Archive for February 2011
Knowing the Difference of Asthma and Bronchitis
February 15, 2011 | 
Author Bronchitis has some similar symptoms with other lung problems such as asthma. If you don’t recognize it accurately you might end up giving the wrong home treatment to your child or even yourself.
When you are out if breath, have a hard time breathing or coughing a lot the first thing you would do is to try out whatever home remedies that you know. The question is, is it the right remedy?
You might think you are experiencing asthma so you may just depend on your inhaler. What you don’t know is that you might already be suffering from acute bronchitis and need some cough syrup or other medicine for the relief of your symptoms.
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air passages that leads to your lungs from your throat. It can either be acute or chronic. These passages are called bronchi or bronchioles.
When these structures are inflamed there is heavy formation of phlegm on the bronchial tubes and air passage is restricted. This means the lungs give out and receive lass air than it should.
Acute bronchitis normally results from a flu or viral infections and is short term. Initial stage is seen as having flu like symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose with only mild fever. Cough is observed after a couple of days.
Asthma however do not present with flu like symptoms at the onset of the illness. Both are observed with wheezing sounds except that it is much worse in an asthma attack. Spasm in the air passages are also noted more in people with asthma.
With bronchitis the chief complaint is regularly wet coughing. Asthma on the other hand is seen with dry cough and not as severe as that of bronchitis. It chief complaint would be wheezing and difficulty breathing.
With an acute bronchitis, symptoms seen for a short period, 10 days or so. Asthma is longer and it is recurrent. Bronchitis do respond to antibiotics unless it is viral while an inhaler is all it takes for an asthma attack.
Bronchitis can be caused by a bacterial or a viral infection. Chronic bronchitis though is brought about by smoking, environmental factors. If it is chronic it is unlikely to be contagious. The acute ones can spread though.
Knowing which illness you have is important. The two may be similar in some form but may require different treatment. Both exhibit inflammation of the airways so diagnosing it accurately is hard.
When not sure the best thing to do is go to your physician. Make sure you are giving the correct symptoms and do not confuse things for an accurate diagnosis.
While bronchitis has two forms, acute and chronic, both are characterized by severe coughing. Asthma on the other hand is by difficulty in breathing and excessive wheezing sound during breathing.
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Early Dental Care for Babies
You might find it difficult to believe that even babies are prone to dental caries and there are several thousands of reported cases a year. If left unattended, early childhood caries can cause more serious problems. It is very important that proper dental hygiene practices are established early on to avoid dental problems.
The first tooth makes it appearance when the baby is between three to eight months of age. And as the other teeth start coming out, the most commonly affected are the four upper teeth. The tongue manages to offer some level of protection to all the other teeth in the lower rows and in the back.
Dental caries in babies can be identified by white spots or stains on the teeth. As soon as you notice these spots, take your baby to a dentist so that it can be attended to before it becomes worse. Many people think that as the baby is going to lose its teeth anyway, why bother a little baby with a dental visit. That would be the worst decision you can take.
Ignoring a baby’s problematic teeth will not make the caries go away. In fact, if no remedial measures are taken, your baby runs the risk of losing teeth prematurely. Premature loss of baby teeth can cause misaligned growth of the permanent teeth that follow. It can also cause difficulty in pronunciation and normal speech, chewing and eating, and also could cause the face to be disfigured.
The main cause for dental caries is the use of feeding bottles. Many parents are happy to let their little one go to sleep sucking on the bottle. Don’t use the feeding bottle as a pacifier as it exposes the baby’s teeth to prolonged contact with sugary substances found in milk and juices. If you have to leave the bottle in to get your baby to sleep, then fill it up with water instead.
The sugars from juices and milk combine with plaque to produce acids that, over time, dissolve the teeth and cause other problems. Avoid giving your baby soda and other soft drinks that are loaded with sugar. You can give your baby healthy snacks like raw fruits and vegetables in addition to milk. Although milk contains a lot of sugar, it definitely has several good health benefits and better than other drinks.
After your baby is done drinking milk, take a clean soft cloth or wet gauze and wipe the teeth. Try to shift your baby to small cups as soon as possible. Using cups will definitely reduce the quantity of sugar left in the mouth. Breast milk also contains sugar so avoid letting your baby sleep through the night at your breast.
It is never too early to take your baby for a dental check up. The first visit should ideally be when the first tooth comes out. This should be followed by regular visits and religiously follow all the dental hygiene practices taught by the dentist. You just might be able to save your baby from the trauma of early dental caries.