The main types of asthma in the international classification
Scientists still haven't come to a consensusregarding the causes of this disease, but representatives of official medicine unanimously claim that asthma is incurable. At the moment, it is classified as a respiratory disease and is divided into the following types:
- Mixed
- Atopic
- Asthmatic status
- Non-allergic
- Allergic
With the help of medications, you can relieve bronchialspasms, and for some time this leads to a decrease in the exacerbation of the disease. But there can be no talk of a complete cure. Symptoms inherent in asthma, such as coughing, shortness of breath, heaviness in the chest and pressure, difficulty breathing and fear of suffocation, after taking some drugs, retreat, only to return over time. Unpleasant, life-complicating manifestations of asthma symptoms are observed in very young children, and in mature and even elderly people.
Few facts and legends
Ancient physicians such as Hippocrates, Aretaeus,Galen saw the causes of asthma mainly in the effect of cold and damp air on the body. But the Italian doctor, Gerolamo Cardano, who diagnosed the disease of one of the bishops as asthma, intuitively calculated its allergic origin. After the feather bed of the sick man was replaced with a more modest and ascetic cloth base, the bishop began to eat according to the diet prescribed by the doctor and do some physical exercises, he successfully recovered. An absolutely remarkable result of scientific and intuitive insight (or comparison of facts) for the mid-16th century. The next person to come to the conclusion about the allergic nature of asthma was the Belgian scientist of the mid-17th century Baptista van Helmont. He was the first to conclude that asthma occurs in the bronchi due to irritating components: dust in the house, the smell of fried fish. The same guess, almost a century later, was expressed by John Hunter, a surgeon from Scotland. This disease at one time attracted the bright minds of famous scientists Andrey Rodossky and Sergey Petrovich Botkin, who called it allergic, catarrhal and reflex, seeing the primary cause of asthma in the improper functioning of the nervous system, in particular, the autonomic. Nowadays, asthma, or rather one of the varieties of the disease, has received the characteristic name of atopic, which means "inappropriate, incomprehensible, strange". Facts of our time Nowadays, the signs of the disease are the same as they were centuries ago: suffocation, lack of air, severe bronchial cough, etc. Some doctors still think that asthma develops against the background of allergies, as a result of which they believe that prevention in the off-season, i.e. winter months, is enough to save the patient from all the troubles associated with asthma. But this opinion is just a drop in the ocean. Anti-allergy medications do help many people, but some experts believe that this means that patients do not actually suffer from asthma, but from another disease, and that appropriate treatment is required. This disease is quite difficult to diagnose, since the characteristics and symptoms of asthma are similar to the signs of some other diseases. The first manifestations of asthma, the initial signs are coughing, wheezing and whistling when inhaling/exhaling, a feeling of congestion in the lungs, shortness of breath, chest tightness, rapid, heavy and loud breathing. Asthma develops in three main stages: compensation, subcompensation, hypoxemic coma. In the latter case, complications of the disease can cause death, so the statement that asthma is not a fatal disease is extremely controversial.
Different types of disease
The main varieties are aspirin,nocturnal, bronchial virus-induced, professional. The signs of such types are standard, general signs for asthma of all possible types. But the causes of this disease are different. In the latter case, bronchial asthma develops against the background of human activity, if he works in the conditions of "harmful" production. This can be industrial production, a poultry farm or a livestock farm, an agricultural farm; any production where a person is exposed to toxic, sensitizing and irritating components over a significant period of time. Such factors can be various aerosols and vapors, dust, wool and fluff, tobacco crumbs and much, much more. The signs of this variety differ from others in that outside of production, the asthmatic feels a little better, the symptoms characteristic of asthma recede for a while until the worker returns to his "harmful" workplace. Nocturnal asthma: symptoms Symptoms of the nocturnal asthma variety have been known for a long time. It manifests itself as discomfort during a night's rest: due to lack of oxygen and fear of suffocation, the asthmatic often wakes up, gets anxious, jumps up and sits up in bed. About a third of cases of the disease fall under the definition of nocturnal asthma, since its symptoms are considered to be bronchial spasm exclusively at night, at night or early in the morning. The causes of nocturnal asthma are not fully understood, but many doctors believe that the presence of signs of this type of disease indicate a loss of control over the course of the disease. Aspirin asthma: symptoms It develops as a kind of allergy to acetylsalicylic acid due to the effect of aspirin and some anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs on the body. It often manifests itself as an isolated form of the disease, as well as in combination with such a type of asthma as atopic. It is accompanied by a whole bunch of diseases: conjunctivitis, rhinitis, gastrointestinal disorders, skin rashes with signs of urticaria. Aspirin asthma differs from other types of this unpleasant disease in that it requires not only treatment, but more often there is a need for resuscitation due to the development of asthmatic status. Virus-induced bronchial asthma: symptoms It occurs as a result of infection of the respiratory system and exposure to respiratory infectious diseases. The hyperreactivity of the lungs that occurs during the course of the disease can regress after some time (1-1.5 months) without any consequences for a person, especially if the right treatment is selected. But in the case of unfavorable conditions for a recovering person (cold, dampness, drafts, etc.), the signs of asthma: coughing and sore throat - are quite capable of developing into a full-fledged disease. Despite the fact that this type of disease suppresses the immune system, it is possible for bacteria and infections to create a whole tangle of diseases that will be quite difficult to treat.
What treatments are used for this disease?
So, despite all the gravity and uncertainty of the current situation,картины заболевания астма все же поддается профилактике, диагнозу и лечению. Какие методы лечения пользуются наибольшей популярностью, какие из них приводят к наилучшему и быстрейшему выздоровлению? Традиционно лечащиеся и лечащие поделились на два лагеря: приверженцев традиционной (научной и государственной) и нетрадиционной (народной) медицины. Свои способы и секреты есть как у одних, так и у других. Какие же из них самые действенные? Как всегда, все и для всех индивидуально: одним помогает лечение плацебо, другим отвары трав, третьим — медикаментозное лечение, четвертым — сеансы акупунктуры. Но не стоит забывать, что перед лечением каким-либо из способов следует уточнить у врача (желательно у своего), стоит ли употреблять лекарства, не принесут ли они больше вреда, нежели пользы. Медикаментозное лечение астмы Медикаментозное базисное лечение заключается в приеме гормональных и негормональных препаратов, которые своим действием подавляют воспалительные процессы в бронхах, предотвращая приступы гиперреактивности. Астма лечится такими негормональными препаратами, как кетотифен, аколат, интал, тайлед и проч. Более сильным воздействием на организм обладают гормональные препараты для лечения астмы: бенакорт, фликсотид, ингакорд, бекотид. Это ингаляционные глюкокортикостероидные препараты, которые своим воздействием предотвращают астматические приступы удушья. В качестве побочных эффектов изредка наблюдается легкая осиплость голоса, кандидоз. Какими средствами бороться с этими проблемами? Чтобы не прерывать курс лечения, следует приобрести противогрибковое средство, и таким образом побочный эффект будет устранен. При наличии признаков тяжелого протекания астмы назначаются гормональные препараты: дексаметазон, метилпреднизолон, преднизолон, триамцинолон. Вопреки расхожему мнению в немедицинских кругах, эти препараты не вызывают привыкания. Каким образом можно опровергнуть столь устоявшееся мнение? При краткосрочном курсе приема внутрь вышеперечисленных препаратов организм просто не успевает привыкнуть к ним. А при лечении астмы такие курсы не бывают продолжительными (за небольшим исключением), но несут несомненную пользу для больного, поскольку в противном случае состояние его здоровья неминуемо ухудшилось бы. Каким бы видом астмы ни страдал человек, часто врачи прописывают отхаркивающие и способствующие выведению мокроты препараты. Причем используются, кроме трав, отваров, чаев и настоек, таблетированные препараты. Какие? Лечение не только астмы, но и прочих заболеваний дыхательных органов производят достаточно известными препаратами: амброгексаль, бромгексин, ацетилцистеин и проч Нетрадиционные (народные) способы лечения астмы Какие могут быть методы, какие могут быть способы народные и нетрадиционные, если больной нуждается в срочной госпитализации и реанимации? Конечно, лечение в таких случаях должно осуществляться исключительно квалифицированными медиками, но народные способы лечения астмы призваны именно для того, чтобы не допустить таких крайних случаев. Лечение осуществляется с помощью различных чаев, фитосборов, настоек и отваров. Какие они бывают? В лечении нетрадиционными методами используются многие травы: чабрец (тимьян ползучий), солодка голая, почки сосны, мать-и-мачеха, девясил (девятьсил) высокий, лекарственный дягиль, душица, лекарственный первоцвет, подорожник большой. Какие положительные свойства оказывают эти растения в фитосборе? Большинство обладает отхаркивающим, антимикробным, спазмолитическим, противовоспалительными действиями. Кроме того, такие чаи благотворно влияют в период лечения не только на дыхательные органы, но и на весь организм в целом, в результате чего человек успокаивается, а его иммунитет крепнет. Кроме того, часть этих трав благотворно влияет на нервную систему. 
Other ways to combat asthma
What other treatments for asthma exist?Diet, exercise, voice exercises, elimination of allergens from the living space, such as pet hair, household dust. If necessary, it is worth changing jobs - health is more important. Whatever the causes of the disease, its treatment should be approached thoughtfully and systematically if a person wants to be healthy. First, you should decide on your lifestyle, no matter how difficult this may seem. Proper nutrition for asthmatics Nutrition should be balanced, but moderate. Patients are advised to exclude from the diet (or at least limit) foods that provoke the production of histamine, which, in turn, can provoke bronchospasm. What are these foods? Meat and vegetables, canned fish, various smoked meats, chocolate and fruits such as bananas and strawberries, nuts, shellfish dishes, eggs, broths from meat and fish products. For health, such products as vegetables, fruits (except for those listed above), legumes, cereals, lean fish and meat are necessary. With the correct, responsible approach to treatment and systematic adherence to doctors' recommendations, asthmatics lead the life of full-fledged, healthy people for many years, paying almost no attention to their insidious illness.
