Inhalation is a method of use of drugs, involving their inhalation, typically in the form of steam or, less frequently, gas and smoke. This method is often used in a variety of diseases affecting the airways primarily applicable inhalation bronchitis and asthma.

Steam inhalation bronchitis

Steam inhalation - this is what is meant by "inhalation" most people: common method of home treatment of colds, coughs, bronchitis. To perform this procedure, you will need about two liters of water, a small pot, a large glass bowl and stand for hot dishes, towels, soda (inhalation bronchitis with baking soda to help accelerate the process of expectoration of sputum), herbs or essential oils. Medicinal herbs can be used for inhalation of mint Mint and its useful properties: aromatic freshness , Eucalyptus, chamomile pharmacy, salvia Sage - cvyaschennaya grass , Echinacea and needles fir or pine. Instead, you can use essential oils of eucalyptus, peppermint and pine. By the way, you can make such inhalation cough in children, caused by the common cold, and not just with bronchitis.

Pour water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. If you use herbs, put them in the water at once, and when it boils, a few minutes keep the broth over low heat. Pour water into a large bowl (strain the broth is not necessary - you do not interfere with the grass) or put it on the table, put down a special stand. Now, in the water you can add two tablespoons of baking soda, a few drops of essential oil Essential oils and conception: can help the roses? . Lean over the water, cover your head with a towel and a cup, and breathe the steam for at least ten minutes. Be careful not to bend too low - Hot steam can cause burns.

Inhalation of bronchitis in children should be shorter than that of adults. If an adult can breathe the hot steam for 20-30 minutes, or even longer, the children are better than reduced to 5-10 minutes. During inhalation, watch carefully for the child. He may be bored for a long time to sit in one place and do nothing (and ten minutes for the active child - it's a lot), and he can forget that before him hot water, which should be handled carefully.

Sometimes experts recommend to do steam inhalation at an obstructive bronchitis, including in its chronic form. These procedures may increase the effectiveness of other drugs the patient is greatly facilitate and speed up healing. But alone steam inhalation for the treatment of bronchitis is often not enough.

Bronchodilators and antibiotics for bronchitis for inhalation

Fenoterol - a medicine for inhalation bronchitis, including chronic obstructive bronchitis and asthma. This formulation enhances the bronchi, and are often used in combination with antibiotics so that they can better and faster be absorbed in the tissue, which has developed a bacterial infection. Fenoterol contraindicated for allergies to components of the drug, as well as certain cardiovascular diseases. When high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and it is prescribed with caution, and such patients should be especially observed by a doctor.

The solution for inhalation in bronchitis from liquid fenoterola prepared immediately before use. To cook using saline; plain water, including boiled or filtered, can not be used. If after inhalation you will have a solution, it must be discarded. The procedure can be performed using a nebulizer or other inhaler. Side effects of fenoterol may be headaches, increased anxiety Anxiety - how to distinguish normal from disease?   and slight tremor. Generally, these symptoms are mild and pass quickly; the vast majority of patients tolerate the drug well welcome.

Salbutamol - one bronchodilatory drug which can be used for the treatment of bronchitis. It is produced in the form of aerosols, and the patient for use of this medication is not necessary to prepare their own solution. However, in some cases, doctors prescribe a liquid salbutamol to be used via nebulizer. Possible side effects of Salbutamol - tremors and increased heart rate. The majority of patients they are observed only in the case of exceeding the recommended dose.

Antibiotics are rarely appointed bronchitis, if necessary, can be used such a drug as fusafungine (aerosol inhalation with the same active ingredient known as bioparoks). It should not be taken if you are allergic to the components of the drug, as well as children under three years.

In some cases, may be appointed, and antibiotics such as amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and doxycycline. If the treatment of bronchitis with inhaled antibiotic does not cause relief in 4-6 days after you start taking medication, consult your doctor.

Inhalation nebulizer for bronchitis

As we have said, with the help of nebulauzera can do inhalation using both herbal concoctions and bronchodilator drugs and corticosteroids, and local analgesics. Inhalation solution is poured into a special container (exactly where it is and how to open and close, depending on the design of the machine). The steam is inhaled through a tube shaped like the mouthpiece of a large size, or through a mask (the second option is usually the best for small children). Usually inhalation nebulizer lasts only five to ten minutes - less than the steam inhalation. The patient during the procedure should sit or recline, breathe deeply and slowly and, if possible, do not move.

Nebulizer necessarily need to be thoroughly cleaned prior to first use (after purchase), and after each subsequent use. If this is not done, it can not just stop working normally but also become a breeding ground for potentially dangerous microorganisms.

  Pneumonia or pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. Most often it occurs in people older than 65 years, as well as in patients with a weakened immune system and / or chronic illnesses. Lung inflammation can occur in different forms, from mild to severe and life-threatening. Often this disease is a complication of other conditions, such as influenza.

Symptoms

Pneumonia often mimics a flu, beginning with a cough and fever, so that the person may not realize that he has a serious illness. The main symptoms of pneumonia:

• Fever
• Body temperature below normal (elderly)
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Increased perspiration
• Chills and shivering
• Chest pain, the intensity of which varies with breathing (pleurisy)
• Headache
• Myalgia
• Lethargy

Contact your doctor if you have symptoms such as pneumonia can occur in very severe forms. In the elderly, and people with heart failure and lung disease pneumonia can quickly develop into a life-threatening condition.

Community-acquired pneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs that occurs in a person when he is in his familiar surroundings, called community-acquired pneumonia. Typically, this light forms of pneumonia, which is relatively simple to be treated. In most cases, community-acquired pneumonia cause the following microorganisms:

• Bacteria. Among the most common bacterial pathogen is Streptococcus pneumoniae CAP. Other possible pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae and Klebsiella pneumonia. Lung inflammation and bacteria can cause several types simultaneously. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, which was previously found only in hospitals, and today is community-acquired pneumonia.
• Baktereobraznye organisms. This category includes, for example, Mycoplasma Mycoplasma pneumonia - respiratory pathogens   - Microorganism that usually causes mild symptoms instead of individual types of pneumonia. Mycoplasma pneumoniae can also cause a "walking pneumonia" - the so-called pneumonia in which the patient feels relatively well and he does not need to comply with bed rest. Legionella and Chlamydia Chlamydia: insidious and widespread disease   also are among the organisms causing pneumonia, which are neither bacteria or viruses.
• Viruses. Some of the viruses that cause colds and the flu, can also be agents of pneumonia. Although in most cases the disease occurs in a mild form, and passes in compliance with bed rest, inflammation of the lungs caused by the influenza virus may be very heavy. Moreover, viral pneumonia can make the body more susceptible to bacteria, causing secondary infection.

Fungi and parasites, such as those that cause tuberculosis Tuberculosis - a full recovery is not guaranteed Are increasingly rare pathogens community-acquired pneumonia. In most cases, pneumonia caused by fungi and parasites, developed for people living and traveling in developing countries.

Hospital pneumonia

Heavy, difficult to treat form of pneumonia is a common problem in hospitals. Sometimes hospital pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, but the list of causative agents of the disease on their ends. In the context of hospitals and clinics bacteria will become resistant to standard antibiotics. Resistant bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus significantly complicate treatment. People who do ventilation, are particularly susceptible to infections that cause these bacteria. Due to the large number of possible agents of the hospital to determine the cause of pneumonia and prescribe the correct treatment can be very difficult.

Inhalation pneumonia

Aspiration pneumonia develops in contact with foreign matter in the lungs. To the development of the disease can result in difficulty swallowing, is characteristic of conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and stroke.

Opportunistic viral, bacterial and fungal pneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs related to this type occurs in people with weakened immune systems. Harmless for healthy bacteria can be dangerous for people who postpone organ transplants, AIDS patients and other diseases that weaken the immune system. Immunnosupressanty, e.g., drugs used in chemotherapy or corticosteroids, also increase the risk of pneumonia.

Risk factors

The following factors increase the risk of pneumonia:

• Age. In people aged 65 and over, especially if they have diseases that weaken the immune system, the risk of disease pneumonia is above average. The risk is also very small children, whose immune systems are not yet sufficiently developed.
• Some diseases. Diseases that result in weakening the immune system, such as HIV / AIDS, chronic diseases - heart disease, emphysema, and others. The risk of pneumonia increased and those whose immune systems are weakened by chemotherapy or duration of administration of immunosuppressants.
• Smoking. Smokers are gradually destroyed the natural mechanisms that protect the body from bacteria and viruses that cause pneumonia.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and corticosteroids for more than 24 weeks. Studies show that it greatly increases the likelihood of pneumonia, including - it severely.
• Exposure to certain chemicals. The risk of certain rare forms of pneumonia can be elevated in people who work in agriculture, in construction, or in hazardous environments. Exposure to toxic substances makes the lungs more susceptible to various diseases, including - pneumonia.

Complications

The most common complication is pneumonia in the elderly, smokers, patients with heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Complications of pneumonia can be:

• Bacteria in the blood stream. The finest airways end small bubbles - the pulmonary alveoli, where red blood cell exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. Patients with pneumonia in the alveoli contain bacteria that during the gas exchange can get into the bloodstream. If this happens, the infection spread to the bloodstream, which can lead to shock and failure of some organs.
• Septic shock. As a result of the uncontrolled growth of bacteria in the bloodstream normal blood circulation can be compromised. Blood fills the vein, seeps through capillary walls, causing tissue edema and, in some cases, stoppage of vital organs, which can lead to death.
• Fluid accumulation and infection around the lungs. Sometimes fluid collects between the thin, transparent membrane covering the lungs (the pleura), and a cladding which covers the inner surface of the chest wall. This condition is known as pleural effusion. When the pleura is inflamed, which often is the result of pneumonia, in the fluid accumulated in the pleural plane can start to breed bacteria that the violation is called empyema.
• Lung abscess. Some patients in the area affected by pneumonia formed cavities filled with pus - abscesses.
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This condition develops when pneumonia strikes most of both lungs, breathing becomes more difficult and the body can not get enough oxygen. Any lung disease, but especially chronic lung disease that makes a person more susceptible to ARDS.

Before receiving medical care in order to avoid deterioration, follow these guidelines:

• Do not smoke, including - avoid passive smoking;
• Do not drink alcoholic beverages;
• If you have symptoms of pneumonia, do not go to work or to school - first, you can infect others, and secondly, as a result of your condition may worsen;
• Eat plenty of fluids;
• If you become very ill, before you can go to the doctor, contact the emergency room or call an ambulance.