The concept of "asthma" translated from Greekmeans "shortness of breath", "heavy breathing". Today, this chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract is the most common among the adult population, but the first symptoms of asthma appear in many in early childhood.

Asthma comes from childhood: the first signs of the disease

Asthma in children occurs due to many factors.This may be heredity, frequent colds, a tendency to allergies, underweight, tobacco smoke inhaled by a small child, etc. The highest percentage of asthma cases is observed in boys, children from low-income families and children with black skin. Asthma in children has the following symptoms:

• Frequent attacks of coughing. They can appear during play or sleep, when the child laughs.
• Decreased activity during the game, fast fatigue, weakness.
• Difficulty breathing a child, complaints of chest pain.
• Characteristic whistling and wheezing when exhaling and inhaling.
• Interruptions in breathing, its interception.
• Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, in which the chest moves back and forth.
• Pinched muscles of chest and neck.

These symptoms can vary in differentattacks and look different. If a child has breathing problems, he or she should be shown to a doctor immediately. A specialist should carefully examine the child and study his or her medical history for factors that contribute to the child's tendency to asthma. These may include allergies in his or her (or parents') medical history, frequent colds, lung lesions, or skin eczema. Parents should describe the child's symptoms in detail to the doctor, who in turn should carefully examine the child, listening to the lungs and heart. If the child is suspected of developing the disease, a blood test is taken and the child is sent for a chest X-ray. In some cases, a skin test for allergies is done. If asthma is confirmed, the child is prescribed treatment based on the severity of the disease. It consists of the use of bronchodilators and special medications, which should always be at hand for parents. The doctor must develop a treatment plan. The disease can be considered controllable if the child is active and lives a full life. He does not show signs of rapid fatigue and does not have pronounced symptoms of the disease. It is assumed that parents will very rarely contact a doctor and the ambulance service about acute asthma attacks. In addition, the child should not have side effects from the medications he takes. If you do not sound the alarm in time about the baby's cough, fatigue, shortness of breath and other symptoms, do not treat the child and neglect the disease, then asthma will develop into a chronic form and will accompany an adult throughout his life.

Causes of the disease

Experts note that asthma can beis caused by both environmental and genetic factors that affect the severity of the disease and the success of treatment. However, this complex relationship has not yet been fully studied. Thanks to the research conducted by scientists on the spread of asthma and other diseases associated with it (eczema, allergies), information about some risk factors has appeared. Thus, the most significant of them is the presence of an atopic disease, which increases the risk of asthma by three to four times, and allergic rhinitis - by five. An increase in immunoglobulin E, as well as a positive allergy test in children aged thirteen to fourteen years, as well as in adults, are also risk factors. Due to the fact that asthma is largely associated with increased sensitivity to environmental allergens, they are given close attention in childhood - this allows the disease to be diagnosed as early as possible. Primary prevention studies conducted by scientists, which were aimed at actively reducing the content of external irritants, i.e. aeroallergens, in the room where the child lives, showed different data. For example, complete elimination of such allergens as house dust mites reduces the risk of allergic sensitization and asthma before the child reaches eight years of age. But at the same time, it was found that exposure to cat and dog allergens has a completely opposite effect - their presence in the life of a one-year-old child significantly reduces the occurrence of allergic reactions and asthma in the future. The contradictory data obtained prompted scientists to study other aspects of human life. One of them was the relationship between obesity and the development of asthmatic reactions. In the United States and Great Britain, the increase in asthma incidence has reflected the growing number of people experiencing problems with excess weight. In Taiwan, where the body mass index of each resident of the country has recently increased by about 20%, an increase in the frequency of allergic symptoms, as well as hyperreactivity of the respiratory tract, has also been recorded. Some obesity-related factors may also influence the pathogenesis of asthma. Thus, the function of external respiration decreases due to the accumulation of adipose tissue, which in turn leads to the appearance of proinflammatory conditions, which is why non-esophilic asthma develops. Some scientists associate this disease with Churg-Strauss syndrome. In addition, acquired asthma may be a consequence of periorbital xanthogranuloma. People with immune-mediated urticaria also experience symptoms such as rash, rhinoconjunctivitis, gastrointestinal problems, asthmatic manifestations, and, in the worst case, anaphylaxis occurs.

Symptoms of bronchial asthma in adults

Asthma symptoms may appear in early childhoodand in case of untimely or incorrect treatment develop into a chronic form. However, today the first signs of the disease are very often diagnosed in young people over 20 years old. In this case, asthma is considered adult. It is most often found among the female population and is usually associated with allergies. Almost half of adults suffering from bronchial asthma also have allergic reactions to various external irritants and substances. The cause of this disease can be the usual working conditions (in this case, asthma is considered professional) or the atmosphere in the apartment (the presence of smokers, animals). Symptoms of the disease worsen when a person gets into certain conditions. So, bronchial asthma is a disorder of the lungs, which can occur due to the following reasons:

• inflammation or swelling of the airways;
• when too much mucus is formed, which exceeds the norm;
• with narrowing of the airways due to contraction or contraction of the muscular tissues surrounding them.

Experts consider the main symptoms of the disease in adults to be:

• severe shortness of breath;
• feeling that you do not have enough air;
• a very frequent cough, which is especially "gaining strength" at night;
• During breathing, a person can make a characteristic sound, similar to a whistle.

Unlike adults, children have symptomsbronchial asthma may appear and disappear, while in young men and women over 20 they are present regularly and last for quite a long time. Therefore, in such cases, daily use of special medications becomes necessary and allows you to control the course of the disease. The volume of the lungs of an adult, that is, the amount of air inhaled and exhaled in one second, gradually decreases with age. This is directly related to changes in muscle tissue, as well as insufficient flexibility of the chest. Due to the decrease in the above indicators, it is quite difficult to determine the onset of the disease in an adult. The risk group predisposed to the development of bronchial asthma includes:

• women in the body of which at the moment there are hormonal changes - it can be, for example, pregnancy or menopause;
• Ladies taking estrogen for more than ten years;
• people who have recently suffered a viral illness (flu, sore throat, cold and others);
• predisposed to obesity;
• men and women with allergies (experts especially refer to those who have allergic reactions to the fur of cats);
• people who, due to domestic orthe professional activities of the conditions are constantly in the midst of such irritants as tobacco smoke, fluff, dust, the smell of paint or a strong fragrance of perfume and toilet water.

Diagnosis of bronchial asthma

Of course, none of us is immune from this or that disease, but scientists identify the main categories of people who are more susceptible to asthma than others:

• those with a genetic predisposition;
• there are different forms of allergy;
• people living together with smokers or in the service of duty forced to constantly stay in a smoke-filled room;
• those who live in an industrial zone.

Today, even in our developed world, we still do notThere is no precise histological, immunological or physiological test to detect bronchial asthma. Often, the doctor makes a diagnosis based on the presence of model symptoms (increased sensitivity, difficulty breathing, etc.) or the response to therapy after a certain period of time (complete or partial recovery). So, let's take a closer look at what characteristics the specialist pays attention to before making a diagnosis:

• First of all, the history of the disease is studied, breathing is listened, the main symptoms are identified (frequent coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, etc.).
• The lung capacity test is performed. For this, a special device called a spirometer is used. It measures the amount and speed of exhaled air after a deep inhalation. After this examination, the doctor can recommend a bronchodilator or bronchodilator - drugs that help clear the lungs of excess mucus, as well as expanding the airways by relaxing the muscle tissue that compresses them.
• Sometimes, if a survey usingThe spirometer did not give accurate results, another test is being conducted. It consists in the following: the patient inhales by means of an aerosol a special substance (metacholine), which in a patient with asthma causes narrowing of the respiratory tract and spasm. If after the passage of this procedure, lung function decreases by more than 20%, then the test results are considered positive, that is, the presence of bronchial asthma is confirmed. To neutralize the effect of methacholine, it is necessary to use a bronchodilator.
• You can detect asthma with the help of X-raythorax. After examining the lungs, the specialist will determine with greater accuracy, to which disease your symptoms are related. Despite the fact that today this method of diagnosis has become widespread, there are still cases when the asthmatic patient had normal x-ray results.

It should be taken into account that symptoms such asCough, difficulty breathing, increased fatigue, common among people of retirement age, can be mistakenly attributed to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), heart failure or the aging process. Therefore, before diagnosing asthma, it is always recommended to use bronchoconstrictors, which cause narrowing of the airways.

Classification of asthma

Depending on the frequency of manifestation of certain symptoms, spirometry results, and other objective indicators, bronchial asthma is divided into four categories:

Light discontinuous form of the diseasecharacterized by not too frequent exacerbation of symptoms - no more than twice a week, at night - no more than twice a month. In addition, asthma attacks last from one to several days.

With a mild persistent form, exacerbation occurs more than three times a week, but not every day. At the same time, the results of lung function testing are more than 80%.

With a moderate permanent asthma, daily exacerbation of symptoms occurs, and the lung capacity is reduced (60-80% remains).

The most serious form of the disease is acutepersistent asthma. In this case, a person every minute (and in the night and during the day) suffers from the appearance of coughing, wheezing, attacks of suffocation. The body is weakened, fatigue is observed, physical activity is very limited, the lung capacity is less than 60%.

The category of bronchial asthma is determined by the doctor,after which the patient is prescribed the appropriate treatment regimen. However, it should be taken into account that each person may experience a disease of a particular category differently.

Methods of treatment of bronchial asthma

Today, there is no one mostэффективного метода лечения данного заболевания у взрослых не существует. Но чтобы жить полноценной жизнью, предотвратить развитие хронических симптомов, находиться в нормальном состоянии и прекратить постоянные вызовы скорой помощи, применяется комплекс мер по снижению проявления астмы, а также предотвращению ее дальнейшего развития. В этом процессе основную роль играет правильный прием пациентом назначенных ему лекарственных препаратов, а также избегание контакта с внешними раздражителями, вызывающими приступы. Сегодня для профилактики и лечения астмы применяются два основных типа медпрепаратов: противовоспалительные средства и бронходилататоры. Первые используются в большинстве случаев и направлены на уменьшение воспалительных процессов и снижение количества слизи, которая образовывается в дыхательных путях человека. Для того чтобы добиться хороших результатов и снизить появление симптомов, необходимо принимать такие препараты ежедневно в течение определенного времени. Эти лекарственные средства снижают серьезность приступов, благотворно влияют на прохождение кислорода по дыхательным путям, уменьшают чувствительность и повреждения, в связи с чем симптомы проявляются все реже. Таким образом, следуя рекомендациям врача и принимая прописанные им противовоспалительные препараты, можно не только контролировать ход болезни, но и предотвратить ее дальнейшее развитие. Ко второму типу медицинских препаратов, использующихся для борьбы с астмой, относятся бронходилататоры, помогающие расслабить сжимающие дыхательные пути мышечные ткани. Эти средства мгновенного действия сразу же после их применения нормализуют дыхание, предоставляя кислороду возможность свободно попадать в организм человека. Кроме этого, они позволяют очистить дыхательные пути от слизи, которая благодаря им легко отхаркивается. Существуют также препараты кратковременного действия, направленные на облегчение и устранение симптомов болезни, проявляющихся в виде внезапного приступа. Применяются также бронходилататоры, с помощью которых можно не только контролировать течение бронхиальной астмы, но и предотвращать повторение симптомов в будущем. Их относят к разряду средств длительного действия. Пациента можно лечить двумя способами: с помощью вдыхания лекарственных препаратов (распылитель, дозированный ил порошковый ингалятор) или/и путем использования пероральных средств (например, таблеток и жидких сиропов). Многие из вышеперечисленных лекарств несовместимы между собой, поэтому прежде чем их принимать, необходимо обязательно проконсультироваться с врачом. Кроме того, самым эффективным лечением на сегодняшний день считается также определение инициирующих факторов — это может быть табачный дым или шерсть домашних животных, возможно, аспирин — и ограничение контакта с ними. Если же и избегание раздражителей не помогает, проводится медикаментозное лечение Помните, что признаки астмы сможет правильно определить только квалифицированный специалист с помощью проведения ряда обследований. Исходя из истории болезни, а также серьезности симптомов, будет составлен специальный режим — программа лечения бронхиальной астмы. В ней описывается система, по которой следует принимать препараты, и необходимые действия при ухудшении состояния пациента. После составления плана лечения обязательно убедитесь в том, что вы правильно поняли врача, так как для предотвращения серьезных проблем и со здоровьем очень важно следовать инструкциям и соблюдать предписанный режим. Советуем почитать:

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