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Bronchiectasis
Is bronchiectasis easy to treat?
Firstly, bronchiectasis is incurable, but its treatability cannot be judged solely by whether it can be cured or not. Some bronchiectasis patients have no clinical symptoms, and such patients do not need treatment. They only need regular check-ups and to maintain proper lifestyle habits. However, for patients who experience frequent disease attacks, strict prevention is necessary to avoid triggers such as infections and fatigue. Using sensitive medications during disease flare-ups can also lead to improvement.
What will happen if bronchiectasis worsens?
Bronchiectasis is classified as an infectious disease of the respiratory internal medicine, mainly caused by the invasion of various pyogenic bacteria into the respiratory tract, which usually leads to inflammation and fibrotic changes in the bronchi and surrounding lung tissue. Therefore, patients with bronchiectasis often exhibit clinical symptoms such as cough, expectoration, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and chest pain. It is crucial to provide timely treatments for such patients, including anti-infection measures, cough relief, expectoration, and hemostasis. If bronchiectasis is not effectively treated, it may lead to complications such as hypoxemia and severe bleeding. It is known that bronchiectasis does not lead to cancer due to local inflammation.
Treatment of bronchiectasis
I personally believe that prevention is more important than treatment for bronchiectasis, because effectively preventing disease episodes is more beneficial to the patient than long-term medication. Treatment usually involves using sensitive antibiotics, and prolonged use of antibiotics can lead to multi-drug resistant bacteria or infections by specific groups. Therefore, prevention is key. Preventing disease episodes generally includes maintaining healthy lifestyle habits, avoiding staying up late, smoking, emotional agitation, and excessive fatigue. Vaccinations for influenza and pneumonia can also be received annually to reduce the risk of infection.
How to completely cure bronchiectasis?
Bronchiectasis refers to the inflammation and fibrosis of the bronchi and surrounding lung tissue due to various causes, ultimately leading to the destruction of the muscular and elastic tissue of the bronchial walls. This causes the bronchi to become deformed and permanently dilated, commonly referred to as bronchiectasis. The most common clinical symptoms of bronchiectasis include coughing, production of phlegm, and coughing up blood. When treating bronchiectasis, the first step is to treat the symptoms, such as administering treatments to reduce phlegm, fight infection, and stop bleeding. If the patient continues to experience symptoms repeatedly after these treatments, we may recommend surgical intervention, if the patient's condition allows, to remove the dilated bronchi, thereby achieving the goal of cure.
Does bronchiectasis cause nausea?
Bronchiectasis generally does not present with symptoms of nausea. Bronchiectasis primarily occurs when the body is infected with particular pathogenic microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, atypical mycobacteria, or from childhood infections like measles or whooping cough that damage the cartilage of the trachea, causing the tracheal cartilage to fail in maintaining the normal shape of the trachea. Consequently, the trachea can become dilated due to the pulling by the surrounding lung tissue. Once diagnosed with bronchiectasis, the main symptoms displayed are coughing, coughing up phlegm, and some patients may also experience chest tightness and shortness of breath. Generally, it does not cause nausea. However, severe coughing or a significant amount of difficult-to-expel phlegm can lead to concurrent symptoms of nausea, but these are not directly caused by the disease itself, but rather by its complications. Therefore, appropriate treatment can significantly alleviate these symptoms.
How to manage bronchiectasis?
Firstly, sensitive antimicrobial agents should be chosen during the acute phase to control the infection, with the preferred medications being beta-lactam antibiotics. Penicillin-type drugs can be administered intravenously for anti-inflammatory treatment. Additionally, medications that dilute phlegm and relieve bronchial smooth muscle spasms should be selected to ease symptoms such as coughing and expectoration. If there is significant hemoptysis, hemostatic drugs should also be considered. For symptoms of respiratory distress accompanied by hypoxia, clinical treatments primarily include oxygen therapy to alleviate symptoms, focusing on symptomatic treatment.
What medicine is used for bronchiectasis?
Bronchiectasis is particularly common clinically. The choice of medication for bronchiectasis needs to be determined based on the specific conditions of the patient. Generally, the aggravation of bronchiectasis is caused by recurrent infections, so controlling infections is fundamental in treatment. As for the application of antibiotics, the principle we follow is to select medications based on the different bacterial spectrums in different regions, with the most scientific method being the use of sensitive antibiotics identified through sputum bacterial culture and drug susceptibility tests. Additionally, we also use expectorants like ambroxol and bromhexine. If there is concurrent respiratory distress or a decline in lung function, inhalants such as budesonide-formoterol powder may also be used.
Bronchial dilation diagnostic methods
Bronchiectasis refers to the inflammation of the bronchi and surrounding lung tissue caused by various diseases and etiologies. This inflammation leads to the destruction of the muscles and some elastic tissues of the bronchial walls, resulting in the deformation and persistent dilation of the bronchi, which cannot recover, collectively known as bronchiectasis. The definitive diagnosis of bronchiectasis is most commonly based on clear clinical symptoms such as significant coughing, phlegm production, and hemoptysis; secondly, cystic and cylindrical dilations in the patient’s bronchi can be clearly seen through chest CT and high-resolution CT, allowing for a direct diagnosis of bronchiectasis.
Can people with bronchiectasis eat lamb?
Patients with bronchiectasis can eat mutton, as in traditional Chinese medicine, mutton is considered a warming and tonifying food. It generally benefits conditions like cold-induced cough, chronic bronchitis, and deficiency-cold asthma. Patients with bronchiectasis, who often suffer from repeated lung infections and have lower immune function, are generally weaker, so consuming an appropriate amount of mutton can be beneficial. However, it should not be consumed in excess as mutton can cause heatiness or indigestion, which are particularly detrimental for individuals with bronchiectasis.
Bronchiectasis is what?
The basic cause of bronchiectasis is due to infection of the bronchi and lung tissue, as well as bronchial blockage. Infections can cause blockages, and blockages can also lead to infections. The two influence each other, promoting the occurrence and development of bronchiectasis. This results in damage to the bronchial walls and leads to a large amount of purulent sputum, mainly due to an increase in secretions. Additionally, chronic infection or fibrosis of the lung tissue can also lead to bronchial dilation, causing the bronchial walls to dilate and become congested.