Commonly used medicines for respiratory diseases

The core of commonly used drugs for respiratory diseases can be divided into two categories: symptomatic relief and cause treatment. The five categories with the highest daily use rate mainly include antipyretic analgesics, antihistamines, antitussive and expectorant drugs, antiasthmatic drugs, and anti-infective drugs. There is no panacea, and all drugs must match the symptoms and causes to be safe and effective.

When I was working at a community health service center, during the spring and autumn periods when respiratory diseases were most prevalent, I would encounter more than a dozen patients a day who were taking medicine indiscriminately. Last week, there was a little girl who had a cold and took Tylenol, ibuprofen and cough syrup at the same time. After taking it for two days, she felt tired and nauseated. She came to check and found that her transaminases were so high. This is a typical pitfall of repeated medication. Let’s talk about the most commonly used medicines for upper respiratory tract infections such as common colds and influenza. If the fever exceeds 38.5°C and you have a headache and body aches, antipyretics and analgesics are enough. Currently, acetaminophen and ibuprofen are commonly used. The controversy about which of the two is safer has been going on for many years. To put it bluntly, there is no absolute good or bad. If you have abnormal liver function, give priority to ibuprofen. If you have poor kidney function or are pregnant, give priority to acetaminophen. If you take it according to the dosage instructions, there is no big problem.

After the fever subsides, most people will be stuck with upper respiratory tract catarrhal symptoms - the nose is blocked as if it is stuffed with cotton, sneezing a dozen times in a row, and the skin is peeling off the nose after wiping the mucus away. At this time, antihistamines are enough, the second generation Loratadine and cetirizine do not make you feel sleepy after eating them, so they can be used by office workers and drivers. Chlorpheniramine, which is often eaten by the older generation, is very cheap. After eating it, you will feel drowsy and sleep for most of the day. If you want to rest at home, you can choose it, and it is cost-effective. If you have a sore throat that makes it difficult to swallow, there is no need to rush to take medicine. Take a lozenge or gargle with light salt water. The relief effect is not bad at all. If the pain is unbearable, taking a piece of ibuprofen will also work.

Coughing is the most troublesome thing for people. Many people cough so much that they can’t lie down at night. As soon as they get the medicine, they take the strongest antitussive medicine first. This is really a big mistake. You have to first check whether you have phlegm. If you have a dry cough without phlegm and your chest hurts, you can use antitussives such as dextromethorphan, which will allow you to have a good sleep and regain your strength. But if you have thick phlegm, especially yellow phlegm or green phlegm that cannot be coughed up, you must not take strong antitussives first. Otherwise, the phlegm will block the trachea and lungs. It is just a small cold and may turn into pneumonia. At this time, you must first take phlegm-reducing drugs such as ambroxol and acetylcysteine ​​to dilute the phlegm and cough it out, so that the inflammation will disappear quickly. By the way, many people like to buy compound cold medicines, such as Tylenol, Baijiahei, Day and Night Baifu Ning, etc., which have antipyretic, analgesic, antihistamine, and antitussive ingredients. Do not take ibuprofen or cough medicine alone after taking these. The ingredients are superimposed and it is easy to overdose, which may damage the liver and kidneys.

If there are elderly people at home with chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or allergic asthma, antiasthmatic drugs must be kept on hand. The salbutamol aerosol used for first aid must be kept within easy reach. When you are suddenly out of breath, spray it twice and you will be relieved in a few minutes. However, do not spray this medicine just for nothing. If you use it too often, you will easily become resistant to it, and it will no longer work when it comes to emergency treatment. Inhaled hormones are usually used for long-term control, such as budesonide, formoterol, salmeterol, and fluticasone. Many patients refuse to use them as soon as they hear the word "hormone". They are afraid of gaining weight, osteoporosis, and weakened immunity. In fact, this is really a misunderstanding. Inhaled hormones are topical. The dose is only a few tenths of that of oral or infusion hormones. Rinse your mouth well after use. There will be basically no systemic side effects. It is much safer than running to the hospital for infusions and using large doses of hormones every time you have an attack. Our clinicians have said this countless times, but many patients are still hesitant.

Finally, let’s talk about the most commonly abused anti-infective drugs, which are often referred to as “anti-inflammatory drugs”. First of all, it must be clear that 90% of upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses. Taking antibiotics such as amoxicillin and cephalosporins is of no use at all. On the contrary, it will destroy the flora in the body, causing more harm than gain. Only when a blood test indicates a bacterial infection, or when a mycoplasma or chlamydial infection is diagnosed, the corresponding antibiotics or azithromycin need to be used. When mycoplasma was prevalent last winter, I met many parents who, when they heard that their children had fever and cough, gave them cephalosporins. The fever persisted for three or four days before they came to the hospital. They found out it was mycoplasma infection and gave them azithromycin. They suffered for several days in vain.

Oh, by the way, there is another "auxiliary medicine" that people often don't take seriously, which is a saline nasal rinse device. Whether it is a cold and blocked nose or an allergic rhinitis attack, washing the nose is more comfortable than taking half a pill. It has no side effects. It can be used by pregnant women and children. I keep it at home all year round. After all, medicine is a three-part poison. Symptoms that can be alleviated by physical methods are really not worth taking medicine. If you are not sure what medicine to use for your symptoms, it is much more reliable to go directly to a community hospital or clinic to ask the doctor than to search Baidu and randomly prescribe medicine yourself.