Recently, the cold wave continues in the northern part of the mainland, and experts remind that low temperature weather can easily lead to the occurrence and aggravation of respiratory diseases, especially in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and it is very important to prevent acute attacks.
Sudden drop in temperature Patients with COPD should be careful of acute attacks
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The full name of COPD is "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease", which is mainly manifested by chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Cold, dry air is the main reason for the high incidence of COPD in autumn and winter.
Ma Yanliang, Chief Physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital: Generally, many old patients with respiratory tract feel that winter is particularly difficult, such as COPD patients, when the weather is cold, and if there are some viral infections, they are particularly prone to acute exacerbation. Once the acute exacerbation is worse for the patient, it may not even be able to maintain daily life, so many people may not be able to move, have difficulty breathing, and even have respiratory failure.
According to experts, cold stimulation is an important cause of acute exacerbation of COPD patients, so it is very important to keep warm. Try to wear a scarf when you go out to block the cold air from irritating the airways. The haze and dust in the air are also an irritation to the airways, and COPD patients can wear masks when they go out. In terms of diet, you can drink more soup to moisten the dryness. Patients with COPD should pay attention to the convection of indoor air in autumn and winter, and open doors and windows to keep the air fresh. If you do exercise, the principle is not to be too vigorous, not to sweat profusely, and not to exercise for too long.
Experts suggest that patients with COPD should always have bronchodilators, cough suppressants and nebulizers at home in case of emergency. In particular, once a respiratory infection occurs in COPD patients, they should not self-administer antibiotics and should go to the hospital as soon as possible for blood tests and sputum culture experiments.
Ma Yanliang, Chief Physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital: Especially for some patients with COPD who have poor lung function and frequent acute exacerbations, there will be some special bacterial infections in the lungs, especially if there is cough and yellow sputum, it is recommended to go to the hospital for a sputum culture in time. It may be possible to know which bacteria it is, especially which drugs it is sensitive to, and then it will be possible to choose the appropriate drug based on the results of the sensitive drug.
After the sputum culture is performed to determine the symptomatic drug, the patient needs to take it continuously for one to two weeks, and it is important not to stop the drug without authorization.
Prevention of colds Prevent acute exacerbations of bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is caused by chronic purulent inflammation and fibrosis of the bronchi and its surrounding tissues, which destroys the muscles and elastic tissues of the bronchial wall, resulting in deformation and long-lasting dilation of the bronchi. Typical symptoms include chronic cough, profuse sputum production, and recurrent hemoptysis. Bronchiectasis can occur at any age, and people with measles, whooping cough, or lung disease or tuberculosis are more likely to have bronchiectasis. Winter is a time of recurrence and exacerbation of the disease in patients with bronchiectasis.
Ma Yanliang, Chief Physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital: After bronchiectasis, there are many special bacteria that are easy to remain in the airways, so when the weather is cold, the resistance is reduced, or when there is a viral infection, the bacteria may multiply in large numbers in the original bronchiectasis lesions in the lungs, which will lead to the acute aggravation of bronchiectasis.
According to experts, the most important thing for patients with bronchiectasis in winter is to prevent colds, and patients can inject relevant vaccines to prevent infection. In addition, the lack of moisture in the air in winter, relatively dry, dry throat and itchy cough may also cause onset, and patients can use a humidifier appropriately to alleviate it. It is advisable to have an oximeter at home and monitor oxygen saturation regularly.
Ma Yanliang, Chief Physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital: If we monitor the blood oxygen saturation below 93, it often indicates that respiratory failure has occurred, and this situation must be rushed to the hospital.