17 December 2010

What to do if an asthma attack

One of the main reasons why we should know more about asthma is to help us make good decisions during an asthma attack. If you feel short of breath or wheezing with breathing, the worst thing you can do is panic. The panic over difficult to breathe and take appropriate decisions. It is best to act calmly to restore normal breathing.
The first step to relieve an asthma attack is to use your fast-acting bronchodilator (eg albuterol). The usual dose is two slow deep breaths. In a sudden and severe crisis of breath, can use up to four aspirations than once without any problems.
Under normal conditions, we recommend that you not use your quick-relief bronchodilator more than 4 times a day. To treat an asthma attack, however, use the bronchodilator, safely, every 20 minutes during a period of two hours, if necessary. If you have a compressor nebulizer at your fingertips, you can use the same way, every 20 minutes for several doses. The main side effects you can expect are tremor and palpitation. The best way to handle an asthma attack depends in part on how severe the attack. Sometimes you can recognize an acute attack by their symptoms. You may have a severe attack if short of breath even when walking slowly on level ground, if you have to interrupt your conversation for air, or if you are sweating and can not lie because he feels breathlessness. At other times your airways may be very narrow but it is difficult to determine based on symptoms - or may not want to recognize the severity of the situation. The use of a experómetro is useful is right now. You can tell how severe is your asthma attack and measure whether the treatment is improving. If a peak is less than your best value, is having a severe attack. In most people, a smaller maximum volume of 200 liters per minute indicates a severe attack. The bronchodilators for quick relief only treat one part of an attack asthma, the constriction of the muscles surrounding the bronchi. The other part, the inflammation of the lining of the bronchi and mucus overproduction, requires a treatment of anti-inflammatory corticosteroids. If you have a relatively mild attack that is responding to quick-relief bronchodilators, inhaled corticosteroids can take. Some examples (brand names) are Aerobid ®, Azmacort ®, Beclovent ®, Flovent ®, Pulmicort ®, and Vanceril ®. If you use any of these medicines daily as preventive medicine, double up (take double the regular aspirations) during the attack. If you have a severe attack , you should take prescription steroid tablets such as prednisone or Medrol ®. The typical starting dose is 30-60 mg. Steroid tablets regularly take 6 or more hours to take effect. Meanwhile, should continue to use quick-relief bronchodilator up to every hour, if necessary. severe asthma attacks can be dangerous. If you are not improving despite following your plan of action, seek help immediately.

13 December 2010

Symptoms of Asthma

Asthma symptoms vary in individuals, and are mild in some and severe in others. Even within the same family, two people with asthma may experience different symptoms or suffer a symptom more often than another.
Asthma severity can vary from one person to another. A crisis may begin abruptly, with numerous severe symptoms that occur at a time, or learn more slowly, with a gradual increase in respiratory distress. Typical symptoms of an asthma attack are progressively worsening shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and chest tightness, or a combination of these symptoms. Some people may also wake up at night with these symptoms
The most common symptoms in asthma are:
  • Wheezing . It is the most characteristic symptom, although in the first years of life some other diseases may wheeze. 
    People call it many names: whistling, hissing, jija, fatigue ... These terms people use to say what happens to their children easily corroborate the examination (auscultation) by the doctor with a stethoscope (stethoscope), although often wheezing is audible without needing any device.
  • Cough . A persistent cough during the night and cough that occurs during or after the exercise, sport or effort are clear examples of asthmatic cough. But because the cough is a common symptom in childhood, for colds, etc, is exceptional use of cough in the absence of wheezing, as the sole criterion for diagnosis of asthma. When a child coughs it is easier to think you have a cold to asthma.

Important:

                           
In a short and relatively severe crisis, the strong and dry cough sounds. Acute attacks may be accompanied by an acceleration of the heartbeat (tachycardia) and frequency of abnormally rapid breathing (tachypnea) that is becoming more labored, sweating and causing much anxiety and distress. The patient may have wheezing, noisy, and sometimes is unable to speak more than a few words without stopping to catch his breath.
of cytokines and leukotrienes (oral agents), to "inhibit" or delete the action of leukotrienes.
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