Asthma is a serious disease that requires proper complex treatment. Today, various methods are used that can significantly improve the quality of life of the patient. It becomes possible to reduce the frequency of seizures. The disease recedes, allowing a person to get rid of this problem. What is bronchial asthma therapy, what methods it includes, will be discussed further.
Features of treatment
Considering the basic principles of the treatment of bronchial asthma, it is worth considering that this disease is one of the incurable pathologies. Therefore, the goal of treatment is to stop attacks, to prevent the occurrence of serious complications. During treatment, the doctor takes into account the severity of the disease.
The disease is characterized by two periods. First, there is an exacerbation of asthma. Then itends and remission sets in. During the period of exacerbation, one strong attack may appear. In some cases, such incidents may recur for several days or even weeks.
During an exacerbation, a person is accompanied by shortness of breath, shortness of breath, and cough. Attacks are provoked by physical activity, pungent odors, various allergens, stress and anxiety. Even such people can react strongly to a change in the weather. Remission is characterized by the cessation of such manifestations. During this period, a person can lead a normal life, play sports.
The period of exacerbation of bronchial asthma and its therapy involve the use of certain techniques. They pursue certain goals. The main ones are:
- Disappearance of manifestations of bronchial obstruction (at least minimizing them).
- The person does not need bronchodilator therapy.
- The opportunity to play sports, lead a normal life.
- Returning to normal breathing rates.
- Prevention of irreversible airway obstruction.
- Control of side effects during therapy and prevention, their prevention.
- Asthma death prevention.
Applied methods of treatment of the disease pursue the listed goals. The complex of influences is developed for each patient individually. The physical characteristics of the body are assessed, as well as the severity of the disease.
Severity of disease
Basic principles of therapy for bronchial asthmabased on the severity of the disease. This allows you to achieve a positive result, significantly improve the quality of life of the patient. The severity of the disease is determined by a certain system.
The doctor who conducts the treatment evaluates the degree of the patient's condition according to certain criteria. It estimates the number of asthma attacks that patients experience while sleeping at night. This indicator is monitored throughout the week. A separate account is also kept of daily seizures. It is determined how much sleep is disturbed, whether it interferes with a person’s physical activity.
Also, the doctor, using special equipment, measures the expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV), peak expiratory flow (PSV). Changes in these indicators during the day are also recorded. When determining the severity of the disease, the doctor determines which medicines can improve the patient's condition.
Drug therapy for bronchial asthma and other methods are prescribed in accordance with the severity of the disease. After a full diagnosis, the doctor establishes the features of the course of asthma. There are 4 degrees of severity of the disease:
- At the first degree, bronchial damage is mild. This is an episodic form. Wheezing heavy breathing in humans is quite rare. Such cases the patient fixes approximately once every 3 days. Choking at night with this form of asthma occurs every 2 weeks.
- The second degree is characterized by more frequent attacks. At night they happen about 3 times a month. Whereinfluctuations in PSV increase.
- At the third degree persistent bronchial asthma develops. The patient's condition is defined as moderate.
- If a patient is diagnosed with the fourth degree of asthma, his condition is characterized as severe. His quality of life is markedly reduced. A person's sleep is disturbed, physical activity is also almost impossible.
A very dangerous condition for a person is status asthmaticus. It requires the use of the most effective drugs. Mistakes in the choice of methodology are unacceptable.
Acute Attack Therapy
The period of exacerbation of bronchial asthma and its therapy deserve detailed consideration. At the time of an acute attack, the patient needs drugs that eliminate the main factors of suffocation. The drugs act on spasm, do not allow increased secretion of mucus in the bronchi, as well as swelling of their walls.
During an acute attack, the patient primarily needs symptomatic treatment. This allows you to quickly improve the well-being of a person. Such therapy does not act on the main causes of the development of an attack. It is unable to eliminate allergic inflammation or hypersensitivity of the inner surfaces of the respiratory tract.
When the attack is suppressed, a different type of therapy is required. Techniques are used to prevent the development of suffocation again. In this case, drug and non-drug therapies are combined. Medicines prevent the exacerbation of the disease. They arereduce or eliminate completely allergic inflammation. Drug therapy is called basic. It is she who, in combination with the elimination of allergens, determines the success of the entire treatment, allowing you to take asthma under control.
After symptomatic treatment of bronchial asthma, the patient is prescribed treatment according to a specific program. It includes a whole range of measures.
Methods that are among the drugs for the rapid elimination or reduction of bronchospasm include theophyllines and β2-agonists. They are short acting. At the time of an acute attack, medications are administered orally, rectally, or with the help of inhalers. Injections are also possible.
Treatment Program
Asthma Therapy is a program that includes several comprehensive measures. The patient is taught to take medication correctly. A person should become an associate of the doctor, his assistant in the fight against the disease. The severity of the disease is constantly monitored (objective indicators are used).
Further, elimination (removal) of factors that provoke an attack is carried out. The doctor develops drug therapy. He prescribes basic therapy for bronchial asthma in adults and children, as well as symptomatic treatment. Specific immunotherapy is underway.
The doctor prescribes rehabilitation (restorative) therapy. It includes the use of non-pharmacological methods. The patient in some cases requires nursing care, therapybronchial asthma, which is carried out on the basis of a sanatorium-resort institution.
One of the important stages of treatment is constant monitoring by an allergist. If a child has asthma, the parents teach the rules of behavior during different periods of the course of the disease. They gradually set up the baby to lead a certain lifestyle, to adhere to the rules established by the doctor. It is also difficult for an adult who has encountered a similar disease at first to get used to some restrictions. However, following the recommendations of a doctor, you can significantly improve the quality of your life. The disease will not interfere with daily tasks.
Step system
Today, 5-step therapy for bronchial asthma is actively used all over the world. A feature of this disease is the fact that it accompanies a person throughout his life. It cannot be completely cured. But you can keep it under control. For this, a five-step therapy complex is used. This scheme was developed by the International Committee of the Global Strategy for the Treatment and Prevention of Bronchial Asthma.
Specialists of this institution have compiled a table that allows you to determine how much and what drugs are needed for a person at a particular stage of the disease. Depending on this factor, 5 stages of therapy are distinguished. At the first level, the patient requires a minimum amount of medication. At the fifth stage, treatment is carried out with the most powerful drugs. They are able to stop an attack, improve a person's condition ingeneral.
At the first stage, a person is prescribed bronchodilators. They are used no more than once a week. Other medicines in this case are not required. If the effect of this therapy is not observed, it is required to prescribe more effective drugs. The patient moves on to the next step.
At the second stage of therapy, the use of drugs is carried out daily. For this, inhalers are used, with the help of which the medicine is injected into the body of the patient. At the second stage, glucocorticoids are included in the treatment regimen. They help prevent the development of an attack.
At the third stage, other types of inhalers are added to the treatment with glucocorticoids. This is a pathogenetic therapy of bronchial asthma. It prevents the development of inflammation. At this stage, the dosage of drugs that the patient takes daily increases. The drugs are taken daily several times a day.
Fourth and fifth steps
Polyclinic therapy of bronchial asthma is carried out at the fourth and fifth stages. These are the most severe stages of the disease. Such patients require constant monitoring by physicians in the hospital. At the fourth stage, a complex treatment is prescribed to a person. It contains several drugs that must be taken daily.
The most severe stage of the disease is the fifth stage. This requires complex hospital therapy of bronchial asthma. During the day, multiple doses of drugs are taken. This is the longest treatment in a hospital setting. It includes various inhalations in combination with antispasmodics andanti-inflammatory drugs.
Going down a step is possible if the treatment has been effective. In this case, the disease goes into remission. Moreover, it has been in this state for 3 months. In this case, the doctor decides to move the person to a lower level in the course of treating the disease.
To make a decision to switch to a lower stage of treatment, a person undergoes a comprehensive examination in a hospital setting. Based on the data obtained, the doctor decides to reduce the dose of the drug. An adjustment is being made. Such a decision can only be made if the remission lasts from 3 to 6 months.
For children, there are several features of the transition. When the disease goes into remission, it is required to carry out not only drug therapy, but also the prevention of subsequent attacks. Moreover, the dose reduction of drugs is carried out under the strict supervision of a doctor. If parents see that there have been any changes in the condition of their baby, this must be reported to a medical specialist.
Hormone Therapy
One of the main approaches to treatment is hormone therapy for asthma. Such drugs relieve inflammation. Many people are afraid of such therapy. There is an opinion that it is impossible to stop the use of such drugs. It is worth noting that taking hormonal drugs that relieve inflammation is not a doctor's whim. There are certain standards that apply in a particular case of illness.
Asthma is of inflammatory origin. Therefore, special hormones effectively fight the manifestations of this disease. They can be introduced into the body using inhalers. If the stage of the inflammatory process is running, the doctor prescribes the intake of such drugs in the form of tablets.
The course of treatment with hormonal drugs is long. Doctors say that with proper treatment, 75-80% of patients can move to lower levels, stopping hormones over time. The remaining 20-25% of people switch to a sparing course of taking such drugs. Hormone therapy is carried out for them in courses 2 times a year. In this case, the deterioration does not occur. It is for this reason that hormone therapy is actively used now.
Biological therapy
One of the relatively new methods in the treatment of this disease is biological therapy for bronchial asthma. It has certain features. The medicine includes molecules that have been created by genetic engineering. The action of these biologically active particles is precisely directed. It appears on specific structures in the body that are involved in complex biological processes. The active molecules of such drugs affect the immune system.
Such therapy is also called targeted therapy. It allows you to point to influence the mechanisms that provoke the development of bronchial asthma. Most often, antibodies are used for this purpose. They allow you to influence the regulators of the inflammatory process inbody.
Biological therapy of bronchial asthma is used in the treatment of the atopic form of the disease. Such an effect suppresses the pathological reactions that the human body produces to triggers. It should be noted that such drugs are prescribed to patients at the fourth and fifth stages of the disease. Medicines in this group cause side effects. They are not perfect yet. Therefore, it is advisable to use them only for those people whose illness is poorly controlled by other drugs.
Lifestyle changes
When such a disease occurs, a person's lifestyle will need to be radically changed. Risk factors for an attack should be avoided. The list of allergens that provoke an attack may increase over time. The less a person comes into contact with such substances, the better. Reduces the chance of a side effect.
You also need to stick to a diet. Nutrition should be correct and balanced. About what foods should be included in the diet, you need to consult a doctor. The diet is selected individually. Also, doctors advise during the period of remission to actively engage in aerobics or other mobile types of fitness. It is necessary to develop the muscles of the chest, increase the endurance of the cardiovascular system. The period of remission in this case increases, and attacks are more easily tolerated.
You can also do breathing exercises. They reduce alveolar hyperventilation. There are many techniques that are used for bronchial asthma.
Other non-drug treatments
In addition to the above approaches, during the treatment of bronchial asthma, in combination with the main treatment, additional non-drug effects are prescribed. Popular are such techniques as halotherapy, speleotherapy, phytotherapy. Acupressure, acupuncture, etc. are also prescribed. Spa treatment gives good results.
Having considered the features and methods of treatment of bronchial asthma, you can understand the basic principles of the treatment process. If all the recommendations of the doctor are followed, the patient can eventually reduce the frequency of attacks, prolong the period of remission of the disease.
