Asthmatic and Chronic Bronchitis

Why is that important? That follows. First some definitions. For the characteristic ‘difficulty breathing’, we distinguish as causes:

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Asthmatic Bronchitis
• Chronic bronchitis/COPD
• Chronic Asthmatic Bronchitis

Asthma and Bronchitis

Asthma is a disease of the respiratory organs. There are bouts of shortness of breath – tightness of breath – that arise because the air tubes around the lungs constrict. Bronchitis is a disease of the lungs in which those same light tubes become inflamed, making breathing more difficult. Bronchitis can occur acutely if irritating fumes such as smoke, chlorine, ammonia or ozone are inhaled. If the inflammation is permanent, then it is called chronic bronchitis.

Chronic bronchitis/COPD

A condition of the respiratory tract that often causes daily complaints in the form of coughing, mucus and shortness of breath. The complaints often arise after years of smoking. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema together form COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic Asthmatic Bronchitis

A form of bronchitis in which breathing not only becomes more difficult, but also shortness of breath occurs. This resembles asthma, but there is more mucus formation and the shortness of breath is present every day.

Asthmatic Bronchitis

Asthma mainly affects children and young adults. But if the complaints persist in adulthood, you can say that people have not grown out of their asthma. The disease then becomes chronic, but usually changes its form: the asthma attacks are less severe, but the symptoms remain. Gradually not a day goes by without shortness of breath and wheezing. Because mucus is also formed, it is referred to as asthmatic bronchitis, although doctors increasingly find only the term ‘asthma’ sufficient.

Appearance

Although heredity plays a role in getting asthma or bronchitis or a combination of them, it is important to realize that you can do something to prevent it. That is of course healthy living, exercising and not smoking, but there are more precautions that can be taken. And especially by parents to prevent their children from developing asthma or bronchitis, now or later in life. And that is why it is important to know the differences between the different diseases that cause difficulty in breathing.

Allergy

In children, it is especially important to prevent or treat asthma as effectively as possible. Asthma is often triggered by hypersensitivity (allergy) for allergens. For example, for house dust mites, pet hair or pollen grains (pollen allergy). The causes of such an allergy are often difficult to prevent, but you can of course ensure that a child does not come into contact with what makes him so sick. Other stimuli can also trigger asthma: cold air, fog, air pollution, exercise, strong emotions and tobacco smoke.

Winter

Where asthma is chronic and always present, bronchitis is not. The symptoms of this mainly arise in the cold winter months: the flu season. Not surprising, because one of the viruses that causes bronchitis is influenza A and B: better known as ‘the flu’. Bronchitis thrives in a cold, moist environment, so it is important to keep an eye out for that in the nursery. Once again, people with an increased risk of getting bronchitis are those who are frequently exposed to tobacco smoke.

Therapy

In addition to preventing asthma and bronchitis, it is important to act appropriately once a person has one of the diseases. In both cases, medicines (for example, the inhaler for asthma, the well-known puff) suppress the consequences or even cure them. Although children in the Netherlands die as a result of asthma – 4 to 5 per year – this is mainly because the symptoms are not properly recognised. Bronchitis should be treated like a bad flu: drink a lot, cough syrup and if necessary antibiotics. If asthma or bronchitis occurs at a later age, it is mainly a concern of learning to deal with the limitations as well as possible.