Respiratory Disorders In Children
Definition:
·
Respiratory disease is the term for
diseases of the respiratory system.
·
These include diseases of the lung,
pleural cavity, bronchial tubes, trachea, upper respiratory tract and of the
nerves and muscles of breathing.
·
Respiratory disease range from mild and
self-limiting such as the common cold to life-threatening such as bacterial
pneumonia or pulmonary embolism.
Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI):
·
The upper respiratory
tract includes the sinuses, nasal passages, pharynx and larynx.
·
These structures direct
the air way breathe from the outside of the trachea and eventually to the lungs
for respiration to take place.
Nasopharyngitis:
Definition:
·
Nasopharyngitis is a
contagious, viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system,
primarily.
·
It is the most common
infectious disease in humans. More detailed information about the symptoms,
causes, and treatments of nasopharyngitis is available below.
Symptoms-
-
sore throat
-
-runny nose
-
nasal congestion
-
sneezing
-sometimes
accompanied by 'pink eye'
Causes:
-picarnoviruses.
-rhinoviruses
-coronaviruses
-human parainfluenza viruses.
Pathophysiology:
-
The rhinovirus entry
leads to edema and vasodilation of the submucosa of the respiratory tract.
-
This will in turn cause
the mononuclear cell infiltration to grow into polynuclear cell infiltration
which will cause the separation and sloughing of the epithelial cells.
-
Mucous production
initially will be thin but sooner it will become thick and purulent.
Treatment:
-
there are no antiviral
drugs approved to treat or cure the infection; all medications used are
palliative and treat symptoms also.
-
alternative treatments
such as vitamin C, Echinacea, and zinc have been proposed but none of them have
been broken down to decrease the duration of the illness.
-
conservative treatment:
plenty of rest, drinking fluids to maintain hydration, gargling with warm salt
water, using cough drops, throat sprays, or over the counter pain or cold
medicines. Saline nasal drops may help alleviate Congestion.
Complications:
-
superinfections such as
acute bronchitis, bronchitis, croup, pneumonia, sinusitis, Otitis media, or
strep throat.
-
people with chronic lung
diseases such as asthma and COPD are especially vulnerable.
-
colds may cause acute
exacerbations of asthma, emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
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