Misconception about Asthma
There are some common concerns about Asthma prevailing in the society. In majority of cases, these are misconceptions or baseless fears. For optimum control of asthma, these points should be dealt with proper care. Otherwise the management plan may go in vain. It the physicians responsibility to eradicate such worries, if present, from the patient’s mind. Some common concerns and suggested clinicians responses are listed below. Model answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs) are also given. These will help the physician to deal with such situations more confidently.
|
Concern or Fear
|
Suggested Response
|
|
|
|
Asthma is caused by
psychological problems. |
Though psychological
stresses may trigger or worsen asthma, it is basically a physical problem.
|
|
Asthma can be fatal.
|
Death from asthma is
very rare, if properly managed. |
People with asthma
cannot exercise. |
Exercise may be
beneficial in asthma. Take medicine before starting exercise to prevent
symptoms during exercise. |
Asthma cannot be
cured. |
Yes, but it can be
controlled. If asthma is controlled, asthmatics can participate in all
activities. |
Asthma medicines are
dangerous. |
Asthma medicines are
safe if taken as prescribed. |
Inhaler is the last
resort of treatment. |
Contrary to the
popular belief it is the first line of drug for asthma. |
Asthma medicines are
addictive. |
Asthma medicines do
not cause addiction, even if used in a high dose for a long time. |
Topics:
Name of Patient ........................................ Prepared by Dr. .........................................
This plan will help a patient control his asthma and know what to do if he has an asthma episode. Keeping a patient’s asthma under control will help to :
- Be active without having asthma symptoms. This includes being active in exercise and sports.
- Sleep through the night without having asthma symptoms.
- Prevent asthma episodes (attacks).
- Have the best possible peak flow number - lungs that work well.
Management of Asthma Attacks :
Hospital-Based Care
Initial Assessment:
History, Physical examination (auscultation, use of accessory muscles, heart rate, respiratory rate) and Investigations (PEF or FEV1, Oxygen saturation SaO2, arterial blood gas analysis and other tests)
Initial Treatment:
- Inhaled short-acting b2-agonist, usually by nebulization, one dose every 20 minutes for 1 hour
- Oxygen to achieve O2 saturation >90% (95% in children)
A peak flow meter is a device that measures how well air moves out of a patient's lungs. During an asthma episode, the airways of the lungs begin to narrow slowly. The peak flow meter can be used to find out if there is narrowing in the airways, hours - even days - before the patient has any symptoms of asthma. By taking the medicine early (before symptoms), your patient may be able to stop the episode quickly and avoid a serious episode of asthma. So its role in preventing severe asthma attack is very important.
The peak flow meter can also be used to help you:
A nebulizer is a device driven by a compressed air machine. It allows your patient to take asthma medicine in the form of a mist (wet aerosol). It consists of a cup, a mouthpiece attached to a T-shaped part or a mask, and thin plastic tubing to connect to the compressed air machine. It is used mostly by three types of patients:
- Young children under age 5.
- Patients who have problems using metered dose inhalers.
- Patients with severe asthma
A nebulizer helps make sure that patients get the required amount of medicine
Why we investigate asthma patients?
- For classification and assessment of severity
- For diagnosis of concomitant illness
- For exclusion of other causes of cough, wheeze dyspnoea or chest tightness
What are the investigations for asthma?
We should do four basic investigations of all patients.
1. Blood for TC, DC, ESR,
Hb% and :
How to prevent asthma?
Development of asthma has two distinct bases: Hereditary and Environmental. For the prevention of the development of asthma we should manipulate these two factors. Regarding hereditary factors, we have yet nothing to do practically. Genetic engineering is a future probability. What we can do is to manipulate the environmental factors. Effort should be concentrated on primary prevention of asthma.
What is primary prevention?
Why management at home ?
Since asthma is a chronic disease, it can be and should be managed at home up to a certain level. If home management plan is applied intelligently and skillfully, most asthmatics can lead symptom free normal life, avoid hospitalization thereby cutting down the financial expenditure significantly. All patients of asthma, except those with acute exacerbation, should be treated at home.
What are the components of home management plan ?
Comments
Post new comment