The statistics are inexorable: it is in the fall that many chronic diseases worsen, with cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract sharing the top spot.
As for the latter, they usually cause significant discomfort and require long-term treatment.
Why does the exacerbation occur in the fall?
It should be noted that today, disorders of the digestive system of varying degrees of severity are generally extremely common - according to statistics, they affect approximately half of the adult population in the world, and, in particular, up to 95% of residents of large cities. This is due to an unfavorable environment, poor diet, drinking alcohol and smoking, taking many medications (including those not recommended by a doctor!) and, as already mentioned, our constant companion - stress. Thus, those people from the general mass of those suffering from chronic gastrointestinal diseases who are especially susceptible to stress become a constant target for autumn (and other stress-related) exacerbations - and this is millions of people!
What diseases are getting worse?
- Gastritis andpeptic ulcer
How it manifests itself
Gastritis is inflammation and irritation of the gastric mucosa. It manifests itself as dull or sharp pain and heaviness in the epigastrium, belching, heartburn, and nausea. With acute gastritis, there may be constipation or diarrhea, painful bloating. It is dangerous because it can develop into a stomach or duodenal ulcer.
Peptic ulcer disease is the formation of ulcerative lesions (ulcers, wounds) on the walls of the mucous membrane of the stomach and/or duodenum. It manifests itself as severe pain in the “spoon” after and between meals, nausea and even vomiting after eating, weight loss, and general weakness.
What to do?
Since both gastritis and ulcers are serious diagnoses that can be the result of infection with a bacteriump (margin-bottom: 0.21cm;) Helicobacter pylori, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor, and be sure to take the medications that he prescribes (antibacterial, reducing the acidity of gastric juice, enveloping, etc.). Doctors also give the necessary diet plan and almost always prescribe sedatives to reduce the neurotic background that “feeds” gastritis and ulcers.
How to warn?
You can go to the “treatment table” in advance - at the onset of the season. This means excluding spices, strong broths, smoked foods, coffee, everything sour, canned food, fresh bread, carbonated drinks, that is, all products that stimulate the secretion of gastric juice. Take food in small portions at regular intervals (every 3 hours), neither hot nor cold. As a form of prevention, you can take infusions of flax seed, St. John's wort, linden fruit, birch buds, as well as sea buckthorn or pumpkin oil in advance.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol. And you need to smoke (if you really can’t give up a cigarette) as little as possible and under no circumstances on an empty stomach.
- Chronic pancreatitis
How it manifests itself
Inflammation of the pancreas causes heaviness in the left hypochondrium, profuse diarrhea, high temperature and general weakness. Exacerbations can be associated both with the change of season and with endocrine disorders, infections, an abundance of fatty and heavy foods and alcohol. The special insidiousness of pancreatic inflammation is that once it occurs, it most often becomes chronic.
What to do
The formula for treating pancreatitis is well known: “cold, hunger and rest.” This means that under no circumstances should the stomach be heated or sit in a warm bath, food intake should be stopped for the first 2 days, and then limited to small portions of lean white meat or fish, lean cottage cheese and cheese.
It is best to try to permanently exclude alcohol, fried, fatty and spicy foods, strong broths, sour juices, smoked foods, spices from their diet - all this will provoke annual exacerbations. The daily routine should be calm, or better yet, at home. It is also necessary to contact a gastroenterologist and take the medications prescribed by him. In some very severe conditions, the patient is hospitalized.
- Biliary dyskinesia
How it manifests itself
This is a disease that develops as a result of incomplete or untimely contraction of the gallbladder muscles or biliary sphincters and leads to disruption of the outflow of bile. A person feels severe pain in the right hypochondrium. From a lack of bile acids during digestion, patients experience flatulence, bloating, nausea, and stool disorders.
What to do
The patient is prescribed a special diet (fatty, smoked, fried, spicy, alcohol), work and rest are excluded. Treatment concerns not only the normalization of the function of the gallbladder and liver (drugs that stimulate the motor activity of the biliary tract), but also the stabilization of the nervous system. Antispasmodics are used to relieve attacks, and to achieve remission - healing herbs and physiotherapeutic procedures.
You can also take care of preventing this disease, namely, permanently exclude the above-mentioned foods and alcohol from your diet, and reduce caffeine consumption.
- Cholecystitis
How it manifests itself
This inflammatory disease gallbladder due to blockage of the bile ducts by stones formed in them, as well as compression and kinks of the bile ducts, in which microbial flora penetrates into the gallbladder. It manifests itself as prolonged aching or paroxysmal pain in the abdomen (on the right and in the pit of the stomach) after eating. Dyspeptic symptoms are common: a feeling of bitterness in the mouth, belching, nausea, flatulence.
What to do
In cases of extreme exacerbations, patients are hospitalized; in the lungs, they are treated on an outpatient basis with antibiotics, antispasmodics and anticholinergics.
Between exacerbations, thermal physiotherapeutic procedures are prescribed.
From the diet, as with other gastrointestinal diseases, you need to exclude fatty, fried, smoked, hot and spicy foods, as well as alcohol and coffee. During the period of remission, in order to prevent exacerbations, it is also useful to eat vegetables, fruits and grains: fiber helps reduce the cholesterol content in bile. Decoctions of corn silk, milk thistle and plantain can also help with this.
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Gastrointestinal disorders associated with intestinal microflora disorders
In autumn, disturbances of the normal intestinal microflora are also often aggravated, when instead of “useful” bifidobacteria and lactobacilli that help digest food, pathogenic microorganisms predominate in the intestines. The fact is that the autumn cold provokes frequent colds, and they, in turn, hit the immune system. Violation of the microflora refers to immunodeficiency manifestations. Additional strength can be given to it by other gastrointestinal diseases, as well as helminths, intestinal polyps, and taking antibiotics.
How it manifests itself
General poor health, constipation or diarrhea, increased gas formation, anemia, morning sickness, pale skin.
What to do
Consult your doctor. To normalize the microflora, there are special preparations, such as:
- prebiotics (so-called milk sugar, which is food for positive bacteria and stimulates the growth of their colonies)
- probiotics (bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which, when introduced into the intestines, compete for habitat with pathogens and suppress their activity, and also increase immunity)
If a strong pathogen is present in the intestines, such as Staphylococcus aureus or Haemophilus influenzae coli, these funds will not be enough. In this case, only a doctor can help, who, based on the results of a special “culture” analysis, will prescribe special therapy for intestinal sanitation, and then probiotics.
Urologists know that in the fall the queues for their offices grow noticeably, and there are usually more patients than patients. The reason is a seasonal exacerbation of cystitis, which is predominantly a female problem. The fair sex has a short urethra, so if bacteria gets there, they quickly reach Bladder and cause inflammation. Alas, cystitis often becomes chronic - once it appears, it then subsides, then reasserts itself.
The main cause of autumn exacerbation is hypothermia. Several years ago, urologists were indignant because women, even in winter, wore short blouses and jackets, exposing their lower back. Today, to the delight of doctors, this fashion has come to naught. But the habit of dressing out of season, alas, remains. Get rid of it quickly! It is especially important to ensure that the middle of the body is warm - the lower back and stomach.
You also need to take care of warm shoes: hypothermia of the feet greatly reduces immunity, leading to exacerbation of cystitis. By the way, this applies not only to those who walk a lot, but also to avid motorists. They tend to wear very light boots even in winter - they hope that they can quickly run from the car to the room. If you have had cystitis at least once, this is unacceptable. If you have had cystitis more than once, consult your doctor. You may be recommended a preventative course of medication to prevent relapses.
Arthrosis and arthritis
The cause of exacerbation is often the same hypothermia. In arthritis, it weakens the immune system, and against this background, inflammation in the joints is activated. With arthrosis, due to cold, the blood supply to the articular cartilage deteriorates, and this accelerates its destruction. Therefore, patients seen by a rheumatologist must dress warmly.
There is another common cause of autumn joint pain, this is... a “successfully” spent summer. In our country, many people go to their dachas in the spring and work hard for several months. Because of this, the load on the joints greatly increases, and for many, unable to bear it, they begin to hurt in the summer. For other people, an exacerbation occurs when they return to their previous sedentary lifestyle in the fall.
It is impossible to turn back time. Therefore, all that remains is to perform special gymnastics that will help the joints adapt to new conditions. You can undergo a preventive course of physiotherapy, but only after consulting a doctor - it has many contraindications. Include more fish containing omega-3 fatty acids and foods rich in sulfur (chicken, eggs, legumes, cabbage, radishes) in your diet. They are necessary for the natural restoration of joint cartilage.
If pain has already appeared, consult a doctor - he will accurately determine its cause (after all, the treatment of arthrosis is not the same as the treatment of arthritis or, for example, gout) and tell you what to do.
Bronchitis
In cold and rainy weather, cold viruses are activated. It is they, and not bacteria, as many believe, that are the main causative agents of bronchitis (a bacterial infection occurs only on the 3-4th day). Therefore, preventing this disease is very similar to preventing ARVI.
It is important to boost your immunity - now is the time to take multivitamin complexes. It is advisable to avoid crowds of people. If this is not possible, wear a medical mask. Just remember: it is effective for only two hours, after which it must be changed.
Wash your hands often, because viruses can live on various objects for a long time. It is also useful to rinse your nose and gargle with salt water. This will not only help remove microorganisms that have entered there, but will also provide hydration to the mucous membranes. When the heating is on, they become dry and less resistant to infection. By the way, dry air also irritates the bronchi, so it is advisable to have a special humidifier at home.
All these rules are relevant for healthy people. Those who have chronic bronchitis need to follow them especially carefully. And in addition to this, get a flu shot. It often becomes the impetus for severe exacerbations, so it is better to be safe.
MOSCOW, October 14 - RIA Novosti. Autumn cooling leads to a seasonal outbreak of acute respiratory diseases, which can affect the functioning of the lungs, bronchi, heart, and other organs and lead to complications, Alexander Chuchalin, chief therapist of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, told RIA Novosti.
Doctors advise people with chronic diseases to be more attentive to their health during cold season.
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) predict that the growth rate of the influenza and ARVI epidemics in Russia will be moderately low. According to the head of Rospotrebnadzor Gennady Onishchenko, now the incidence of influenza and ARVI in the Russian Federation is at a non-epidemic level. He noted that compared to last week, the number of regions where there was an epidemic increase in the incidence of influenza and ARVI decreased from eight to three. An increase in incidence was recorded in three regions of Russia: Tambov, Udmurtia, Chuvashia. The increase in the number of cases has been recorded mainly among children.
Risk factors
Autumn is dangerous due to climate changes. "It's getting colder, wet air, as well as a large accumulation of transport and pollutants ( chemical substances that pollute environment) lead to a traditional outbreak viral diseases in October-November,” Chuchalin said.
According to the chief therapist, this autumn is characterized by the drift of viruses from previous seasons. In particular, these are seasonal and pandemic influenza viruses, as well as group B viruses.
“There is a virus that causes a respiratory tract infection, accompanied by a severe cough. A person begins to choke. This virus most often affects children. But the experience of past seasons has shown that adults are also susceptible to it,” he explained.
According to Chuchalin, ARVI can lead to complications of respiratory system diseases.
“These diseases are acute and sometimes occur with complications, causing viral-bacterial pneumonia, that is, inflammation of the lungs. The lower respiratory tract is affected,” the doctor said.
Chuchalin advises Special attention pay attention to personal prevention to prevent complications. The set of such measures is simple: dress warmly enough, avoid contact with sick people, especially in the family and at work.
“At the first signs, you must immediately take antiviral drugs, of which there are many in Russia. They are effective within 24-48 hours. If you cannot cope with the disease within two to three days, you need to see a doctor and determine further treatment methods,” the therapist added .
Matters of the heart
Colds and flu often lead to exacerbations of heart disease, Chuchalin noted.
“These small infections are insidious in that they sharply aggravate the course of cardiovascular diseases: arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure,” he said.
Valentin Kokorin, cardiologist and scientific secretary of the Russian Scientific Medical Society of Therapists, agrees with his colleague.
“ARVI can cause a deterioration in the condition of people with coronary heart disease and arterial hypertension. The frequency of infectious lesions of the heart, in particular myocarditis and pericarditis, is increasing,” he said.
The cardiologist recalled that elderly people should pay special attention to the heart in the fall, since against the background of a worsening course of coronary artery disease, a pre-infarction state and myocardial infarction may develop.
In the prevention of exacerbations it is necessary to use A complex approach, advises the cardiologist. First, protect the body from respiratory viral infections themselves. It's about about maintaining healthy image life, hardening, good nutrition and healthy sleep, as well as taking antiviral drugs. Secondly, follow the recommendations of your doctor: follow the dosage and schedule of taking the prescribed medications.
“If you get sick with viral infections, don’t try to endure a cold on your feet. The risk of complications increases if the infection is not treated and the person becomes active ahead of schedule,” Kokorin added.
Sugar level
Diabetes mellitus occupies a special place among chronic diseases that worsen against the background of autumn colds, Chuchalin noted.
With ARVI, the blood sugar level increases, it needs to be measured more often, lack of control is a direct path to complications, says endocrinologist, candidate of medical sciences Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“In people with type 1 diabetes who are on insulin therapy, the need for this therapy increases. It is necessary to increase the amount of insulin administered. People with type 2 diabetes are indicated for glucose-lowering therapy during the season of viral infections,” she explained.
If the sugar level rises, you need to either worsen the diet or intensify the treatment - increase the number of medications, the specialist advises. But all measures must be taken under the supervision of the attending physician.
Alexandrova noted that diabetics are contraindicated antiviral drugs containing sugar. However, many people forget about this and, when the temperature rises and a cough appears, they begin to drink sweet syrups, milk and honey.
“We must remember that ARVI is not a license for diabetic patients to consume excess sugar. There is a large arsenal of drugs that do not contain it,” she said.
In particular, effervescent powders that relieve cold symptoms contain paracetamol, the doctor recalled. It is better for diabetics to buy it separately to avoid sweet drugs.
Immunity problems
Clinical immunologist Andrei Prodeus noted that people with bronchopulmonary pathology, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes mellitus must receive preventive flu vaccinations.
“The presence of complications from respiratory diseases is several times higher in them than in people with normal immunity,” he said.
Cancer patients are also at risk. They often receive therapeutic procedures, including chemotherapy, that suppress the immune system, the specialist noted. Such patients have secondary immunodeficiency, for this reason they catch infections more easily than others. The risk of developing complications in the presence of infectious processes is high.
Prodeus believes that preventative work It is necessary to conduct work among this category of the population, but with the consciousness of all members of society.
“All people are carriers of the virus, even those who consider themselves healthy. They infect children, the elderly, and people with chronic diseases,” he said.
A person is, first of all, a biological being and the vital activity of his body is subject to circadian rhythms. The change of day and night, seasons - affect the course of internal processes, including the mental activity of the human body.
Cyclicity of mental processes
The cyclical nature of the human psyche is observed not only normally, but also manifests itself in the form of exacerbation of various endogenous diseases. With the onset of cold weather and shortening daylight hours in autumn period, the number of mental patients in hospitals is increasing. Mental illnesses are chronic in nature, with phases of exacerbation in the autumn-spring period.
According to statistics, since the beginning of October the number of patients in psychiatric clinics has increased by a quarter. People with increased emotionality perceive more painfully the transition from hot weather to cold and rain, and a reduction in daylight hours. Autumn exacerbation mental illness is also due to the fact that under the influence sun rays People produce serotonin (the pleasure hormone), and when cloudy days come, the amount of serotonin decreases. Many people experience irritability and emotional instability. Bright colors summers are replaced by gray shades, the heavy cloudy sky “presses”, change atmospheric pressure and everyday rains lead to a person having a feeling of hopelessness, melancholy, and anxiety for his future.
Autumn is a season of exacerbation not only of mental illness, but also of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases. Fluctuations in atmospheric pressure affect the human vascular system and neurovegetative regulation internal organs and systems. In autumn, diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, affective psychoses, and epilepsy worsen.
Seasonal relapse clinic
In the autumn period, not only the number of hospitalizations of patients with endogenous diseases increases, but also outpatient service doctors note an increase in the flow of patients. Some diseases that occurred in a hidden (latent) form, mental disorders manifest themselves fully in the fall. The economic crisis, analysts' forecasts that people's lives will worsen by the end of the year, and the risk of losing jobs and personal savings are causing a wave of mental disorders. Patients with neuroses and panic attacks feel their condition deteriorating, and seizures become more frequent in epileptics. Autumn “blues” are normal for all people; in mental patients, a depressive state can result in suicide.
Patients with depression and various types psychoses can be dangerous during the autumn period of exacerbations not only for themselves, but also for others. Some patients have ideas that a great danger threatens the entire family or society as a whole. There have been cases in psychiatry where mentally ill mothers could harm their children.
Autumn exacerbation of schizophrenia occurs more often in men. Their productive symptoms—delusions and hallucinations—intensify. Considering that men drink alcohol more often and in larger doses, the exacerbation of mental illness in them is more pronounced. By their biological nature, men are more aggressive and therefore exacerbation of schizophrenia in the fall is associated with the commission of illegal acts and an increase in the number of traumatic brain injuries.
Some patients with schizophrenia complain to doctors in the autumn that they were attacked by alien voices. Police officers note an increase in citizens' complaints about “a UFO landing in the yard of a house” or “verbal contact with aliens.” It is mentally ill men who become active participants in various demonstrations, revolutions and coups in the country.
Relapse Prevention
The participation of loved ones and relatives in the life of a sick person plays a large role in the prevention of autumn exacerbations. People with mental illness cannot adequately assess their condition, some patients stop taking medications, and men with schizophrenia are prone to alcoholism, which worsens the course of the disease. endogenous disease. Relatives of the patient should refer him for inpatient or outpatient treatment when the first signs of worsening of a chronic mental illness are detected.
Patients with depression, psychosis, and neuroses are often afraid to consult a psychiatrist and try to cope with the symptoms and signs of the disease on their own. Many patients self-medicate, drink various medications that were recommended to them by friends or they read information on the Internet. The most important thing is to contact a specialist in a timely manner. Some patients require psychotherapeutic rather than medication assistance.
To prevent seasonal exacerbations of depression and psychosis, a person needs to adhere to a sleep and rest schedule, a balanced diet and take multivitamins. Moderate recommended physical exercise(running, swimming) and physiotherapy (relaxing baths, Charcot shower). You should refrain from psychostimulating drinks - tea and coffee. The psychotherapist must convince the patient that a depressed state is simply the result of the influence of natural factors on the human body.
During the autumn period, it is recommended to visit more fresh air, take a walk (if the weather permits), change your surroundings, leave the house more often, don’t isolate yourself and your thoughts, go on a visit or to the theater. Chatting with friends and acquaintances will help distract you from negative thoughts. Some people escape from depressive autumn cities and buy a week-long trip to warm countries.
The psychotherapist must help the patient find a way to relax, switch to positive thoughts and active activity in the autumn period.
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