Eating sweets and smoking makes my chest uncomfortable

There are many situations that can cause us to experience chest discomfort. But people would not think that diseases such as bronchitis would also have such symptoms. Recently, I heard from a friend that he feels discomfort in his chest when he eats sweets or smokes. When I went to the hospital for a check-up, I found out that I had bronchitis. At this time, not only should you not smoke or eat sweets, you should also pay more attention to your diet.

Long-term smoking can easily induce bronchitis, reflux esophagitis, etc., which can cause chest pain. Bronchitis is accompanied by cough and sputum. Reflux esophagitis is accompanied by symptoms such as acid reflux, heartburn, and bloating. It is recommended to quit smoking first, and then have a chest X-ray.

Bronchitis refers to a chronic, nonspecific inflammation of the trachea, bronchial mucosa and surrounding tissues. The main cause of bronchitis is repeated infection by viruses and bacteria, which results in chronic nonspecific inflammation of the bronchi. When the temperature drops, the small blood vessels in the respiratory tract spasm and ischemia, and the defense function decreases, which are conducive to the onset of disease; chronic stimulation such as smoke, dust, and polluted atmosphere can also cause the disease; smoking causes bronchospasm, mucosal mutations, reduced ciliary movement, and increased mucus secretion, which is conducive to infection; allergic factors also have a certain relationship.

The diagnosis of acute bronchitis mainly relies on medical history and clinical manifestations, and X-ray examination shows no abnormalities or only darkening of lung markings. In patients with viral infection, the white blood cell count does not increase, and the lymphocyte count increases relatively slightly. In bacterial infection, the total white blood cell count and the proportion of neutrophils both increase. Sputum smear or sputum culture, serological tests, etc. can sometimes detect the pathogenic pathogen.

Reflux esophagitis (RE) is an inflammatory lesion of the esophagus caused by the reflux of gastric and duodenal contents into the esophagus. Endoscopic manifestations include damage to the esophageal mucosa, namely esophageal erosion and/or esophageal ulcer. Reflux esophagitis can occur in people of any age, and the incidence rate in adults increases with age. The incidence rate is high in Western countries, but low in Asia. This regional difference may be related to genetic and environmental factors. However, the global incidence rate has been on the rise in the past two decades. Middle-aged and elderly people, the obese, smokers, drinkers and those under great mental stress are at high risk of reflux esophagitis.

1. There is no correlation between the severity of esophagitis and reflux symptoms. Patients with reflux esophagitis show typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux, but may also have no reflux symptoms and only show symptoms of indigestion such as upper abdominal pain and discomfort. The clinical manifestations of patients with severe esophagitis are not necessarily serious.

2. Typical symptoms include a burning sensation behind the sternum (heartburn), regurgitation, and chest pain. Heartburn refers to a burning sensation behind the sternum radiating to the neck, and regurgitation refers to the reflux of gastric contents into the pharynx or mouth. Reflux symptoms often occur after a full meal, and severe reflux at night affects the patient's sleep.

3. In the later stages of the disease, the esophagus becomes narrow due to scarring, and the burning sensation and burning pain gradually subside, but permanent difficulty in swallowing occurs, which may cause a feeling of blockage or pain when eating solid food.

4. Severe esophagitis may cause erosion of the esophageal mucosa and bleeding, which is mostly chronic and small-scale bleeding. Prolonged or heavy bleeding can lead to iron deficiency anemia.