Non-allergic Asthma

Non-allergic asthma

What it is?

Non-allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. Most often, non-allergic asthma occurs after 50 years of age, against the background of concomitant respiratory tract diseases. Patients and their relatives usually do not have a tendency to allergies.

Why does this happen?

Non-allergic asthma can be associated with any respiratory tract infection (chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, sinusitis, etc.), with neuropsychic stress, head injuries, hormonal disorders in women during menopause and the premenstrual period, with the use of certain medications ( especially aspirin).

What's happening?

Most often, non-allergic asthma is more severe and longer lasting than allergic asthma. Attacks of suffocation occur as a result of acute or exacerbation of chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory system. Even between attacks, patients continue to cough with copious sputum.

In some patients, the first attacks of suffocation occur after a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract, including influenza, and sometimes the disease in such situations becomes very severe.

Attacks of suffocation in the neuropsychic version of bronchial asthma occur as a result of negative emotions, neuropsychic stress, against the background of an exhausting educational or work load, and disorders in the sexual sphere.

The variant of asthma associated with dysfunction of sex hormones is characterized by the development of asthma attacks in women in the premenstrual period and in menopause.

The main manifestation of aspirin-induced asthma is the development of asthma attacks when taking aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of non-allergic bronchial asthma is established by an ENT specialist or a pulmonologist. In order for the doctor to prescribe the correct and individual treatment, it is necessary to ask the patient in detail about the duration of his illness, working and living conditions, bad habits, and conduct a full clinical examination.

You will need to take blood tests, sputum tests, x-rays, and an ECG. The doctor will also suggest a pulmonary function test: for this you will need to exhale air into a special device that will examine the condition of the lungs.

Treatment

To treat the non-allergic form of asthma, it is very important to avoid exacerbations of chronic infections and treat them in a timely manner, avoid stress, and not take medications that cause an attack.

Bronchial asthma is a chronic disease that requires daily treatment. Only in this case can you count on the success of its implementation. This disease cannot yet be completely cured. However, treatment can be given to prevent symptoms and attacks from occurring.

If bronchial asthma is treated correctly, inflammation can decrease for a long time, and the frequency of symptoms of the disease can become minimal.

There is a concept of a stepwise approach to the treatment of bronchial asthma. Its meaning is to change the dose of drugs depending on the severity of asthma. Treatment should be carried out under the constant supervision of a doctor.

Several groups of drugs are used in the treatment of asthma. Among them there are symptomatic and basic drugs. Symptomatic medications restore airway patency and relieve spasm. They are used during an attack. Basic drugs reduce inflammation in the bronchi and are used long-term to prevent attacks, which ultimately improves the course of the disease.

Prevention

For proper treatment of bronchial asthma, the patient (and ideally his relatives) needs to attend an asthma school, where he will learn the basic measures to prevent attacks, study the technique of rational breathing, the main groups of anti-allergic and anti-asthmatic drugs.