World Asthma Day丨How can we breathe more comfortably and freely?

Today (May 3) is World Asthma Day. In recent years, the prevalence of asthma in my country has risen rapidly, and the total number of asthma patients has also increased significantly. Authoritative data shows that the prevalence of asthma in people aged 20 and above in my country is 4.2%, and the number of patients has reached 45.7 million.

The number of adult asthma patients in my country has reached 45.7 million

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that is extremely harmful and has become a global health problem. Whenever asthma attacks, patients will experience symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness. In severe cases, they may also experience difficulty breathing, which can even be life-threatening. Asthma is also characterized by repeated attacks, which can cause increasing inflammation of the airways and eventually lead to irreversible narrowing of the trachea, causing permanent damage to lung function. A survey of tertiary hospitals in 30 cities in my country found that nearly 80% of patients restricted or stopped exercise and daily activities due to asthma, and nearly 40% of patients restricted or avoided social activities.

Huang Kewu, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital: Asthma is an age-neutral disease. There is no particular difference in the prevalence of asthma among children, adults, and the elderly. In fact, it affects the entire population and all age groups. Asthma is not a curable disease. In layman's terms, cure means eradicating the disease. In other words, asthma may not be eradicated. However, if most asthma patients receive standardized treatment, monitoring, and follow-up according to the doctor's instructions, then most asthma patients are the same as normal people, and their symptoms can be very well controlled.

The survey shows that the disease control rate of asthma in my country is less than 30%, especially among young patients. 17.8% of mild asthma patients have experienced at least one acute attack in the past 12 months. There are three key points to achieve asthma control, namely, adherence to treatment, regular monitoring and regular evaluation, all of which are indispensable.

Do you only take medicine when you have an acute attack? Experts: This is the biggest misunderstanding

Many people's impression of asthma treatment is that emergency medication is used to relieve the symptoms immediately after a sudden attack. In fact, this is the most common misunderstanding in asthma treatment and is also a very common phenomenon among patients.

Experts say that asthma is a chronic inflammation and the disappearance of symptoms does not mean that it has been cured. It is necessary to adhere to long-term standardized treatment instead of using medication only during acute attacks.

Asthma inflammation is different from the infectious inflammation caused by bacteria or viruses that we usually talk about. Asthma inflammation will exist for a long time. There are two main categories of drugs for treating asthma. One category is the familiar symptoms of wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath during asthma attacks, which are used to relieve airway spasms. They are called relievers; the second category is drugs for patients with chronic airway inflammation. They are drugs that patients should continue to use even when they have no symptoms, such as glucocorticoids, which are called control drugs.

Huang Kewu, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital: Inhaled drugs are very important in this treatment. A very important drug in inhaled drugs is inhaled corticosteroid treatment. We must persuade patients, especially most of our patients to use this drug regularly under the guidance of a doctor, because this is to treat the root cause of asthma. If we use it regularly, then these patients may never have an acute attack, or even if there is an acute attack, then this acute attack is controllable and the symptoms will not be so severe.

According to clinicians, some patients are resistant to the topic of hormones, and feel that the side effects of inhaled hormone drugs are very serious and may affect the growth and development of children. Experts say that in fact, inhaled glucocorticoids mainly act on the human airway and have very small side effects. Even if a little bit reaches the stomach, after being metabolized by the liver, there are basically no side effects and it is very safe. The results of the study show that after standardized drug treatment, nearly 80% of patients can achieve good control. For asthma patients under the age of 14, 95% can achieve complete control as long as early intervention is given.

Stay away from eight risk factors to effectively control asthma

At present, the medical community has not yet fully understood the specific cause of asthma, but existing studies have shown that asthma is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

Genetic factors cannot be controlled, but we can control the occurrence of asthma by staying away from the eight major environmental factors that may induce asthma.

What are the eight major environmental factors? Let’s learn more about them.

Inhaled allergens

Dust mites, pet hair and dander, cockroaches, etc. are common indoor allergens. Tree pollen, wormwood pollen, haze, car exhaust, etc. are common outdoor allergens.

Climate Change

Studies have shown that people with asthma are more likely to experience respiratory symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath in cold environments, suggesting that inhaling cold air can cause changes in airway function in asthma patients.

Food Allergies

Food allergies can trigger asthma attacks and aggravate the severity of asthma, and are one of the main factors for poor asthma control.

Smoking

Smoking is not only a trigger for asthma attacks, but also an important reason why asthma is difficult to control.

cold

A cold can cause increased airway reactivity, and the continuous stimulation of cold air can cause airway spasm, which in turn can induce or aggravate asthma symptoms.

drug

Some people may experience a severe asthma attack within minutes to hours after taking aspirin or other antipyretic and analgesic drugs. We call this phenomenon of asthma attack caused by drugs drug-induced asthma.

Vigorous exercise

Because a lot of oxygen is needed during exercise, people breathe through their mouths, and the inhaled air does not pass through the respiratory tract. If a large amount of air is inhaled, it can induce asthma.

Mood changes

Although asthma is not a psychological disease, strong emotional changes such as laughing, crying, anger or fear can cause airway narrowing, thereby aggravating asthma symptoms.

Editor in charge: Lu Kaili

Source: CCTV News Client