Category Archives: Cough

What to do Asthma Attack Treatment?

Posted on March 18, 2009 | Leave a comment

An asthma attack can be very frightening for the asthma sufferer.

  • Because they can become quickly weakened and/or disoriented due to lack of oxygen, it is up to you as caretaker to initiate an immediate asthma attack treatment.
  • A severe asthma attack gives the sensation and panic of drowning, even though they are not under any water.
  • Asthma Attack Treatment Must Be Immediate. Don’t delay treatment, call for help.

Asthma First Aid

  • Make sure the patient is sitting up.
  • Smile.  Appear calm and cool.  Don’t shout, unless absolutely necessary.
  • Get the inhaler and a spacer, if possible.  Shake the inhaler.  Most asthma patients carry their inhalers with them on their person all of the time.  Have them take a puff, count to four, and then take another puff up to four puffs.
  • Wait four minutes.
  • If no improvement, try the puffing again.
  • If still no improvement, call an ambulance.  They need hospitalization.

But, What If This Is A First Attack?

The asthma attack treatment is a little different when it’s the patient’s first asthma attack ever.  Since they didn’t know the attack was coming, they will not have any kind of inhalers on them.  The NAC of Australia recommends this first asthma attack treatment first aid:

  • Don’t delay. Call an ambulance immediately.
  • Ask if anyone around has an inhaler.  Use anyone’s inhaler.  This is not the time to show brand loyalty.
  • Shake the offered inhaler.
  • Have the patient puff, then fire the inhaler while patient does best at a deep inhale.
  • Have patient hold breath for 4 seconds.
  • Have patient try to take four normal breaths.
  • Repeat until ambulance arrives.

Other Advice for Asthma Attack Treatment:

There are many things the asthma patient and his or her relative/significant other/roommate/whatever can ease the danger of a sudden attack, even if the other person is not around.

  • One option is to get a bracelet or necklace saying that you have asthma.
  • Another is to take your medication and follow your doctor’s orders.
  • And, if you smoke, then you really need to cut back or stop.  You really don’t have an option.  Not only are you clogging up your lungs, but the smokes will most likely interfere with all of your asthma and/or bronchitis medications.

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Posted in Asthma, Cough, Lungs, Respiratory System

How to Identify Bronchitis vs Common Cold vs Pneumonia?

Posted on September 12, 2008 | 5 Comments

Almost everyone gets a cold in their lifetime, and many people will get cold at least once every year.

And there are times when a cold may become something worse, so the question of the day is how do you know you have bronchitis instead of a lingering cold.

Question: How Do You Know You Have Bronchitis? What are the Key Symptoms?

Often, a cold is the first step in developing bronchitis so some cold symptoms will also be present in bronchitis. Identifying the current cough as something more than just a part of a cold — is the complex part of detecting if you have bronchitis.

  • With colds, your cough may be rather dry with no expulsion of phlegm or mucus. However, with bronchitis, the coughs are moist, producing yellow or green sputum.
  • Another symptom for bronchitis is wheezing and chest pain — ie behind the sternum (breast bone). When your bronchial tubes are inflamed, they are producing mucus which creates a rattling, wheezing noise when you breathe. Of course, the pain in the chest occurs from repeated coughing as well as from the bronchial tube inflammation.
  • Fatigue and fever are two additional signs that can show how you know you do have bronchitis. Chronic coughing can take a toll on your body causing tiredness while fever is common when you body is fighting an infection. Of course, these two symptoms are also prevalent in pneumonia as well.

Question: How do you know you if you have bronchitis instead of pneumonia?

For that you can get chest x-ray or “Bronchoscopy” at the hospital or doctor’s office. The x-rays will reveal clear lungs with bronchitis, but infection is will be visible in the lungs of a pneumonia patient.

Question: What are the Treatment Options?

Once you know that you do have bronchitis, specific treatment can be started.

  • If the cause is a bacteria, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics. A blood test and sample of the phlegm/sputum can show how you know you do have bronchitis caused by bacteria.
  • If the cause is a virus (and this seems to be more common) you can’t solve it with antibiotics (as you may know already), and you just have to wait and let the illness run its course. However, you could still ease your symptoms like the inhalation of steam, consuming plenty of fluids and taking a pain reliever for those body aches.

Question: How can I prevent it from coming in future?

That’s very difficult give that we live in a society and we have to constantly interact with people. Even if your body is able to Once you have become better, think about future. The best defense is preventative maintenance like hand washing and avoiding disease prone areas. Regular exercise can keep your respiratory system in good shape for

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Posted in Asthma, Bacterial Infections, Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Childrens Health, Common Cold, Cough, FAQ, Respiratory System, Viral Infections

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Causes & Symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis

Posted on January 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

Please read this as a guide and not as a medical opinion on your case.

Definition: Chronic Bronchitis is the result of inflamed air passageways but its similarity to acute bronchitis ends there. The chronic bronchitis can lead to disability and sometimes death when not treated properly or not diagnosed early.

Causes of Chronic Bronchitis

The cause of chronic bronchitis is the inhalation of substance in the air by the patients.

  • The most common of these substances is smoke from cigarettes or tobacco.
  • Other irritants to the bronchi and trachea that may lead to the chronic kind of bronchitis are air pollution, molds, dust and chemical fumes.

Medical practitioners usually diagnose an individual with chronic bronchitis by observing the patient’s symptoms and listening for indications of narrowed passageways in the lungs through a stethoscope.

Another way of diagnosing chronic bronchitis is to have a sputum culture to be able to identify the bacteria found there. This will help the doctor determine the course of action he will take to give the patient treatment to kill the bacteria.

A lung function test can also determine how much of your lungs you are using. The test can enable the medical practitioner to know how much air gets into your lungs. It is a painless test that is delivered very quickly with the use of a spirometer.

Treating chronic bronchitis may depend on the stage of the disease and the presence of other sickness or problems.

Patients are usually directed to stop smoking and to avoid second hand smoke and other pollutants and anti-inflammatory drugs are given to the patient to improve air passage to the lungs.

Changing to a healthy diet can also help improve the patient’s overall health and immune system.

If the lung function is anywhere below 80 percent then it is a good indication of chronic bronchitis or some other form of lung disease.

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Posted in Bronchitis, Cough, Lungs, Respiratory System

Causes & Symptoms Of Acute Bronchitis

Posted on January 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

In this post, we will share the common causes & symptoms Of Acute Bronchitis.

Please read this as a guide and not as a medical opinion on your case.

After a few days of that dry, wheezy cough, you will realize something is not right. Though this could be the symptom of many diseases or illnesses, it is most commonly a symptom of acute bronchitis.

Knowing what the symptoms of acute bronchitis are can help you to recognize your illness sooner, and prevent it from progressing into the more serious chronic bronchitis.

When To Expect The Symptoms Of Acute Bronchitis

It is good to know when symptoms of acute bronchitis usually occur. This will help you to look for warning signs of acute bronchitis. The symptoms typically begin about three to four days after an upper respiratory infection. If you have recently had a cold or a nasty case of the flu, then you should be on the look out for symptoms of acute bronchitis.

So What Are The Symptoms?

There are several common symptoms of acute bronchitis. The symptoms usually last for about two to three weeks. The main symptom of bronchitis is a cough. The cough might start out dry, but after a few days the cough usually progresses into a productive cough. This means it is bringing up mucus from the lungs, which may be yellow, green, or clear.

Although a cough is the main symptom of acute bronchitis, there are other symptoms as well. These symptoms include: fatigue, a mild fever, hoarseness, feeling short of breath, a tight or painful feeling in the chest, and wheezing.

When The Condition Becomes Chronic

Typically, acute bronchitis goes away after a few weeks by itself. However, if the case of bronchitis does not go away, then this means it might have progressed into chronic bronchitis. A form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis is typically found in smokers and people with other health problems.

Preventing Complications

If the symptoms of acute bronchitis are not recognized, the condition could develop and lead to other health complications. There are several complications that could possibly result from an undiagnosed and untreated case of acute bronchitis, including: pneumonia, sinusitis, cystic fibrosis, and repeated episodes of bacterial acute bronchitis.

A Mild Case

It is easier to diagnose a condition if you have some idea of what the symptoms are. Knowing the symptoms of acute bronchitis will allow you to recognize your condition and seek treatment before the condition becomes chronic or complicated.

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Posted in Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Cough, Lungs, Respiratory System

Bronchitis vs Sinus Infection

Posted on January 24, 2008 | 6 Comments

When you are sick, sometimes you can have a problem determining what exactly you have such as determining between a cold and bronchitis or even between bronchitis and pneumonia.

While Bronchitis and Sinus Infection may share a few symptoms, for the most part, these illnesses occur in different parts of the body and therefore can be quite distinctive.

Bronchitis or Sinus Infection – The Differences

With bronchitis, your airways, also known as bronchial tubes, which lead from the trachea to the lungs, become inflamed due to irritants and infection. Bronchitis typically produces a cough in which phlegm is expelled. If a virus is the cause then no drugs are available to fight the viruses off. Occasionally, bacterial infections can be blamed for causing bronchitis.

In determining bronchitis or sinus infection, a sinus infection occurs when the hollow cavities around your eyes and cheekbones called sinuses become inflamed. This inflammation is typically due to inadequate drainage of mucus and fluids due to colds, infections, allergies and even physical deformities of the nose like a deviated septum. The primary symptoms of a sinus infection include some coughing when drainage occurs in the back of the throat as well as discolored nasal discharge, tenderness in the eye and facial area, aching teeth, fatigue, eye swelling, headaches and more.

Similar Treatment works for Bronchitis or Sinus Infection

When a bacterial infection is the cause of bronchitis or sinus infection, both conditions require a course of antibiotics as treatment. In addition, some of the home remedies used to ease the pain and discomfort of bronchitis or sinus infection will be the same too.

With both conditions, the inhalation of steam from a hot shower or a vaporizer alleviates some symptoms, only in different ways. The steam loosens the mucus lining the bronchial tubes to ease breathing and coughing in bronchitis whereas with sinus infections, the steam helps loosen nasal congestion so that you can blow your nose and expel the mucus in that manner.

For bronchitis or sinus infection, you could also eat spicy foods to help loosen and thin mucus thereby giving your body an easier way of expelling it. With bronchitis, the mucus is loosened in the chest area while mucus in the head area is loosened in sinus infections. And paying more attention to cleanliness by washing your hands and avoiding other sick people can go a long way in preventing both illnesses.

As you can see, there is little confusion in determining bronchitis or sinus infection. While each condition afflicts different parts of the body, similar treatments can help clear up both conditions.

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Posted in Bacterial Infections, Breathing Problems, Bronchitis, Common Cold, Cough, Lungs, Respiratory System, Viral Infections