Respiratory disease health education content

The first is the preliminary identification and home care of common diseases such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia, common colds, the second is the hierarchical prevention strategy covering the entire population, and the third is clear criteria for judging medical indications - there is no need to memorize complex pathological knowledge. Understanding these three points can solve more than 90% of respiratory disease-related problems encountered by ordinary people, and can also avoid unnecessary panic and a run on medical resources.

I have been doing health education work in a community health service center for almost six years. When I sit at the free clinic every year during the peak season of respiratory diseases, the people I encounter the most are panicked parents and elders. Last winter, when influenza A and mycoplasma were super popular, I met more than 20 residents in one morning who asked, "I've been coughing for three days, do I have pneumonia?" There were also people who wrapped their babies in three layers of thick quilts and said they should "cover the sweat to reduce the fever." It made my back feel cold.

Many people now want to do a full set of tests when respiratory symptoms appear. In fact, medical staff in different fields have different suggestions for preliminary screening: clinical doctors pay more attention to accuracy, and it is generally believed that the accuracy of symptom identification is only about 60%. If possible, antigen and nucleic acid tests should be given priority to clarify the cause; but as a public health department, we recommend that everyone do a preliminary screening based on accompanying symptoms. After all, hospitals are overcrowded during high-incidence seasons, and it is easy to cross-infection if you are not sick. To put it plainly, it’s easy to remember: Common colds usually start with upper respiratory tract symptoms such as nasal congestion and runny nose. The fever usually does not exceed 38.5°C and will subside on its own in about 3 days. Influenza is when the fever suddenly reaches above 39°C, and the whole body is so sore that you can’t even get out of bed. The symptoms of headache are much more obvious than coughing. The typical manifestation of mycoplasma infection is paroxysmal dry cough, which gets worse after falling asleep at night. Young children may point to their chest and say it hurts, and rarely have thick phlegm. Of course, this is only a preliminary judgment. If you are not sure, you still need to find a professional.

There are really too many pitfalls in home care. I once met a 6-year-old baby who had flu and fever. My grandma listened to the neighbors in the community and told her to cover her sweat, so she wrapped the baby in two quilts and turned on an electric blanket. When he was brought to us, his body temperature was almost 41°C, which almost caused heat stroke. In fact, don’t cover your body when you have a fever, especially children. They have poor body temperature regulation ability. The more you cover your body, the faster the body temperature will rise. Wear less clothes to cool down. If the temperature exceeds 38.5℃, just take antipyretics according to the instructions. Just choose one of ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Don’t mix them together, and don’t overeat to reduce fever, which may damage the liver. There are also many people who take cough medicine as soon as they have a cough. This is actually a misunderstanding - a mild cough is because the body is expelling phlegm, just like when your trash can is full and you have to empty it out. If you have a lot of phlegm and take strong cough medicine, it is equivalent to welding the lid of the trash can. Blocking the airway with phlegm can easily aggravate infection and even cause pneumonia. If your cough seriously affects your sleep, you can use some cough medicine. If you have phlegm, give priority to taking phlegm-reducing medicine. When drinking water, there is no need to pay attention to "must drink warm boiled water" or "drink eight cups a day". Just drink a small amount many times. Children don't like to drink warm boiled water. Just boil some light apple water or pear water. As long as the intake can be guaranteed, there is no problem. There is no need to pursue those fancy "dietary remedies".

Let’s talk about prevention. In fact, the most effective methods are the most basic ones. Many people ask me if there is any “special prevention method”, but I really don’t have any. Wearing a medical surgical mask when going to crowded crowded places during the peak season can block more than 80% of pathogens. This has been verified countless times, so don’t be too troublesome. Also wash your hands frequently, don’t touch your mouth and rub your eyes before eating and after using the toilet, or after touching door handles in public places. I have been saying this for six years, but many people still can’t do it. Of course, there are different research conclusions now: for example, there are studies in the nutritional field that say proper supplementation of vitamin C and zinc can reduce the probability of respiratory tract infections, but there are also clinical studies that show that supplementation is only effective for people who usually have an unbalanced diet and insufficient nutrient intake. For healthy people who usually eat normally, taking extra health supplements has no obvious effect. Everyone can choose according to their needs. As for the preventive measures spread online about smoking vinegar and drinking isatis root, they are really useless. We have done monitoring before and found that the concentration of household smoked vinegar simply cannot meet the requirements for killing viruses. Instead, it will irritate the respiratory tract and easily induce asthma and airway hyperresponsiveness. In fact, the gain outweighs the gain. For the elderly, children, and susceptible people with underlying diseases, annual influenza and pneumonia vaccines are the most cost-effective way to prevent them. This is recognized by the entire industry.

Finally, what everyone is most concerned about is, when do you need to go to the hospital? Don't run to the hospital if you have a slight cough or fever, and don't delay things by holding on to it. If the fever persists for more than 3 days, breathing is much faster than usual, an adult breathes more than 30 times a minute, a child has a sunken chest, purple lips, and a particularly poor mental state, as well as patients with underlying diseases such as COPD, asthma, or heart disease, and the conventional drugs they usually use can no longer suppress the symptoms, go to the hospital quickly without delay. Last year there was a 72-year-old man in our community who had COPD. His cough worsened and he had to carry it for a week. He said he didn’t want to cause trouble to his child. He already had type 2 respiratory failure when he came here. He stayed in the ICU for half a month before he came out. It was a pity.

In fact, respiratory diseases are not a scourge. Many people are anxious because the information on the Internet is too complicated. They talk about the sequelae and dangers, but forget the most basic points. If you are really unsure about a problem, go to the community health service center near your home and ask. We go to the clinic every day and encounter this kind of problem, and the suggestions we give are much more reliable than searching the web for half an hour.