What is asthma?

Asthma is also called bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma is a chronic airway inflammation, involving a variety of cells and cellular components. This inflammation is usually accompanied by an increase in airway reactivity, leading to recurrent symptoms, such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and/or cough, which usually occur at night and/or early in the morning. Such symptoms are often accompanied by extensive and changeable airflow obstruction, which can be reversed by itself or through treatment.

clinical picture

Asthma is characterized by paroxysmal cough, chest tightness and dyspnea. Some patients have expectoration, which is more than when the attack tends to be relieved. If there is no infection, it is often white and sticky, tough, and sometimes rice-like or mucus-like. The severity and duration of the attack vary from a few minutes of chest urgency to weeks or more of extreme breathing difficulties. Symptoms are reversible, that is, they can be relieved in a short time after treatment and partially relieved naturally. Of course, there are also a few who are not in remission but in a continuous state. Seizures are often induced by some factors, and many patients have obvious biological laws. Attack or aggravate at 2-6 am every day, usually at the turn of spring and summer or in winter. Some women (about 20%) attack or aggravate asthma before or during menstruation. Pay attention to patients with atypical asthma. Paroxysmal cough is the only symptom of some patients, and it is often misdiagnosed as bronchitis in clinic. Some adolescent patients have chest tightness and shortness of breath during exercise as their only clinical manifestations.

Treatment principles and clinical management strategies of bronchial asthma

(1) Early atypical patients (such as cough variant asthma) or patients coexisting with other diseases (such as chronic bronchitis complicated with asthma) should be diagnosed by bronchial provocation test or exercise test, bronchial relaxation test, PEF monitoring or a series of changes in lung function before and after treatment.

(2) Pay attention to identify tracheal obstructive diseases, such as tuberculosis and tumor in the endotracheal membrane.

(3) The goal of treatment is to completely control the symptoms; (2) to prevent attacks or deterioration; ③ The lung function is close to the individual optimal value; ④ Normal activity ability; ⑤ Avoid adverse drug reactions; ⑥ Prevent irreversible airway obstruction; ⑦ Prevent sudden asthma death.