Violent coughing, difficulty inhaling and exhaling, ordinary physical activities cause incredible pain and shortness of breath. Such symptoms may seem common with SARS or asthma. In fact, such symptoms may be indicative of obstructive bronchitis, which may be irreversible and incurable and lead to the destruction of the lung system. Obstructive bronchitis often occurs in children in an acute form, as for adults, chronic obstructive bronchitis is a common form.
What is obstructive bronchitis in adults
Obstructive bronchitis is an inflammatory process in the bronchi, associated with a decrease in the lumen and difficulty in the release of sputum to the outside. This disease is accompanied by severe spasms in the bronchi, during which it becomes difficult for a person to breathe, shortness of breath, wheezing, whistles begin. The gaps in the bronchi narrow during the course of the disease, which leads to poor ventilation in the lungs, and can cause complications from other systems in the body (cardiovascular systems, brain), lung failure.
The disease proceeds as follows
It all starts with the growth of infection in the nasopharynx, bacterial pathology joins. Bacteria in the process of reproduction produce toxic substances, waste products that are distributed in the body. The mucous membranes begin to overgrow with liquid, mucus, sputum, which leads to swelling of the bronchi. The lumen in the bronchi becomes smaller and does not allow mucus to move out. Thus, a process of narrowing or obstruction occurs in the bronchi. Obstructive bronchitis is dangerous for the subsequent development of pneumonia, arterial hypertension, pulmonary insufficiency, bronchial asthma.
Causes of the disease in adults
Adult body mainly tolerates the chronic form of the disease, which can develop from bronchitis under the influence of medical factors:
- relapses of SARS, other diseases of the nasopharynx;
- presence of bronchial tumor;
- past diseases – bronchitis or pneumonia;
- airway hyperactivity;
- susceptibility to allergies;
- heredity;
- presence of injuries or burns;
- poisoning.
Other causes also play a decisive role in the development of obstructive bronchitis: smoking (active and passive); alcohol consumption; age-related changes; accommodations; constant irritation of the bronchi by chemical fumes, dust, animal hair, pollen.
Types of obstructive bronchitis in adults and symptoms
Acute obstructive bronchitis in adults is less common, more common in children under 4 years of age. But this form can develop as risk factors appear, and cause symptoms such as:
- dry cough, inability to cough up sputum from the bronchi;
- frequent bouts of coughing (at night);
- bronchial spasms accompanied by severe shortness of breath;
- when a person exhales, extraneous noises are heard: whistling, wheezing;
- body temperature does not rise above 37.5 degrees, as in acute bronchitis, when the temperature can rise to 40 degrees.
Acute obstructive bronchitis in adults can be cured if further spread of the disease is prevented so that the chronic form does not begin to develop.
Chronic obstructive bronchitis progresses for a long time under the influence of irritants and pathogens. Symptoms of the chronic form of the course of the disease are as follows:
- severe shortness of breath at first during physical exertion, and then present even when walking;
- cough, inability to produce sputum, only in the morning and then in a meager amount;
- whistling and wheezing are heard when breathing, it is difficult for a person to breathe;
- sputum mixed with pus.
The duration of an acute form of obstructive bronchitis can range from a few months to an indefinite number of years.
How to treat bronchial obstructions in adults
The treatment of obstructive bronchitis in adults is carried out from the stage of elimination of the irritant and factors influencing the spread of the disease. In some cases, the patient must be hospitalized for ongoing monitoring and injection of antibiotics. Next, you should pay attention to the removal of the main signs of obstructive bronchitis – expansion of the lumen in the bronchi. In such cases, bronchodilator drugs are used. It is also effective to use mucolytic agents to facilitate the passage of sputum from the bronchi. To provide the necessary strength of expectoration and sputum discharge, traditional medicine methods, medicinal herbs and tinctures can be used. If pus appears in the sputum, then the doctor prescribes antibacterial treatment, because a bacterial infection has joined.
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