World Asthma Day | Asthma is not a trivial matter, don’t let negligence cost you your life!

"No matter how time flies by, I only care about you..." I believe that many fans still cannot forget the sweet and graceful voice of Teresa Teng, the queen of singing. Her death is a pity, and the reason for her death cannot but be mentioned asthma. This year's World Asthma Day is May 7. If asthma is not well controlled, it can lead to death. It is estimated that about 1 in every 250 deaths in the world is caused by asthma, so asthma still deserves our attention.

Asthma, whose full name is bronchial asthma, is a respiratory disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation. At present, the pathogenesis of asthma is still not fully understood, and it is only known that it is related to genetic and environmental factors. The inflammatory response of the airways of asthma patients can cause airway obstruction, leading to symptoms such as dyspnea, breath holding, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. It should be noted that the inflammation here is not caused by infection, so asthma patients do not need to use antibiotics when they do not have bacterial infections.

01 What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment. Patients must not stop taking medication without authorization.

The long-term goal of asthma treatment is to control asthma so that patients can participate in various sports like normal people, while reducing the frequency of future acute asthma attacks, alleviating the symptoms of airflow limitation, and reducing the risk of adverse reactions to therapeutic drugs.

Currently, drugs for asthma are mainly divided into two categories: drugs for symptom relief and drugs for controlling asthma inflammation:

1. Drugs to relieve symptoms: The most commonly used is the inhaled salbutamol preparation, which can take effect within 3 to 5 minutes after use and can quickly relieve bronchospasm.

2. Drugs for controlling asthma inflammation: Inhaled glucocorticoids, which play an irreplaceable role. At this point, you must not think that "hormones" are not good drugs. In fact, glucocorticoids play an important role in the treatment of many diseases and are the core drugs for controlling asthma inflammation. Regular use of inhaled glucocorticoids can reduce airway inflammation, improve lung function of asthma patients, improve quality of life, and reduce the risk of asthma exacerbation, hospitalization and death. And because the inhaled dose is only a dozen times the oral or intravenous dose, the side effects are very small.

At present, for the treatment of asthma in adults, it is recommended to choose inhaled preparations of inhaled glucocorticoids combined with bronchodilators, such as budesonide formoterol, salmeterol fluticasone. Because inhaled administration can quickly deliver the drug to the airway, the drug effect is quickly exerted, and the adverse reactions to patients will be greatly reduced.

02 Can asthma be cured?

Once some people have asthma, they immediately panic and spend a lot of money to find the so-called "cure for asthma" - the colorful psoriasis advertisements in public toilets or on telephone poles. If they find one, they will never let it go and will try it no matter what. These people are desperate and often "lose both the wife and the army".

Currently, the medical community believes that asthma cannot be cured. However, after long-term standardized treatment and management, more than 80% of asthma patients can achieve clinical control of asthma without affecting their normal work and life.

Good self-management of asthma patients can improve the efficacy, reduce relapses, and improve the quality of life. Therefore, once diagnosed with asthma, you must be prepared to fight the disease for a long time.

03 How to avoid asthma attacks?

Avoiding the triggers of asthma attacks is the only way to avoid asthma attacks. There are many triggers for asthma attacks, some of which are obvious, while others are more hidden and require joint efforts of doctors and patients to find. Currently known asthma triggers include:

1. Allergic factors: 30% to 40% of bronchial asthma patients can be found to have allergens. Dust mites, cat and dog dander, mold, pollen, milk, eggs, feathers, fungi, etc. are all important allergens.

2. Infection: Upper respiratory tract infection (such as cold) is the most common cause of asthma, which is more obvious in winter and spring or when the climate is changeable. Respiratory tract infection, especially viral infection, is more likely to cause asthma attacks.

3. Irritating odors: Inhaling odors such as smoke, dust, gasoline, paint, and cold air can irritate the bronchial mucosa, and people with asthma are prone to bronchial smooth muscle spasms.

4. Avoid excessive fatigue: Intense or prolonged physical labor and intense competitive sports can induce asthma.

5. Climate factors: In cold seasons, people are prone to catching cold and thus developing respiratory infections, or sudden changes in weather, air pollution, and smog can trigger bronchial asthma attacks. When the weather changes or it is cold, you must add clothes in time to prevent colds.