Bronchitis: symptoms and treatment in adults, causes
The most common disease in the world is bronchitis.
According to statistics, among the population suffering from upper respiratory tract diseases, 90% have a diagnosis of acute or chronic bronchitis. What is this disease and what are its causes?
Bronchitis is a disease associated with the inflammatory process in the bronchi. There are acute and chronic bronchitis. The acute form is manifested when the bronchi are infected with infection or aggressive substances and it takes no more than 3 weeks.
If the patient suffers cough for 3-4 months, and relapses repeat within two years, in this case it is possible to ascertain chronic bronchitis. Complication of acute bronchitis can become a chronic form of the disease.
In adults, the common cause of bronchitis is the common cold( see symptoms and treatment of ARVI).Viruses or bacterial infection attack the mucosa of the bronchial tree, and this stimulates the onset of the inflammatory process in the bronchi. Often the cause of the disease are unfavorable working conditions associated with the need to contact dust, chemicals, poisons, varnishes and glue.
The presence of fumes, nitric acid, sulfurous anhydride in the room and the entry of harmful particles into the upper respiratory tract lead to a worsening of the work of the alveoli, ciliated epithelium, to a decrease in the protective functions of the bronchi. Bronchitis develops, and if the contact with the aggressive environment is not eliminated, the disease progresses.
A common cause of bronchitis is sensitivity to allergens. This can be dust located at home, or animal hair, plant pollen, food. For treatment, the allergic component that affects the bronchial mucosa is first and foremost, antihistamines are prescribed in addition to antibacterial agents.
Special place among patients suffering from bronchitis, occupy smokers. Daily smoked a few cigarettes, smokers risk not only bronchitis, but also more complex diseases. The smoke of cigarettes increases the production of mucus in the bronchi and reduces the access of air to the lungs and the volume of necessary oxygen. This leads to hypertrophy of the mucous gland, reduction of muscle fibers and impairment of the functions of the respiratory tract. The natural cleansing of the bronchi is broken and chronic bronchitis develops. In general, smokers are 3 or more times more likely to suffer from this disease.
Cough is a protective response of the body to external negative factors. A healthy person coughs up mucus in the morning, but if the cough is dry, debilitating, lasting for a long time, it is a signal that the functions of the respiratory tract are broken in the body.
Risk factors:
In the first place, symptoms of bronchitis in adults manifest a strong cough. At first it can be a dry, debilitating cough, but it becomes mild as the treatment progresses and the condition becomes easier.
In addition, the above symptoms of bronchitis are accompanied by fever, weakness, chills, increased sweating. Sometimes the symptoms of bronchitis increase, the adult begins to excruciate cough at night, then the person becomes irritable, and sleep disturbance leads to a breakdown in the nervous system.
Sweating increases in the area of the back, neck, face. The effect of a "wet cushion" in bronchitis manifests itself with considerable sweating of the head, the patient wakes up with a wet head and back.
Types of bronchitis:
Infection occurs by airborne droplets during conversations, kisses. A sick person spreads the infection by sneezing or coughing. To the viral infection bacteria are added, in which case antiviral and antibacterial therapy is performed.
Sometimes the cause of bronchitis are fungal infections or allergens, and recovery depends only on eliminating the negative factor. When the bronchi is damaged, microcirculation is disrupted, microthrombosis appears. The mucous membrane becomes swollen, and with severe forms, a hemorrhage occurs in the bronchial membrane.
Chronic bronchitis is divided into the following types:
You should definitely see a doctor and conduct adequate treatment, as complications may occur: respiratory failure, heart failure or lung disease. If you find symptoms of bronchitis in your body and the treatment does not bring results, you should definitely consult a doctor pulmonologist.
Young children are more likely to have colds because they lack the immune system. Any viral infection can provoke inflammation in the bronchi. If the family smokes, the risk of getting bronchitis in a child increases even more.
Especially attentively it is necessary to be to the child at occurrence of the first attributes of cold. It is better to call a doctor and monitor the child's condition on a daily basis. Symptoms of bronchitis in children are manifested by cough, fever, lethargy. Against the background of a viral disease, accompanied by a runny nose, sneezing, chills, a dry cough appears. This suggests that the bronchial tree is affected and the inflammatory process is developing.
Proper treatment of bronchitis in children helps to alleviate dry cough and after 3-4 days the child's condition improves. If whistling is heard during breathing, this can be explained by the fact that swelling reduces the clearance in the bronchi and makes it difficult to inhale air. As a wheezing and wheezing breath can indicate the course of obstructive bronchitis.
Recurrent bronchitis can lead to depletion of the walls of the bronchial tree and the development of asthma. Therefore, it is important to start treatment on time and not to stop until the symptoms disappear. Children are always prescribed funds for swelling and antispasmodics.
In addition, antibiotic and antiviral therapy is provided. If the child is excluded from obstructive bronchitis, it is possible to apply compresses, mustard plasters, foot warmers for treatment. Effective in the treatment of back and leg massages using a baby cream.
When appointing treatment for bronchitis in adults, the doctor should find out the cause of the disease. If the negative factor that provoked the inflammation remains, the disease not only does not heal, but even progresses.
Such harmful factors include cigarette smoke, chemicals, dust, fungi and allergens. Initially, the diagnosis is carried out, and then treatment is prescribed. Types of bronchitis diagnosis:
To soften the cough, use mucolytic drugs. Very effective physiological procedures - UHF, quartz, inhalation. You can also use compresses, mustards, cans, foot baths. At home, you can carry out inhalation with garlic or onions, which contain a large number of phytoncides. Such procedures improve blood circulation in the body and restore respiratory functions.
Among folk remedies for the treatment of bronchitis are popular decoctions of herbs from mint, string, ledum, mother and stepmother, althea. Prepare the decoctions in the following way. In boiling water( 0.5 liters.) Put a few spoons of grass, after boiling, insist 30 minutes. Take half the glass of broth in a warm form 20 minutes before meals.
You can prepare the medicine in a water bath, in this case more useful substances will remain. It is important to comply with the drinking regime, take up to 2 liters of fluid, so it is possible to remove toxins from the body. In addition, a plentiful drink enhances the effect of expectorants.
Preferably warm milk with honey or raspberry jam, mineral water. Sometimes patients are given hot cocoa butter or badger fat. The airway forms a film that warms the bronchi and protects against the spread of infection.
Vitamins, especially C and A, are useful for recovery. Squeezed juices, broth of wild rose also stimulate the body to recover.
See also: methods of treating bronchitis at home.
Bronchitis requires timely treatment, otherwise serious complications may occur.
Not only respiratory functions are disrupted, but other organs are also affected. There may be heart failure, emphysema, inflammatory kidney disease.
If you do not treat the acute form of bronchitis, then chronic bronchitis develops. Smokers need to leave a bad habit, otherwise chronic bronchitis can pass into bronchial asthma.
Since the most common cause of bronchitis are colds, it is necessary to strengthen the body and increase its protective functions in order to prevent bronchitis.
Prevention of bronchitis:
According to statistics, among the population suffering from upper respiratory tract diseases, 90% have a diagnosis of acute or chronic bronchitis. What is this disease and what are its causes?
Bronchitis is a disease associated with the inflammatory process in the bronchi. There are acute and chronic bronchitis. The acute form is manifested when the bronchi are infected with infection or aggressive substances and it takes no more than 3 weeks.
If the patient suffers cough for 3-4 months, and relapses repeat within two years, in this case it is possible to ascertain chronic bronchitis. Complication of acute bronchitis can become a chronic form of the disease.
Causes of bronchitis
In adults, the common cause of bronchitis is the common cold( see symptoms and treatment of ARVI).Viruses or bacterial infection attack the mucosa of the bronchial tree, and this stimulates the onset of the inflammatory process in the bronchi. Often the cause of the disease are unfavorable working conditions associated with the need to contact dust, chemicals, poisons, varnishes and glue.
The presence of fumes, nitric acid, sulfurous anhydride in the room and the entry of harmful particles into the upper respiratory tract lead to a worsening of the work of the alveoli, ciliated epithelium, to a decrease in the protective functions of the bronchi. Bronchitis develops, and if the contact with the aggressive environment is not eliminated, the disease progresses.
A common cause of bronchitis is sensitivity to allergens. This can be dust located at home, or animal hair, plant pollen, food. For treatment, the allergic component that affects the bronchial mucosa is first and foremost, antihistamines are prescribed in addition to antibacterial agents.
Special place among patients suffering from bronchitis, occupy smokers. Daily smoked a few cigarettes, smokers risk not only bronchitis, but also more complex diseases. The smoke of cigarettes increases the production of mucus in the bronchi and reduces the access of air to the lungs and the volume of necessary oxygen. This leads to hypertrophy of the mucous gland, reduction of muscle fibers and impairment of the functions of the respiratory tract. The natural cleansing of the bronchi is broken and chronic bronchitis develops. In general, smokers are 3 or more times more likely to suffer from this disease.
Cough is a protective response of the body to external negative factors. A healthy person coughs up mucus in the morning, but if the cough is dry, debilitating, lasting for a long time, it is a signal that the functions of the respiratory tract are broken in the body.
Risk factors:
- active or passive smoking;
- viral infections;
- bacteria;
- contact with allergens;
- pathology of the nasal passage;
- diseases of other organs( heart failure, lung disease);
- heredity, when at birth there is a lack of such a substance as alpha-1-antitrypsin;
- wet or warm climate;
- alcoholism.
Symptoms of bronchitis in adults
In the first place, symptoms of bronchitis in adults manifest a strong cough. At first it can be a dry, debilitating cough, but it becomes mild as the treatment progresses and the condition becomes easier.
In addition, the above symptoms of bronchitis are accompanied by fever, weakness, chills, increased sweating. Sometimes the symptoms of bronchitis increase, the adult begins to excruciate cough at night, then the person becomes irritable, and sleep disturbance leads to a breakdown in the nervous system.
Sweating increases in the area of the back, neck, face. The effect of a "wet cushion" in bronchitis manifests itself with considerable sweating of the head, the patient wakes up with a wet head and back.
Types of bronchitis:
- 1) Acute bronchitis is a diffuse inflammation of the bronchial tree, characterized by abundant separation of sputum and mucus;
- 2) Chronic bronchitis is a progressive diffuse inflammation of the bronchial mucosa with an increase in sputum and a reorganization of the secretion apparatus, accompanied by a violation of the protective properties of the respiratory system.
- 3) If, as a result of the edema, bronchial blockage is formed, then it is said that obstructive bronchitis occurs.
Infection occurs by airborne droplets during conversations, kisses. A sick person spreads the infection by sneezing or coughing. To the viral infection bacteria are added, in which case antiviral and antibacterial therapy is performed.
Sometimes the cause of bronchitis are fungal infections or allergens, and recovery depends only on eliminating the negative factor. When the bronchi is damaged, microcirculation is disrupted, microthrombosis appears. The mucous membrane becomes swollen, and with severe forms, a hemorrhage occurs in the bronchial membrane.
Chronic bronchitis is divided into the following types:
- 1) Simple chronic without pathology of ventilatory activity;
- 2) Purulent chronic without the pathology of the ventilation system;
- 3) Obstructive chronic with ventilation disorders;
- 4) Purulent chronic with ventilation disorders.
You should definitely see a doctor and conduct adequate treatment, as complications may occur: respiratory failure, heart failure or lung disease. If you find symptoms of bronchitis in your body and the treatment does not bring results, you should definitely consult a doctor pulmonologist.
Bronchitis in children - symptoms and treatment
Young children are more likely to have colds because they lack the immune system. Any viral infection can provoke inflammation in the bronchi. If the family smokes, the risk of getting bronchitis in a child increases even more.
Especially attentively it is necessary to be to the child at occurrence of the first attributes of cold. It is better to call a doctor and monitor the child's condition on a daily basis. Symptoms of bronchitis in children are manifested by cough, fever, lethargy. Against the background of a viral disease, accompanied by a runny nose, sneezing, chills, a dry cough appears. This suggests that the bronchial tree is affected and the inflammatory process is developing.
Proper treatment of bronchitis in children helps to alleviate dry cough and after 3-4 days the child's condition improves. If whistling is heard during breathing, this can be explained by the fact that swelling reduces the clearance in the bronchi and makes it difficult to inhale air. As a wheezing and wheezing breath can indicate the course of obstructive bronchitis.
Recurrent bronchitis can lead to depletion of the walls of the bronchial tree and the development of asthma. Therefore, it is important to start treatment on time and not to stop until the symptoms disappear. Children are always prescribed funds for swelling and antispasmodics.
In addition, antibiotic and antiviral therapy is provided. If the child is excluded from obstructive bronchitis, it is possible to apply compresses, mustard plasters, foot warmers for treatment. Effective in the treatment of back and leg massages using a baby cream.
Treatment of bronchitis
When appointing treatment for bronchitis in adults, the doctor should find out the cause of the disease. If the negative factor that provoked the inflammation remains, the disease not only does not heal, but even progresses.
Such harmful factors include cigarette smoke, chemicals, dust, fungi and allergens. Initially, the diagnosis is carried out, and then treatment is prescribed. Types of bronchitis diagnosis:
- radiography;
- bronchoscopy;
- bronchography.
As a rule, prescribe antibiotics, antiseptics, sulfonamides, phytoncides. Such antibacterial agents suppress the focus of infection. Antibiotic therapy is not more than 10 days.
To soften the cough, use mucolytic drugs. Very effective physiological procedures - UHF, quartz, inhalation. You can also use compresses, mustards, cans, foot baths. At home, you can carry out inhalation with garlic or onions, which contain a large number of phytoncides. Such procedures improve blood circulation in the body and restore respiratory functions.
Among folk remedies for the treatment of bronchitis are popular decoctions of herbs from mint, string, ledum, mother and stepmother, althea. Prepare the decoctions in the following way. In boiling water( 0.5 liters.) Put a few spoons of grass, after boiling, insist 30 minutes. Take half the glass of broth in a warm form 20 minutes before meals.
You can prepare the medicine in a water bath, in this case more useful substances will remain. It is important to comply with the drinking regime, take up to 2 liters of fluid, so it is possible to remove toxins from the body. In addition, a plentiful drink enhances the effect of expectorants.
Preferably warm milk with honey or raspberry jam, mineral water. Sometimes patients are given hot cocoa butter or badger fat. The airway forms a film that warms the bronchi and protects against the spread of infection.
Vitamins, especially C and A, are useful for recovery. Squeezed juices, broth of wild rose also stimulate the body to recover.
See also: methods of treating bronchitis at home.
Complications of
Bronchitis requires timely treatment, otherwise serious complications may occur.
Not only respiratory functions are disrupted, but other organs are also affected. There may be heart failure, emphysema, inflammatory kidney disease.
If you do not treat the acute form of bronchitis, then chronic bronchitis develops. Smokers need to leave a bad habit, otherwise chronic bronchitis can pass into bronchial asthma.
Prevention of bronchitis
Since the most common cause of bronchitis are colds, it is necessary to strengthen the body and increase its protective functions in order to prevent bronchitis.
Prevention of bronchitis:
- hardening;
- rational nutrition, enriched with vitamins and minerals;
- physical exercise;
- use of antiviral agents( with influenza epidemics);
- increase immunity by taking immunomodulators.