Medicines And Drugs For Bronchitis In Adults

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Medicines and drugs for bronchitis in adults

Bronchitis is a serious condition of the respiratory system that requires medical attention. However, many people prefer to treat it on their own at home without consulting a specialist, or even endure the disease "on their feet" without giving up their usual way of life. Such a disdain for one's own health can lead to dire consequences.

Acute bronchitis can turn into a chronic form, then it will be much more difficult to cure it. In addition, with improper treatment or its absence, bronchitis can have complications in the form of cardiac pathologies, pneumonia, and bacterial infection.

Another danger associated with self-treatment of bronchitis is the risk of misdiagnosis, since the symptoms of bronchitis and other diseases of the respiratory system are similar. A person can treat bronchitis, and the real cause of feeling unwell and coughing is pneumonia, tuberculosis, or malignant neoplasms in the lungs.

When treating bronchitis, the patient must comply with bed rest and take medications prescribed by the doctor.

Content:

• Diet and lifestyle principles
• Basic principles of treatment
• Treatment of chronic and acute obstructive bronchitis

Diet and lifestyle principles

The patient's diet during the treatment of bronchitis should contain a lot of proteins, vitamins and antioxidants, so that the body can more easily recover from the illness. Eat fruits and vegetables, lean meat or dairy products, and foods rich in calcium every day. Temporarily exclude fried foods from the diet, but do not limit the amount and calorie content of foods in the diet - restrictions during this period lead to the fact that a person experiences a protein deficiency, and the healing process slows down. However, with pronounced symptoms of intoxication, short-term fasting can be beneficial.

It is necessary to monitor the amount of fluid consumed - drink at least three liters per day, giving preference to alkaline drinking. In case of diseases of the respiratory tract, it is useful to drink fruit drink, jelly, alkaline mineral water in half with warm milk.

Basic principles of treatment

Treatment of bronchitis is a long and complex process that must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor in order to avoid possible complications and infections. Consists of four main stages, the first of which is to reduce the influence of environmental stressors on the respiratory system. So, the patient should avoid rooms where the air is dusty, or contains substances that irritate the mucous membrane and provoke excessive production of sputum. In addition, it is necessary to quit smoking, as this habit increases the risk of bronchitis on a par with harmful production conditions, and slows down recovery.

After the effect of harmful environmental factors has been minimized, it is necessary to relieve bronchospasm and restore normal breathing and sputum discharge. To do this, use drugs for bronchitis with a bronchodilating effect, which regulate the tone of the muscles of the bronchi by acting on specific receptors.

These include:

• Berodual
• Terbutaline
• Theodar
• Salbutamol
• Phenterol
• Teopek
• Euphyllin.

Another group of agents used in the treatment of bronchitis in adults and children are mucolytic agents that help thin sputum and release it from the bronchi.

Herbal preparations:

• Liquorice root;
• Marshmallow root;
• Dr. Mom;
• Thermopsis.

Artificial mucolytics:

• Ambrobene
• Bromhexine
• Lazolvan;
• Acetylcysteine.

The final stage in the treatment of bronchitis is the use of antibiotics, if the patient has an infection, this is necessary for the treatment of obstructive bronchitis. This is manifested by an increased temperature for three days, which does not go away even when the disease is alleviated. In the early stages of bronchitis, antibiotics are not used, since in most cases the disease is caused by viruses that are not affected by antimicrobial agents. Before prescribing antibiotics, the doctor takes a smear and determines the sensitivity of the pathogenic organism to this drug. Antibiotic therapy gives the first results after five days from the beginning of the medication.

Antibiotics used to treat bronchitis:

• Aminopenicillins are considered first-line drugs, as they effectively cope with pathogens of bronchitis and have few side effects. However, they are contraindicated for people with individual intolerance, often provoke allergic reactions. To increase their effectiveness, they are taken together with beta-lactamase inhibitors, a substance that prevents bacterial enzymes from destroying the antibiotic. The drugs of this group are Flemoxin, Augmentin, Amoxicillin;
• Macrolides are classified as second-line drugs, they destroy the DNA of pathogenic microorganisms and are used to treat atypical forms of bronchitis; Medicines - Clarithromycin, Azithromycin, Wilprafen, Erythromycin, Rovamycin, Macropen;
• Cephalosporins are reserve drugs that are prescribed if the patient develops an allergy to other antibiotics. These include: Cefaclor, Clarofan, Cefixime, Cefuroxime, Cefazolin;
• Fluoroquinols are used only for the treatment of adult patients, since the frequency of allergic reactions, dysbiosis and mycosis is high in the absence of supportive therapy. Popular agents in this group are Moxifloxacin, Levofloxacin, Sparfloxacin.

Medicines for bronchitis can be administered by injection, taken in tablet form, or as a solution for inhalation.

Read more: list of injections for bronchitis

With bronchitis of viral origin, antiviral therapy with drugs Remantadine, Ribonuclease and Deoxyribonuclease, Interferon, Genferon and others may be needed, depending on the type of virus. The course of treatment is ten days.

In the drug treatment of bronchitis, antihistamines (if the disease is associated with allergic reactions), immunosuppressants, immunostimulants and immunomodulatory agents, vitamin complexes and antipyretics can also be used.

Folk remedies - massage, rubbing, herbal preparations, vacuum massage with cans and mustard plasters give good results only with complex treatment using drugs prescribed by a doctor.

Treatment of chronic and acute obstructive bronchitis

It is necessary to start treatment of the disease from its very first symptoms, since only an acute form of obstructive bronchitis can be completely cured. With progressive chronic bronchitis, the doctor prescribes symptomatic treatment, since it is no longer possible to completely cure the disease.

In the treatment of acute and chronic bronchitis in children, medications for bronchitis based on plant materials are used. Good results are obtained by a course of treatment with thyme preparations, since this plant stimulates expectoration, has a calming and moderate bactericidal effect, which prevents the development of infection.

Read more: list of expectorants for bronchitis

Medicines with a bronchodilating effect, which are prescribed in the first place - Fenoterol, Terbutaline, Salbutamol, as well as Ipratropium bromide and Tiotropium bromide. They act on the adrenaline and cholinergic receptors of the bronchi, regulating the tone of the bronchial muscles, relieving their spasm. You can use drugs both in tablet form and in the form of inhalation.

For the treatment of obstructive bronchitis in adults, drugs for bronchitis of artificial origin are used as mucolytic agents, the effect of which is more intense. The drugs of choice are Ambroxol and ACC, which contribute to the restoration of the bronchial epithelium, which improves the absorption of mucolytic agents.

Antibiotics are used to treat severe bronchitis and are taken orally, by inhalation or by injection. The drugs in this group are Azithromycin, Amoxicillin, Erythromycin.

For the treatment of allergic bronchitis, the patient is prescribed bronchodilators, antihistamines and, in some cases, hormonal drugs, but antibiotics are not used.

Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist

Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".