent upper respiratory tract diseases, caused usually by the body's hypothermia.

What is inhalation?

This is a method of introducing into the human body medicinal substances in a sprayed, vaporous or gaseous state. Under the pressure of compressed air, these substances penetrate when inhaled into the nasal cavity, mouth, pharynx and into the deeper airways, reaching sometimes the lungs. The inhaled substances pass from the nasopharynx into the digestive tracts and, absorbed into the blood, act on the whole organism.

The history of this simple, painless and accessible under any conditions therapeutic and prophylactic method goes back centuries, to the times of Hippocrates. Already by the beginning of the XIX century, inhalation was widely used. However, the use of this method was very limited: for a long time it was considered dangerous to inject medicinal substances into the deep lungs.

Successes in the field of physiology and anatomy of the respiratory organs, remarkable studies of outstanding Russian scientists made it possible to significantly expand the possibilities of introducing drugs into the lungs.

A hundred years ago, the great Russian scientist NI Pirogov with great effect appointed for the treatment of certain diseases the inhalation of an ethereal solution of camphor, quinine, etc. Russian pharmacologist N. P. Kravkov at the end of the last century proved that the penetration of medicinal substances into the lungsabsolutely harmless and absorption of medicines from the lungs occurs twenty times faster than when ingested.

There is reason to argue that the mechanism of action of inhalation is even more complex: this method, as it turned out, has an effect on the nervous system, and through it - on other organs that are far from the lungs. In particular, through the cerebral cortex, inhalation affects the central nervous system, contributing to the improvement and return to the norm of higher nervous activity. The complex mechanism of inhalation therapy became clear thanks to the brilliant works of the great Russian physiologist IP Pavlov.

Currently, doctors of different specialties are willing to prescribe inhalation for the prevention and treatment of angina in a variety of conditions.

What are the medicinal substances used for inhalation by inhalation? Their range is quite wide. For the prevention of angina, the catarrh of the upper respiratory tract through inhalers spray aqueous solutions of table salt, bicarbonate salt, sodium benzoate, bromide and sodium salicylate. In recent years for the prevention of influenza began to use inhalation influenza vaccine, and for the treatment of this disease - inhalation of anti-influenza serum. Gas inhalation with chlorine and hydrogen sulphide also has a beneficial effect against angina, influenza, acute catarrh of the upper respiratory tract. In diseases of the nose and larynx, inhalation with chloroethyl, anesthetic and disinfectant is good;with laryngitis - inhalation with an oil solution of menthol, creosote, mixtures of eucalyptus, anise and other oils.

Aerosol is a suspension of solid, liquid and gaseous substances in the air. The advantage of this composition over conventional medicinal solutions lies in its high dispersity. This means that the particle size of the aerosol constituents is so small that they freely penetrate into the lungs without settling on the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract.

After two to six inhalations, as a rule, there is a sharp improvement, the patients recover quickly, there are no relapses, the results are stable. The number of complications has sharply decreased. Inhalations in combination with other methods of influence on the child's organism made it possible to shorten the period of treatment of children in the hospital.