DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS
The respiratory system is one of the most important “mechanisms” of our body. It not only fills the body with oxygen, participating in the process of breathing and gas exchange, but also performs a number of functions: thermoregulation, voice formation, smell, humidification, hormone synthesis, protection from environmental factors, etc.
In this case, the organs of the respiratory system are perhaps more likely to encounter various diseases. Every year we suffer from SARS, ARI and laryngitis, and sometimes we fight with more serious bronchitis, angina and In this case, the organs of the respiratory system are perhaps more likely to encounter various diseases. Every year we suffer from SARS, ARI and laryngitis, and sometimes we fight with more serious bronchitis, sore throat and sinusitis infections.
About the features of diseases of the respiratory system, the causes of their occurrence and types, we will talk in this article.
Why diseases of the respiratory system are started?
Diseases of the respiratory system are divided into four types:
Infectious – they are caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi that enter the body and cause inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. For example, bronchitis, pneumonia, angina, etc.
Allergic – appear because of pollen, food and household particles which are instigate a rapid reaction of the body to some allergens, and helps to the development of respiratory diseases. For example, bronchial asthma.
Autoimmune diseases of the respiratory system occur when the body fails, and it begins to produce substances against its own cells. An example of such an effect is idiopathic hemosiderosis of the lungs.
Hereditary – a person is predisposed to the development of certain diseases at the genetic level.
Contribute to the development of diseases of the respiratory system some external factors. They do not cause the disease directly, but can instigate its development. For example, in a poorly ventilated area increases the risk of developing SARS, bronchitis or angina.
Often, that is why officе managers suffer from viral diseases more often than others. If the offices in the summer instead of the usual air conditioning is used, the risk of infectious and inflammatory diseases also increases.
Another mandatory office attribute – the printer – instigate the occurrence of allergic diseases of the respiratory system.
The main symptoms of diseases of the respiratory system
cough;
pain in the lungs;
dyspnea;
suffocation;
hemoptysis
Cough is a reflex protective reaction of the body to mucus accumulated in the larynx, trachea or bronchi. By its nature, the cough is different: dry (with laryngitis or dry pleurisy) or wet (with chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis), as well as constant (with inflammation of the larynx) and periodic (with infectious diseases – SARS, influenza).
Coughing can cause with the pain. Suffering from diseases of the respiratory system, pain also accompanies breathing or a certain position of the body.
Dyspnea is also divided into several types: subjective, objective and mixed. Subjective appears with neuroses and hysteria, objective occurs in emphysema of the lungs and is characterized by a change in the rhythm of breathing and the duration of inhalation of exhalation.
Mixed dyspnea occurs in pneumonia, bronchogenic lung cancer, tuberculosis and is characterized by an increase in the frequency of breathing. Also, dyspnea is inspiratory with difficulty in breathing (laryngeal disease, trachea), expiratory with difficulty in exhaling (with defeat of the bronchi) and mixed (pulmonary embolism).
Suffocation is the most severe form the dyspnea. Sudden attacks of suffocation can be a sign of bronchial or cardiac asthma. With another symptom of diseases of the respiratory system – hemoptysis – when coughing with blood and sputum.
Discharge may appear in lung cancer, tuberculosis, lung abscess, as well as diseases of the cardiovascular system (heart disease).
Types of diseases of the respiratory system
In medicine, there are more than twenty types of diseases of the respiratory system: some of them are extremely rare, while others we encounter quite often, especially in the cold seasons.
Doctors divide them into two types: diseases of the upper respiratory tract and lower respiratory tract diseases. Conventionally, the first of them are considered to be easier. These are mainly inflammatory diseases: SARS, ARI, pharyngitis, laryngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, trachealis, angina, sinusitis, etc.
Diseases of the lower respiratory tract are considered more serious, as often occur with complications. These are, for example, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, emphysema, etc.
Let us focus on the diseases of the first and second groups, occurring more often than others.
Angina
Angina, or acute tonsillitis, is an infectious disease that affects the faucal tonsils. Especially active bacteria that cause angina, affect the cold and wet weather, so most often we get sick in autumn, winter and early spring.
You can get infected with angina by airborne droplets or alimentary means (for example, when using one dish). Especially highly susceptible to angina people with chronic tonsillitis – inflammation of the tonsils and caries.
There are two types of angina: viral and bacterial. Bacterial – a more severe form, it is accompanied by severe pain in the throat, an increase in the tonsils and lymph nodes, an increase in temperature to 39-40 degrees.
The main sign of this type of angina – purulent plaque on the tonsils. Treat the disease in this form with antibiotics and antipyretics.
Viral sore throat is easier. The temperature rises to 37-39 degrees, there is no plaque on the tonsils, but there is a cough and runny nose. If you start treating viral angina in time, you will get on your feet in 5-7 days.
Symptoms of angina: Bacterial – malaise, pain when swallowing, fever, headache, white plaque on the tonsils, enlarged lymph nodes; viral – sore throat, temperature 37-39 degrees, rhinitis, cough.
Bronchitis
Bronchitis is an infectious disease accompanied by diffuse (affecting the entire organ) changes in the bronchi. Cause bronchitis can bacteria, viruses or the occurrence of atypical flora.
Bronchitis is of three types: acute, chronic and obstructive. The first is cured in less than three weeks. The diagnosis of chronic put in if the disease manifests itself more than three months per year for two years.
If bronchitis is accompanied by dyspnea , this is a obstructive bronchitis. In this form of bronchitis there is a spasm, because of which the mucus accumulates in the bronchi. The main purpose of treatment is to relieve spasm and remove accumulated phlegm.
Bronchial asthma
Bronchial asthma is a chronic allergic disease in which the walls of the respiratory tract expand and the lumen narrows. Because of this, a lot of mucus occurs in the bronchi and the patient becomes difficult to breathe.
Bronchial asthma is one of the most common diseases and the number of people suffering from this pathology is increasing every year. In acute forms of bronchial asthma, life-threatening attacks may occur.
Symptoms of bronchial asthma: cough, wheezing, dyspnea, suffocation.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an acute infectious and inflammatory disease in which the lungs are affected. The inflammatory process affects the alveoli – the end part of the respiratory apparatus, and they are filled with liquid.
The causative agents of pneumonia are viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa. Pneumonia is usually severe, especially children, the elderly and those who have had other infectious diseases before pneumonia.
If you feel symptoms , it is better to consult a doctor.
Symptoms of pneumonia: fever, weakness, cough, dyspnea, chest pain.
Sinusitis
Sinusitis – acute or chronic inflammation of the paranasal sinuses and divides for a four types:
genyantritis – inflammation of the maxillary sinus;
frontal sinusitis – inflammation of the frontal sinus;
etmoidit – inflammation of the ethmoid cells;
sphenoiditis – inflammation of the sphenoid sinus;
Inflammations in sinusitis are unilateral or bilateral, with the defeat of all the paranasal sinuses on one or both sides. The most common type of sinusitis is genyantritis.
Acute genyantritis can occur in acute rhinitis, influenza, measles, scarlet fever and other infectious diseases. To trigger the onset of genyantritis can disease roots back four upper teeth.
Symptoms of sinusitis: fever, nasal congestion, mucous or purulent discharge, deterioration or loss of smell, swelling, pain when pressing on the affected area.
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease, most often affecting the lungs, and in some cases the genitourinary system, skin, eyes and peripheral (available for examination) lymph nodes.
Tuberculosis has two forms: open and closed. In the open form of mycobacterium tuberculosis is in the sputum of the patient. This makes it contagious to others. With the closed form of mycobacteria in the sputum is not, so the carrier can not harm others. The causative agents of tuberculosis are mycobacteria, transmitted by airborne droplets when coughing and sneezing or talking to the patient.
But when you contact you do not necessarily get infected. The probability of infection depends on the duration and intensity of contact, as well as the activity of your immune system.
Symptoms of tuberculosis: cough, hemoptysis, fever, sweating, poor performance, weakness, weight loss.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a non-allergic inflammation of the bronchi, causing their narrowing. Obstruction, or simply put, the deterioration of patency, affects the normal gas exchange of the body.
COPD occurs as a result of an inflammatory reaction that develops after interaction with aggressive substances (aerosols, particles, gases). The effects of the disease are irreversible or only partially reversible.
The symptoms of COPD: cough, sputum, shortness of breath.
The above-mentioned diseases are only part of a large list of diseases affecting the respiratory system. About the diseases themselves, and most importantly their prevention and treatment, we will tell in the next articles of our blog.