This year’s World Asthma Day is May 7. Asthma can be fatal if not properly controlled, and it is estimated that for every 250 deaths globally, about one is due to asthma, so asthma still deserves our attention.
Asthma, known as bronchial asthma, is a respiratory disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation. At present, the pathogenesis of asthma is still not completely clear, and it is only known to be associated with genetic and environmental factors. The inflammatory response in the airways of asthma patients causes obstruction of the airways, which leads to symptoms such as dyspnea, breath-holding, chest tightness and shortness of breath. It is important to note that the inflammation here is not that produced by an infection, so antibiotics are not needed in asthma when there is no bacterial infection.
01 What is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment and patients should never stop taking their medication.
The long-term goal of asthma treatment is to control the asthma so that the patient can participate in various sports as normal, while reducing the frequency of future acute asthma attacks, alleviating the symptoms of airflow limitation, as well as minimizing the risk of adverse effects from the medications used to treat the disease.
Currently, medications for asthma are divided into two main categories: medications for symptom relief and medications to control asthma inflammation:
- Symptom-relieving drugs: the most commonly used is the inhaled albuterol preparation, which can take effect within 3 to 5 minutes after use, and can quickly relieve the state of bronchospasm.
- Drugs to control asthma inflammation: inhaled glucocorticoids, which play an irreplaceable role. Speaking of which, you must not think that “hormone” is not a good drug, in fact, glucocorticosteroids for the treatment of many diseases, plays an important role, is the core drug to control asthma inflammation; regular use of inhaled glucocorticosteroids can reduce airway inflammation, improve the lung function of patients with asthma, improve the quality of life, reduce the deterioration of asthma, Inhaled glucocorticosteroids reduce airway inflammation, improve lung function, quality of life, and reduce the risk of asthma exacerbation, hospitalization, and death; and because inhaled doses are only about one-tenth the dose of oral or intravenous doses, they have very few side effects.
Currently, inhaled glucocorticosteroids combined with bronchodilators, such as budesonide formoterol and salmeterol fluticasone, are recommended for the treatment of asthma in adults. Because inhalation administration delivers the medication to the airways quickly, the effect of the medication is rapidly realized, and the adverse effects to the patient are greatly reduced.
02 Can asthma be cured?
Some people once suffered from asthma, immediately messed up, not to spend a lot of money to find the so-called “cure for asthma” recipe – public toilets or poles on the colorful psoriasis ads, caught a never let go, no matter how to try. These people belong to the desperate to seek medical help, often “lose a wife and lose a soldier”.
At present, the medical profession believes that asthma can not be cured, but asthma patients after long-term standardized treatment and management, more than 80% of patients can achieve clinical control of asthma, does not affect the normal work and life.
Good self-management of asthma patients can improve the efficacy of treatment, reduce relapses and improve the quality of life. Therefore, once diagnosed with asthma, be prepared to fight the disease for a long time.
03 How can I avoid asthma attacks?
You can avoid asthma attacks by avoiding their triggers. There are many triggers for asthma attacks, some obvious and some more subtle, and they require a concerted effort by both the doctor and the patient to find them. Some of the known asthma triggers are:
- Allergic factors: 30% to 40% of bronchial asthma can be identified allergens. Dust mites, cat and dog scales, molds, pollen, milk, eggs, feathers, fungi, etc. are important allergens.
- Infection: Upper respiratory tract infections (such as colds) are the most common triggers of asthma, and they are more pronounced in winter and spring or when the climate changes. Respiratory infections, especially viral infections, are more likely to cause asthma attacks.
- Irritating odors: such as inhalation of smoke, dust, gasoline, paint and other odors, as well as cold air, can stimulate the bronchial mucosa, asthma patients are prone to bronchial smooth muscle spasm.
- Avoid overwork: sudden strong or long physical labor, intense competitive sports, can trigger asthma.
- Climatic factors: such as the cold season is susceptible to cold and lead to respiratory infections, or sudden changes in the weather, air pollution, haze, can stimulate bronchial asthma attacks. When the weather changes or cold, be sure to add clothes in time to prevent colds.