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Asthma! It is scary to hear that word, at least it scared me and my family before I discovered that in fact what made Dudu and I rush to the emergency room because of the difficult breathing was really asthma and not bronchitis as we thought.
But what is asthma then? Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the bronchi and posterior airways. This inflammation makes the lung susceptible to crises and any reason that causes it to trigger the lung’s reaction trying to prevent the penetration of the irritating factor in the bronchi, a “dirty” air, so it contracts and does not allow air to enter properly . An irritating factor in asthma attacks is very simple, dust or chemicals can trigger a lung reaction and favor asthma attacks.
What is asthma in children and adults and how are seizures?
Asthma attacks are characterized by wheezing and shortness of breath but they do not always show these symptoms, an asthmatic person may simply have a cough. Asthma in both children and adults is a rather serious problem as it can lead to serious consequences if not treated properly. The degrees of asthma are 4:
What is grade 1 asthma: This type of asthma is easier to treat and also the milder form of the disease, the symptoms may appear during the winter 1 or 2 times a week or in any situation that exposes the asthmatic to the irritating factor .
What is asthma grade 2: Asthma grade 2 is a little more severe than the previous stage of the disease, asthma sufferers may have 1 or more appearances of the symptom during the week or even in a day but always mildly .
What is asthma grade 3: Asthmatics show symptoms of asthma more often in the week and may also have seizures once a week.
What is grade 4 asthma : Symptoms and asthma attacks during the day and night as well, usually grade 4 attacks occur at night and are more worrying.
The symptoms of the asthma attack are coughing, wheezing in the chest as if it were a meowing cat, sometimes the asthmatic person may have secretion, a runny nose and a clear throat due to the excess mucus caused by the inflammation of the airways.
The main risk of asthma is lower oxygenation, normal for an individual is an oxygenation between 98, 99, even 97, but in crises the asthmatic can reach an oxygenation of 89, 87 which is considered worrying because the air may not be enough to maintain blood circulation. This explains the bluish color that some people in severe asthma attacks have, the breath is short and the lips can become bluish even the extremities like fingers and toes.
Most of the time, asthmatics have allergy problems and therefore the constant inflammation of the respiratory system, in some cases the symptoms disappear spontaneously just by identifying and eliminating the factor that triggers the asthma crisis in the environment. Other cases and these are the majority require treatment with age-appropriate medication and also for each degree that the disease presents.
Are bronchitis and asthma the same thing?
No, bronchitis is an inflammation caused by cigarette smoke so we can say that bronchitis is a smoker’s disease. Asthma, on the other hand, is an inflammation due to other factors, be it allergenic or even a form of defense of the organism against environmental triggers such as pollution smoke, dust, chalk, food allergy, mold, animal hair and some others. However, not every trigger for asthma attacks are allergic factors, an asthmatic person can have attacks just by greater physical effort, or even in routine activities of daily life. Changing weather can also be an important factor in triggering asthma attacks. However, the entire family history of asthmatics should be taken into account, as well as Eduardo who has asthma due to genetic inheritance despite being allergic like his father.
The treatment for asthma is basically with prevention with low absorption corticosteroids, the famous firecrackers, but in the crisis only rescue medications like Berotec, Atrovent and Aerolin and their similar bronchodilators can help when suffocating.
The crises also have degrees to identify the intensity, in the first degree of the crisis the patient is well and with just the rescue medication can be enough to control the crisis. very frequent wheezing and coughing, in the third degree you should be alert, it is important not to let the asthma attack pass the second stage. Medication helps a lot in crises, but if there is no significant improvement in asthma, especially children within 10 minutes of symptoms in stage 2, this should be taken to the emergency room avoiding reaching stage 3 or 4 of the crisis, which are the stronger and can have serious consequences. Usually asthma attacks occur with greater force and in the late night.
All degrees of asthma are treated and it is valid to say that asthma is not curable, just control with medication and control of the environment when the factor is allergic. Complementary tests to detect allergy should be done, but the most common is pulmonary or spirometry tests that can indicate the degree of asthma that the patient may have and also appropriate physical exercises for each case should be done, in the case of swimming it is indicated for almost all asthmatics.
Blogger’s note: The treatment took a long time to come because pediatricians who treated Dudu were just pushing with the belly, we were never really advised to go to a pediatric pulmonologist. We spent years and years on treatment with medications that only eased the allergy symptoms but it turns and moves the crises happened and as a layman I and the whole family thought it was bronchitis. The apex of our concern was when at a party at the pool of the cousins, Dudu was the only one who could not enter the pool because, he had a serious crisis and as we had no medication there we were forced to take him out of the game so as not to take any more risks , there I confess that my heart sank and a lot.
After a detailed and time-consuming consultation with a pediatric pulmonologist, the diagnosis came to an end, asthma grade 1 controllable and treatable. Today Dudu uses Seretide together with a spacer, a corticosteroid spray medication that is giving great results for his case and according to the doctor the chance of frequent asthma attacks appearing is very distant. We are only treating the symptoms, controlling the disease is very important! Only parents of an asthmatic or the asthmatic himself know how hard it is to have this disease, it limits the life of a child even more.
As soon as symptoms and suspicion appear, see a doctor for further guidance!
See also: Extended Pezinho Test – What Diseases Does It Detect
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
