Allergic bronchitis

Inflammation of the bronchial mucosa - bronchitis - can be caused by a wide range of reasons. If the bronchi become inflamed due to the effect of various allergens on their mucosa, a response occurs: the nerve endings of the bronchi are irritated, the blood vessels expand, and the muscles contract. And as a result, we get a cough, which is called allergic bronchitis (as well as asthmatic or atopic bronchitis). This is a protracted disease with frequent relapses.

By the way, despite all the achievements, medicine is currently unable to cure a person from allergies, which are a kind of (in the opinion of allergists, inadequate) response of the immune system to an external irritant. So far, it can only identify this irritant, as well as alleviate the course of the disease.

So, you can’t do without an allergist here, since only he can conduct an immunological study and determine which specific irritant caused the disease.

Causes of allergic bronchitis

Allergies are so multifaceted that some people experience sneezing and a runny nose (seasonal allergic rhinitis) when plants are blooming, while others experience watery eyes, for example, from washing powder (allergic conjunctivitis). Skin rashes (urticaria and atopic dermatitis) can appear when consuming a product or after using a cosmetic product. There are also many who, without any cold or other obvious reason, have coughing fits.

That is, the main cause of allergic bronchitis is allergens that enter the human body with inhaled air and settle on the bronchial mucosa. The list of "inveterate" allergens includes plants (their pollen), hair (primarily that of domestic animals), bird feathers, detergents, and even ordinary dust in a city apartment. Experts note that allergic bronchitis can be provoked by a single product, a drug, or an allergen of bacterial etiology.

In any case, allergic bronchitis in adults is not the result of a cold, but an allergic reaction. However, doctors treat this disease as one of the variants of the chronic form of bronchial inflammation, since the main symptoms of these diseases are absolutely identical.

If you seek medical help in a timely manner, you can avoid the progression of allergic bronchitis, which, in the absence of adequate treatment, will inevitably develop into allergic obstructive bronchitis or bronchial asthma.

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Symptoms of allergic bronchitis

The most telling sign of allergic bronchitis is attacks of persistent coughing, which bothers a person mainly at night. The body temperature does not rise, and if it does, it is insignificant. But the general condition is painful, and can worsen with the next contact with the allergen.

At the very beginning of the disease, the cough is dry, over time it becomes wet, breathing becomes difficult, shortness of breath appears. When listening to the bronchi, doctors clearly hear wheezing - dry, wet or whistling. But if with bronchial asthma they are heard during exhalation, then allergic bronchitis gives such a picture on inhalation. In addition, the inflammatory process of allergic origin (swelling of the bronchial mucosa and narrowing of their mouths) occurs only in large and medium bronchi, so attacks of suffocation, characteristic of asthma, do not occur.

However, against the background of the main symptoms of allergic bronchitis, signs of vasomotor rhinosinusopathy may sometimes appear - nasal discharge due to changes in the mucous membrane of the paranasal sinuses caused by allergens. Inflammation of the trachea (tracheitis) or inflammation of the mucous membranes of the larynx (laryngitis) are also possible.

The condition worsens when allergic bronchitis worsens: patients feel general weakness, and start sweating at normal temperatures. Mucus accumulates in the lumen of the bronchi, which is why mucous sputum appears when coughing. A laboratory blood test shows the presence of eosinophilia, which is typical for allergic diseases, i.e. an increase in the number of granulocyte leukocytes in the blood. And an X-ray examination reveals greater transparency of the lung tissue and some changes in the blood vessels of the bronchi.

Allergic bronchitis in children occurs at any age - even in infants - and manifests itself almost the same as in adults: attacks of continuous coughing at night with normal or subfebrile temperature, repeated several times a month. Often with such a disease, the child becomes capricious, lethargic, and sweats often. Acute allergic bronchitis in children can last for two to three weeks.

Doctors categorically state: in order to avoid bronchial asthma in the future, parents of children suffering from allergic bronchitis need to take this disease very seriously and definitely treat it. And it is necessary to start with identifying the allergen that caused the disease.

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Allergic obstructive bronchitis

Progressive diffuse inflammation of the bronchi caused by prolonged negative impact of an allergen is allergic obstructive bronchitis. This disease causes narrowing of the bronchi (obstruction), which makes breathing and the release of mucus accumulating in the bronchi difficult. The main symptom of such bronchitis is spasms of the bronchi, causing shortness of breath and wheezing.

The development of acute allergic obstructive bronchitis in adults at the initial stages may look like catarrh of the upper respiratory tract. However, a dry cough that tears at the throat does not go away with pills and mixtures, coughing fits intensify at night, breathing becomes more difficult, and the breathing itself is accompanied by a characteristic whistle during a shortened exhalation. The temperature is not high (within +37.5 ° C), and headaches occur. If the disease becomes chronic, this is fraught with an irreversible nature of its course with frequent relapses. In addition, against the background of difficulty breathing, heart failure develops.

Allergic obstructive bronchitis in children is most often diagnosed at an early age - up to five years, when the anatomical structure of the bronchial tree is not sufficiently developed, and the body can give an allergic reaction to anything - from products stuffed with preservatives to mold on the walls. At night, the child has fits of severe coughing, but cannot cough up (there is practically no sputum). But if any expectorant drug was used, the cough is accompanied by the separation of a large amount of thick sputum. There may be complaints of fatigue, headache and chest pain during and after coughing.

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Treatment of allergic bronchitis: basic medications

Treatment of allergic bronchitis must necessarily include identifying the allergen that provokes the disease and limiting contact with it as much as possible.

Medicinal therapeutic agents should, on the one hand, reduce the intensity of the allergic reaction, and these are antihistamines. On the other hand, it is necessary to reduce coughing and facilitate breathing, for which expectorants and bronchodilators are prescribed.

Such drugs as suprastin, diazolin and tavegil reduce the manifestation of allergies. The most well-known and frequently used drug suprastin (tablets and 2% injection solution) is prescribed to adults and children over 14 years old, one tablet (25 mg) 3 times a day, and for intramuscular injection - 1-2 ml. Children under 14 years old are prescribed 0.5 tablets (crushed) three times a day. The daily dose should not exceed 100 mg. Side effects of suprastin are expressed in weakness, lethargy and dizziness. Contraindications include gastric ulcer, glaucoma, prostate adenoma, an attack of bronchial asthma. Suprastin is strictly contraindicated during pregnancy and lactation.

The antihistamine drug Tavegil is available in the form of an injection solution, syrup and tablets, its effect after oral administration reaches its maximum after 7 hours and lasts for 10-12 hours. It is not prescribed to children under one year old, pregnant and lactating women, for diseases of the lower respiratory tract, prostate gland, thyrotoxicosis, heart failure and high blood pressure.

The drug is taken 1 mg twice a day (before meals). The dose of Tavegil syrup for children from one to six years old is one teaspoon. Side effects of Tavegil: increased fatigue and drowsiness, headache and dizziness, impaired coordination of movements, convulsions, tinnitus, and dry mouth, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation.

For the treatment of allergic bronchitis, doctors always prescribe expectorants - pertussin, bronholitin (a tablespoon 4 times a day), bromhexine (a tablet 3 times a day), mucaltin (2 tablets three times a day), chest cough infusions, etc. Bronchodilators that relax the smooth muscles of the bronchi and promote their expansion are also widely used. These are neo-theoferdin, atrovent, ketotifen (zaditen), cromolyn sodium (intal), cromoglin (cromosol), cromoghexal (lecrolin).

For example, neo-theophedrine affects the bronchial muscles, reduces increased vascular permeability and swelling of the bronchial mucosa. In addition, this bronchodilator has an analgesic and antipyretic effect. It is taken in the morning or afternoon: adults - half or a whole tablet twice a day, children 2-5 years old - a quarter of a tablet, children 6-12 years old - half a tablet once a day. Contraindications for neo-theophedrine: thyroid disease, coronary circulation disorder, epilepsy, convulsive states, glaucoma. And side effects can be in the form of heartburn, nausea, vomiting, headache, sleep disturbance, and heart rhythm.

Among the bronchodilators in aerosol form that reduce the frequency of coughing attacks in allergic bronchitis and bronchial asthma, such drugs as salbutamol, terbutaline, fenoterol and hexaprenaline are used.

The drug Volmax (and its synonyms: aloprol, albuterol, asmadil, bronchovaleas, ventolin, salamol, salbutol, ecovent) helps eliminate bronchial constriction and restores their patency. Adults are prescribed 8 mg 2 times a day (with a glass of water), and children from 3 to 12 years old - 4 mg. The drug has side effects: hand tremor, headaches, tachycardia, peripheral dilation of the lumen of blood vessels. And among its contraindications: the first half of pregnancy, hypersensitivity to the drug, thyrotoxicosis.

If the therapeutic effect of the above medications is not effective enough, the attending physician may prescribe a course of glucocorticoids: beclomethasone dipropionate (becotide), flunisolide (ingacort), budesonide or fluticasone. Thus, fluticasone inhalation aerosol (aka avamys, cutivate, nasarel, flixotide and flixonase) acts as an anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic agent. It is not prescribed to children under four years of age, and a local side effect of inhalation may manifest itself in the form of hoarseness and the development of candidiasis of the oral cavity and pharynx. It should also be borne in mind that glucocorticoids cannot be taken for a long time, as they can activate the inflammatory process.

Treatment of allergic bronchitis includes such a modern method as specific immunotherapy (SIT), or allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT), or specific desensitization - which is essentially the same thing. With its help, allergists can influence the undesirable immune response to a particular external irritant (of course, if they determine it). SIT is aimed at the immunological nature of allergic bronchitis, that is, it eliminates not the symptoms of the disease, but its cause - by reducing the body's sensitivity to the allergen.

Treatment of allergic bronchitis with folk remedies

Folk remedies for the treatment of allergic bronchitis are essentially aimed at the main symptom of the disease - cough. To remove phlegm from the bronchi, prepare an infusion of licorice root (2 tablespoons), the same amount of calendula flowers and dill seeds (1 tablespoon). The mixture of medicinal plants is poured with a liter of boiling water, boiled for 15 minutes, and then infused. Take half a glass before meals three times a day for two weeks. A medicinal decoction of licorice roots, coltsfoot leaves and plantain is prepared and used in a similar way.

For bronchitis with severe wheezing and shortness of breath, it is useful to drink a decoction of viburnum berries with honey (a glass of viburnum berries and 3 tablespoons of honey per liter of water) or an infusion of the following composition: 2 tablespoons of marshmallow root, chamomile and sweet clover (or wild pansy). For a glass of boiling water, take 2 tablespoons of this mixture, leave in a water bath for 20-30 minutes. Take 1 tablespoon several times a day.

In case of dry cough, an infusion of thyme herb (a small pinch of herb per glass of boiling water) helps to separate phlegm well; drink 50 ml three times a day. Oregano herb is also irreplaceable as an expectorant (a tablespoon three times a day), but oregano is contraindicated for pregnant women.

In the treatment of allergic bronchitis, folk remedies use honey and aloe. You need to take a glass of liquid honey, finely chopped aloe leaves and quality Cahors wine. Mix everything, heat it up (preferably in a water bath) and leave it in a cool place (not in the refrigerator) for a week to infuse. You need to drink a tablespoon three times a day - half an hour before meals.

Prevention of allergic bronchitis

In both adults and children, prevention of allergic bronchitis involves eliminating irritants and treating respiratory pathologies. To avoid contact with allergens, it is necessary to:

• at least twice a week, carry out wet cleaning in the living quarters and change the patient’s bed linen weekly;
• remove carpets, upholstered furniture and all plants from the room where the family member suffering from allergic bronchitis lives, and remove soft toys from the children's room;
• exclude access to the patient’s living quarters (or completely refuse to keep a dog, cat, hamster or parrot in the house), and also get rid of other “our little brothers,” such as cockroaches;
• Allergenic foods should be completely excluded from the patient's menu.

The most important method of preventing allergic bronchitis and the threat of its transformation into bronchial asthma in children is normal sanitary and hygienic conditions of their life, as well as timely detection and correct diagnosis of this disease.

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