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Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
About me
Associate Chief Physician, graduated from Qingdao Medical University, has studied at Peking University First Hospital. Engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of various severe and common diseases in respiratory medicine for a long time, especially proficient in the treatment of severe pneumonia, asthma, respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism, and the use of ventilators, pulmonary function testing, and bronchoscopy. Has rich clinical experience. Has received two municipal scientific and technological progress awards, authored three books, and published over 20 papers.
Proficient in diseases
Severe pneumonia, asthma, respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism, as well as the use of ventilators, lung function tests, bronchoscopy examinations, etc.
Voices
Do you have a runny nose with pneumonia?
In clinical settings, pneumonia patients exhibit varying accompanying symptoms depending on the type of pneumonia. Particularly in very young infants, the early symptoms might primarily include nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and even fever, without obvious coughing symptoms. In some newborns, pneumonia can be diagnosed through auscultation at this stage. In adults, certain types of pneumonia, such as those caused by viral infections, may not receive timely and effective anti-infective or antiviral treatment initially. In these cases, the condition can worsen and spread, leading to pneumonia, with some patients also experiencing symptoms of a runny nose. Of course, conditions like most cases of mycoplasma pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, and lung abscesses that cause pulmonary inflammation usually do not involve a runny nose. Therefore, in clinical practice, if pneumonia is accompanied by a runny nose, it is usually due to specific circumstances of the illness.
Why did I catch a cold again just after recovering from one?
Colds primarily occur among populations with diminished immune functions, such as infants and the elderly. Since infants do not develop their own resistance until the age of six, they tend to catch colds more frequently. It's also common for someone to catch a cold again soon after recovering if they get chilled. Thus, this group typically has particularly low immune function, leading to frequent colds. Therefore, we recommend that such patients should exercise regularly and consume foods high in vitamins. It is also advisable for them to engage in physical activities within their capacity. With long-term exercise, their immune strength can be significantly enhanced, thereby greatly reducing the frequency of colds. It's also wise to avoid going out to public places during the peak cold season whenever possible.
Do you have a cold and cough?
A cold, also known as an upper respiratory tract infection, is commonly caused by a decrease in immune function, leading to symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and fever due to viral invasion of the respiratory tract. Additionally, it is quite common for patients to experience varying degrees of cough during a cold. Due to the different pathogens that trigger colds, there is a significant variation in the clinical symptoms exhibited by patients. Naturally, the severity of symptoms also varies depending on the individual's immune strength. Thus, in treating colds, some patients might experience a dry cough initially and later develop a productive cough. These are both common occurrences, and effective control can be achieved with appropriate symptomatic treatment.
What should I do if I have tracheitis and cough up blood?
Tracheitis is a very common disease in respiratory medicine. Tracheitis, especially if it is acute, is usually due to infections or non-infections. It could also be due to some physical and chemical factors, leading to clinical symptoms such as coughing, sputum production, shortness of breath, and wheezing. When patients experience severe coughing, some may have bleeding due to the rupture of capillaries on the surface of their blood vessels. Therefore, during a tracheitis attack, some patients may cough up blood to varying degrees. Regarding how to handle this, it primarily depends on the amount of blood coughed up caused by the tracheitis. If the amount is small, generally, timely anti-infection and cough-suppressing expectorant treatments are given. Symptomatic treatment can effectively control the inflammation, and minor amounts of blood in the cough can also be alleviated. If there is a considerable amount of blood in the cough during tracheitis, it is necessary to use some hemostatic drugs for symptomatic treatment to stop the bleeding.
Can bronchitis eat watermelon?
In general, eating watermelon doesn't significantly affect patients with bronchitis. However, for some chronic bronchitis, if it recurs in winter, it is generally not recommended to eat watermelon. Since watermelon is considered a cooling food, eating it during winter when bronchitis flares up can be problematic. During these flare-ups, patients often experience various clinical symptoms such as fever, repeated coughing, coughing up phlegm, shortness of breath, and chest tightness, and because watermelon is inherently cold, consuming it during an inflammatory episode in winter might hinder early recovery from the disease. In contrast, if bronchitis occurs in summer, like in this patient's case, eating watermelon can be appropriate as it not only replenishes needed hydration but also helps reduce heat and other related symptoms such as coughing and yellow phlegm, making it beneficial for managing chronic bronchitis during a summer flare-up.
Is an upper respiratory tract infection easy to recover from?
Upper respiratory tract infections are clinically categorized as respiratory diseases and occur at a very high frequency. Patients with upper respiratory tract infections generally recover easily as long as their immune system is in good condition. Most upper respiratory infections are caused by viruses, and patients with decent immune function can often recover without medication within about a week. However, some infections in the upper limbs, which may be caused by bacteria or mycoplasma, present various clinical symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, fever, and cough. Patients like these generally require appropriate anti-infection treatment, as well as medication to combat the mycoplasma, and their recovery might take slightly longer.
Where to apply moxibustion for acute upper respiratory tract infection?
Acute upper respiratory infections are very common in clinical settings. These patients typically have compromised immune systems, and the infections—caused by viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens—lead to various symptoms such as fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and coughing. Depending on the specifics of viral or bacterial infections, active and effective antiviral or antibacterial treatments can be administered. Additionally, moxibustion can be used as an auxiliary treatment to help these patients. The sites for moxibustion usually include major acupuncture points such as Dazhui (GV14) or Hegu (LI4), among others. The appropriate moxibustion treatment can be determined based on each patient’s specific situation, potentially assisting in the alleviation of symptoms associated with acute upper respiratory infections.
Can you swim with a mild cold?
Mild colds in clinical settings, like in patients whose symptoms are not very severe and who do not have a fever, allow for activities like swimming during summer, especially for those suffering from heat-related colds. However, in winter, even with a mild cold, it's advisable not to swim due to the relatively lower temperature of the water in pools compared to normal temperatures. Instead, choosing other forms of exercise to boost the immune system is recommended during the cold winter months. Therefore, for patients with mild colds, it’s also important to assess the type of cold to decide whether swimming is appropriate.
Is it good to sweat when you have an air conditioning cold?
Air conditioning cold, also known as in the hot summer, due to long time indoors with the air conditioning temperature set too low, leading to the patient exhibiting various degrees of nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, fever, headache, dizziness, general weakness, some patients may also have nausea, vomiting and other clinical symptoms. For such patients, we must take it very seriously, promptly turn off the air conditioner or open the windows to ventilate, as this is relatively conducive to the improvement of cold symptoms, because many patients when the air conditioning temperature is too low, may accidentally catch a cold, allowing viruses and bacteria the opportunity to invade and cause the patient to develop a fever. During the fever reduction process, the patient may sweat to varying degrees. Therefore, for patients with an air conditioning cold, if sweating occurs, it is often a symptom of the fever subsiding, which is a positive sign.
How to treat Stage II pneumoconiosis?
Pneumoconiosis in clinical settings is primarily caused by long-term inhalation of mineral dust, leading to a category of diffuse pulmonary diseases. This type of disease is also considered one of the occupational diseases, with patients experiencing varying degrees of cough, expectoration, and shortness of breath, as well as different levels of breathing difficulty due to prolonged inhalation of high concentrations of dust in severe cases. Therefore, clinically, if pneumoconiosis reaches a moderate level, the first step in treatment involves removing the patient from the dusty environment. Subsequently, symptomatic treatment with appropriate medications is administered to the patient. Treatment usually depends on the symptoms presented by the patient. In cases of evident infection, timely anti-infective treatment should be given, along with medications to suppress cough, facilitate expectoration, and relieve asthma, in order to alleviate discomfort. Moreover, if complications are present, timely treatment of these complications should be administered, along with appropriate anti-fibrotic drugs to manage the clinical symptoms caused by pneumoconiosis.