Bronchial asthma is one of the most serious diseases of the respiratory system and has several varieties. A persistent form of bronchial asthma is a type of disease accompanied by constant manifestations, including regular bronchial spasms.
Depending on the severity, bronchial asthma is divided into intermittent , that is, episodic, and persistent , a chronic type of pathology. Such a disease can last for years, it is characterized by a severe course with many complications and requires constant treatment.
What is persistent asthma
When diagnosing bronchial asthma, the words ” persistent course” indicate that the pathology is chronic, accompanied by regular bronchospasm. It is one of the most common and dangerous forms of this disease of the respiratory system.
Constant exacerbations accompanying persistent asthma occur against the background of airway inflammation caused by exposure to certain irritants. As a result, the mucous membrane of the bronchi swells and begins to actively produce an increased amount of mucous secretion necessary for protection.
The clinical picture of persistent bronchial asthma includes a feeling of heaviness in the chest area, asthma attacks, heavy breathing, and a persistent cough. The patient is unable to breathe fully or exhale completely.
The disease develops over many years, periods of remission are regularly replaced by periods of exacerbation, giving a person unpleasant sensations, interfering with normal life.
Classification of persistent asthma
Depending on the severity of the respiratory system disease, there are several types of persistent asthma, each of which has characteristic manifestations and features of the course:
- easy;
- medium;
- heavy.
With mild persistent bronchial asthma, asthma attacks disturb the patient 1-2 times during the week and 2-4 times a month at night. There are no daily attacks if there is no aggressive influence of external factors. Attacks can interfere with the patient’s life, disrupt sleep.
In the case of moderate asthma , the following symptoms are observed: night attacks are more common 1-2 times a week, daytime attacks can occur several times over 7 days. A person cannot lead an active, full-fledged life, as his manifestations of respiratory failure are increasing.
The severe form of asthma is accompanied by regular suffocating attacks that can disturb the patient every day and night. Physical activity is severely limited. Suffocation is controlled using special medications.
The concept of asthmatic status is also highlighted – a pathological condition that is dangerous to human life. Most often, it develops sharply and unexpectedly, accompanied by severe attacks of suffocation, resistant to drug treatment.
To stop them, drugs from the group of corticosteroids are used. Treatment of status asthmaticus is carried out only in a hospital setting, since this condition poses a serious threat to the patient’s life.
The reasons for the development of persistent asthma
The development of persistent asthma is associated with the aggressive effects of certain environmental factors and the characteristics of the human body. The most common causes of this condition include:
- Hereditary factor.
- Allergy.
- Infectious diseases.
- Obesity of varying degrees.
- Work in hazardous industries.
- Poor environmental situation.
Genetic predisposition plays an extremely important role in the formation of persistent bronchial asthma . If any of the parents is diagnosed with this pathology, the likelihood of its development in the child increases significantly.
Allergic reactions are one of the main causes of bronchial asthma. Allergens can enter the respiratory tract both at home and outdoors, in the office or at work. The most common allergens include food, drugs, pet hair, cosmetics or household cleaning products, dust particles, tobacco smoke, and perfumes.
Infectious diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia, ARVI or influenza have a negative effect on the weakened organism of the allergic person, which can cause the development of another suffocating attack, for the removal of which drugs are used.
Clinical picture
With a persistent course of bronchial asthma, a pronounced clinical picture is observed, therefore, the diagnosis of the disease does not cause great difficulties.
The main symptoms of the disease:
- choking, heavy breathing;
- a feeling of heaviness in the bronchi and chest;
- wheezing and whistling sounds that appear during exhalation;
- unproductive barking cough;
- sleep disturbances due to exacerbation of seizures at this particular time;
- excessive pallor of the skin;
- swelling of blood vessels in the neck.
Asthma attacks differ in frequency – they can bother the patient both several times a month and every day. The disease is characterized by an increasing exacerbation of symptoms, but regardless of the severity of bronchial asthma, the signs of pathology themselves are always the same. Improperly selected or untimely treatment can aggravate the clinical picture.
Diagnostic methods
The main diagnostic methods used in persistent asthma are the examination of the patient and the collection of an anamnesis of the disease. In most cases, the symptomatology of the pathology clearly indicates the presence of bronchial asthma in the patient.
Additional diagnostic measures:
- Laboratory blood test.
- Examination of sputum from coughing.
- Electrocardiography.
- Spirometry, that is, the study of the function of external respiration.
- Chest x-ray.
If an allergic origin of persistent bronchial asthma is suspected, the patient is examined by an allergist, who establishes which allergen triggered the development of the disease.
Treatment
Persistent asthma is treated with various medications, which are selected individually depending on the characteristics of the development and the severity of the disease.
Mild bronchial asthma is stopped by corticosteroids intended for inhalation use, as well as bronchodilators , which eliminate the symptoms of the disease. Asthmatics diagnosed with moderate pathology are prescribed short-acting beta-agonists for emergency relief from choking and long-acting agonists to prevent day and night attacks.
In severe cases of the respiratory system, the use of inhaled corticosteroids is combined with the simultaneous administration of drugs in the form of tablets. But since such medicines can become addictive over time, their dosage is gradually increased. Relief of allergic manifestations is carried out by taking antihistamines.
Prevention
In order to prevent bronchial asthma disease, several important recommendations must be followed.
Allergy sufferers are not recommended to keep pets, as their hair is one of the main allergens that provoke the development and exacerbation of persistent bronchial asthma. It is also necessary to quit smoking – both active and passive.
It is very useful to take regular walks in the fresh air, away from noisy roads and hazardous industries. Performing breathing exercises helps to improve the functioning of the bronchi and lungs, as well as prevent the onset of a suffocating attack.
Persistent bronchial asthma is one of the most serious diseases of the respiratory system, which is accompanied by attacks of suffocation, severe coughing, and sleep disturbances. Treatment of the disease of mild to moderate severity is allowed at home.
Pathology, proceeding in a severe form, is treated only in a hospital setting, since it poses a serious danger to the patient’s life.
