The most common disease of the respiratory system is bronchitis - inflammation of the respiratory apparatus. There are acute bronchitis and chronic. Acute, as a rule, is a complication after the flu, colds and other inflammatory infections.
Chronic bronchitis can be causedgenetic factor, adverse environmental conditions, smoking. Chronical also includes professional factors, namely: work with volatile aggressive substances, characteristic for coal, cement, wood industry, in galvanic shops, as well as gas and electric welding.
Usually, acute bronchitis is a consequence of thecatarrhal diseases and is characterized by transient onset and completion without complications. The chronic, especially widespread among smokers, is characterized by a long course with periodic exacerbations. By decision of WHO, chronic bronchitis is commonly referred to as a disease accompanied by a cough with sputum mucosa that lasts more than three months a year for 2 years.
Acute bronchitis: symptoms
The first signs of the disease can servegeneral malaise, runny nose, sore throat, muscles and joints, decreased performance, worsening of sleep and lack of appetite. Body temperature may rise slightly (rarely - up to 38 ° C) or remain normal. At the second stage, 3-4 days later, dyspnea appears, a severe cough, at first dry, and after a time - with sputum secretions.
The main symptom of acute bronchitis is debilitatingdry cough with hard-to-recover sputum, after which there is a sensation in the throat, sadness and even pain behind the sternum, arising from overstrain of the intercostal muscles.
As the inflammatory processextends deep into the bronchi, seizing deeper layers of its walls, coughing gradually subsides, but there is profuse purulent or mucopurulent sputum. At this time there are common symptoms for inflammatory diseases: general malaise, chills, fever, headache, feeling of heat, etc.
The patient can see the beginning of recovery:sputum becomes less viscous and it becomes easier for it to cough. By the end of the week, in most cases, the main symptoms of the disease disappear, and a full recovery may occur in a week.
How to treat acute bronchitis?
It is important to know that acute bronchitis may well givecomplications, therefore it is necessary to make a survey, which should be addressed in time to the doctor. Treatment should be comprehensive, which means the following: along with taking medications prescribed by a doctor, you should observe bed rest, do not smoke (smokers, of course), moisten the air in the room, drink plenty of warm still water or decoctions of sweatshops (linden, black elderberry , raspberry, etc.). Particular attention should be paid to the diet - food should be easily assimilated and rich in vitamins.
In addition to antibiotics and antiviral drugs, treatment of acute bronchitis involves the use of the following groups of drugs:
- antipyretic;
- expectorant;
- antitussive.
Antipyretic drugs (paracetamol, antigrippin, koldreks) should be used at a temperature exceeding 38C.
Expectorants, such as bromhexine, acetylcysteine, ambroxol, make the phlegm more fluid, which helps it to withdraw from the bronchi.
Antitussive drugs (libexin, broncholitin)should be used only for painful cough, as they prevent free sputum excretion, thereby increasing the duration of the course of the disease.
Acute bronchitis can be treated with folkby combining them with traditional ones. At the beginning of the disease, you should prefer a plentiful drink (milk with honey, tea with raspberries or lemon, still mineral water), which has a diaphoretic effect, and in the future - application of charges that exert an expectorant effect. Such a collection, consisting of chamomile flowers, leaves of eucalyptus roach, peppermint, Scotch pine and sage medicinal, is mixed in equal parts and insisted. Infusion take 3-4 times a day for half a glass.
Remember! Only timely rendered professional help can be a guarantee of rapid recovery
