What causes bronchial asthma?

Written by Wang Li Bing

Intensive Care Medicine Department

Updated on November 20, 2024

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Bronchial asthma is very common in clinical settings, mainly characterized by a reversible airflow limitation that can cause recurrent attacks of wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath in patients. These attacks generally occur at night or in the early morning and can gradually ease after treatment. Bronchial asthma is mainly related to several factors, the first being environmental factors. Exposure to pollen and animal dander can trigger asthma attacks. Additionally, infections, diet, and medications are among the various factors that can provoke asthma attacks.

Other Voices

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Written by An Yong Peng

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Does bronchial asthma have wheezing sounds?

During an acute attack of bronchial asthma, patients often have wheezing sounds in their lungs, but it's important to note that some patients may not exhibit wheezing, such as those with chest tightness or cough variant asthma, who only show symptoms of chest tightness and typically do not have wheezing on auscultation. However, administering inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators can relieve their condition. Additionally, during a severe acute attack of bronchial asthma, severe airway spasms can occur, leading to a situation where the patient might not have any wheezing sounds, a condition referred to as "silent lung." In such cases, patients often experience difficulty breathing or even respiratory distress, which is usually quite serious and requires active intervention.

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Written by Zeng Xiang Bo

Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

42sec

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What are the complications of bronchial asthma?

The complications of bronchial asthma are divided into acute and chronic complications. Acute complications, which occur during a severe asthma attack, mainly include pneumothorax, mediastinal emphysema, severe hypoxia, respiratory failure, leading to severe arrhythmias, electrolyte disturbances, and in severe cases, coma and death. Chronic complications are mainly due to chronic changes in bronchial asthma leading to airway remodeling, chronic airway inflammation, and chronic narrowing. The complications at this stage mainly include chronic respiratory failure and pulmonary heart disease.

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Written by Yuan Qing

Pulmonology

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Is oxygen inhalation useful for bronchial asthma?

Administering appropriate oxygen therapy can have certain benefits for patients with bronchial asthma. The onset of bronchial asthma is mainly due to the edema of the bronchial mucosa and the constriction of the smooth muscles outside the bronchi leading to the narrowing of the lumen. This makes it difficult for gases to pass normally through the airway into the alveoli. Patients may experience symptoms such as coughing, chest congestion, breathlessness, or wheezing, which are primarily due to the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma. Of course, providing patients with appropriate oxygen therapy during an asthma attack can be beneficial, temporarily solving the problem of hypoxia. However, it is important to understand that asthma patients are not primarily suffering from a lack of oxygen but from ventilation dysfunction, which leads to the inability to expel carbon dioxide, the waste gas, from the body. Therefore, the fundamental treatment should focus on improving airway spasms and narrowing to enhance ventilation.

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Written by An Yong Peng

Pulmonology

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The difference between bronchial asthma and pulmonary emphysema.

Bronchial asthma and emphysema are two different diseases. Bronchial asthma typically manifests as episodic coughing, chest tightness, and wheezing. Patients often develop this condition in childhood and adolescence, and it is relatively rare in the elderly. Emphysema, on the other hand, is often related to long-term smoking and is usually seen in middle-aged and older patients. Early stages of emphysema may only be evident on a chest CT and may not show significant symptoms of chest tightness. However, as the disease progresses, patients often experience noticeable chest tightness and difficulty breathing, and the condition tends to progressively worsen. Patients typically eventually develop complications such as chronic respiratory failure and chronic pulmonary heart disease. Therefore, the characteristics of bronchial asthma and emphysema are different. However, it is important to note that in patients with bronchial asthma, if the condition is not controlled and continues to progress, it might also lead to the development of emphysema, chronic respiratory failure, pulmonary heart disease, and other related conditions.

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Written by Wei Shi Liang

Intensive Care Unit

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Prevention and Treatment of Bronchial Asthma

The prevention and treatment of bronchial asthma mainly involve the following aspects: First, eliminating the causes and triggers of the disease; second, preventing diseases and pests such as allergic rhinitis and gastroesophageal reflux disease; third, immunomodulation; fourth, routinely checking if inhaled medications are used correctly; fifth, education and management of asthma patients, mainly allowing them through long-term, appropriate, and sufficient treatment to fully and effectively control asthma attacks. Additionally, understanding individual differences in asthma triggers to avoid occurrences, learning patient self-monitoring of disease progression, mastering the use of inhalers and peak flow meters, and educating patients on simple self-help methods are essential. It's important for patients and doctors to jointly develop a plan to prevent asthma attacks and maintain long-term stability. These are the basic elements of the prevention and treatment of bronchial asthma.