How to treat bronchial asthma?

Written by Wang Li Bing
Intensive Care Medicine Department
Updated on September 29, 2024
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After the onset of bronchial asthma, it is necessary to carry out active treatment. In clinical practice, the following categories of bronchodilator drugs are mainly used: The first is adrenergic receptor agonists, such as salbutamol and terbutaline; the second is anticholinergic drugs, mainly tiotropium bromide; the third category is xanthine drugs, which can include aminophylline or doxophylline. Additionally, glucocorticoids can be used for pharmacological treatment. If the patient still has recurrent attacks after systemic treatment, hospitalization is recommended for further management.

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Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
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Bronchial asthma needs attention

In clinical settings, bronchial asthma is mostly allergic asthma. Therefore, in terms of diet, attention should be paid to avoiding foods like fish, shrimp, chili peppers, and other foods that are likely to trigger allergies. Instead, consume more bland, soft, and easily digestible foods. Regular physical exercise should also be performed, especially outdoor aerobic and endurance exercises, to enhance the body's immune capabilities. Furthermore, during the flu season or the pollen-heavy spring season, going outdoors should be avoided to prevent triggering asthma attacks. It is advisable to check for allergies to specific substances and avoid contact with them thereafter.

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Written by Yuan Qing
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Is oxygen inhalation useful for bronchial asthma?

Administering appropriate oxygen therapy can have certain benefits for patients with bronchial asthma. The onset of bronchial asthma is mainly due to the edema of the bronchial mucosa and the constriction of the smooth muscles outside the bronchi leading to the narrowing of the lumen. This makes it difficult for gases to pass normally through the airway into the alveoli. Patients may experience symptoms such as coughing, chest congestion, breathlessness, or wheezing, which are primarily due to the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma. Of course, providing patients with appropriate oxygen therapy during an asthma attack can be beneficial, temporarily solving the problem of hypoxia. However, it is important to understand that asthma patients are not primarily suffering from a lack of oxygen but from ventilation dysfunction, which leads to the inability to expel carbon dioxide, the waste gas, from the body. Therefore, the fundamental treatment should focus on improving airway spasms and narrowing to enhance ventilation.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
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Is bronchial asthma curable?

Bronchial asthma is treatable, although so far we have not found a cure for bronchial asthma, bronchial asthma can be well controlled in most patients if treated in a standard way at regular hospitals, preventing recurrent asthma attacks. However, if the treatment of bronchial asthma is unstandardized, or if one relies on folk remedies or traditional secret recipes and does not receive standardized treatment at a regular hospital, it may lead to recurrent asthma attacks and extremely poor prognosis.

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Written by An Yong Peng
Pulmonology
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Can people with bronchial asthma eat crab?

Patients with bronchial asthma are not absolutely prohibited from eating crabs, but they should be cautious when doing so. Those with bronchial asthma might be allergic to certain foods, potentially triggering an acute asthma attack, or even severe asthma due to food allergies, which could be life-threatening. Seafood is one of the most common triggers for such allergies. Therefore, it is generally advised for patients with bronchial asthma to avoid seafood. Additionally, foods like fish, shrimp, and crabs can also cause allergies. Thus, patients with bronchial asthma need to be cautious when eating crabs, especially if they have never eaten them before. If they do eat crabs, it should be tried in small amounts. If symptoms such as rash, itchy skin, coughing or chest tightness occur during the consumption of crabs, they should immediately stop eating and, if necessary, appropriate medication should be administered.

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Written by Yuan Qing
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Symptoms of bronchial asthma cough

Bronchial asthma can also manifest as a disease primarily characterized by coughing, which we call cough-variant asthma. It does not necessarily exhibit typical symptoms of bronchial asthma such as wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness; it manifests solely as coughing. This type of cough generally occurs more frequently in the early morning and at night, characterized primarily by a dry cough without mucus. If the coughing is severe, some chest tightness may occur, accompanied by symptoms such as an itchy nose, itchy throat, or the presence of hives, an allergic condition, which is different from ordinary coughs. Therefore, when these characteristics are present, attention should be paid to whether it is combined with bronchial asthma, rather than just a simple cold or bronchitis manifestation.