Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - treatment and recommendations

To date, people often suffer from any kind of lung disease. This is due to poor environmental conditions, harmful habits, work in harmful production, heredity, stress.

Some of the diseases are easily treatable - it is enough to change the way of life and take a course of therapy. But there are also those in which complete recovery is difficult. The latter includes pulmonary fibrosis. We will consider in this article the symptoms of this disease, as well as the main recommendations of doctors.

What is this disease?

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (ICD 10), which is also called idiopathic fibrosing alveolitis, is a disease most commonly observed in men after 50 years of age. The main reason for its occurrence is smoking, especially if a person has this bad habit for more than twenty years. But also those who for a long time breathed poisonous chemicals are also subject to fibrosis. Organic and inorganic dust (flour, fertilizer) can also be the cause of the disease. The factor of hereditary predisposition is not excluded.

Another interesting fact is that pulmonary fibrosis can be triggered by ordinary heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux, that is, by throwing gastric juice into the esophagus. Acid from the pharynx can get into the trachea, provoking the development of pathology.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis occurs as often as tuberculosis. In its essence, this is a specific form of pneumonia, and chronic. Lungs are affected mainly in elderly people, and the etiology of the disease is unknown.

Symptoms

As such, there is no idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. It does not provoke subfebrile or myalgia. But when listening to the lungs, wheezing is found on the breath, similar to crackling cellophane. In addition, a person can for a long time suffer from shortness of breath, and it manifests itself during exercise and progresses over time. Also, the presence of dry cough is a common symptom, but cough can also be with sputum discharge. The appearance of the nail plates changes. In the later stages, edema develops, which relate to the signs of a chronic pulmonary heart.

Methods of diagnosis

How to identify idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis? To determine the presence of the disease, you need to contact a pulmonologist. He will assign the following types of tests:

1. General blood analysis. Since there is no special analysis for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the doctor will prescribe a general analysis. This is necessary to exclude other diseases that are accompanied by the same symptoms.
2. Conducting respiratory and functional tests. They are required in order to differentiate pulmonary fibrosis from emphysema of the lung or other disease.
3. Surgical lung biopsy. Carried out in case of suspicion of the presence of oncology.
4. Carrying out of a computer tomography. Fibrotic changes in the lungs will necessarily appear in the pictures.

Forecast

Unfortunately, the prognosis for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is disappointing. The average life expectancy of patients with this diagnosis is three years. And that, it occurs at observance of all references of doctors and carrying out of supporting actions. We will talk about them below.

This disease is not completely cured. Gradually there will come an inevitable deterioration. This, in fact, is dangerous and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Recommendations should be carried out without fail. It should be remembered:

• In order for the symptoms to be less pronounced, it is necessary to quit smoking urgently and without fail.
• To an aggravation of the disease can lead to any infection, thromboembolism, heart failure, pneumothorax.
• Pulmonary fibrosis often turns into an oncology. Lethal outcome can occur with respiratory failure, respiratory infection, heart failure, in the case of myocardial ischemia and cardiac rhythm disturbances.

Treatment

As already mentioned, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is not treated. Only maintenance therapy is possible. As therapeutic measures, the following applies:

1. Oxygen therapy. It effectively reduces the manifestation of dyspnea. Patients breathe with oxygen concentrators. For this, it is not necessary to visit a medical institution. The necessary devices are available on a free sale in pharmacies. This method refers to maintenance therapy.
2. Rehabilitation of the lungs. Patients are recommended to study and apply in practice special breathing techniques that facilitate breathing.
3. Corticosteroids and cytostatics. Assigned as essential medicines. In addition, antibacterial drugs are used if the patient develops pneumonia.
4. If the patient is under the age of 50, he is shown to have lung transplantation.

As you can see, with the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, treatment should be comprehensive.

It is important to note that some patients do not tolerate corticosteroid and cytostatic therapy very well. Sometimes this causes the following side effects:

• Peptic ulcer of the stomach;
• Cataract;
• High intraocular pressure;
• Arterial hypertension;
• obesity;
• Violation of the hormonal background;
• Failures in the adrenal glands.

Each case is individual, therefore only the doctor should choose the most optimal treatment, capable of stopping idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.