Jerry asked
Hello my name is Jerry .. My father has recently been using Symbicort for his bronchitis he gets sick yearly due to being a long term AIDS survivor. My question is what alternatives might he be able to use along with the daily regiment he takes. Are there any homeopathic recommendations? Major concerns are shallow breathing once medication has been removed or he is out.. and two currently experiencing nightmares only assuming due to meds. please advise.
Answer
There are a variety of options that are available to patients that are suffering from bronchitis. Unfortunately. I don't have quite enough information about your father to give an appropriate recommendation. After reading your question, there are so many different things at play so it is hard to give a definite recommendation. His complete medical history is a must to give you more specific advice.
You said your father is an AIDS survivor. How is his disease being managed? Is he actually at the point where he is considered to have AIDS? AIDS, or a stage 4 HIV infection, is a specific level of an HIV infection indicating that his CD4 cell counts are below a certain threshold. A patient at this level has a very serious risk of opportunistic infection such as bronchitis. Opportunistic infections are infections that are caused by pathogens(bacteria, viruses etc...)that take advantage of certain situations such as a compromised immune system.
On the right medication therapy, many patients can rebound to the point where they aren't considered to have "AIDS" any more and can greatly reduce the risk of opportunistic infections. So first and foremost, his therapy for managing his HIV infection is of the most importance.
Now, let's segue into the bronchitis problem. Is the bronchitis coming from a pre-existing asthma/COPD condition, or is it due to his HIV infection? If he has an underlying COPD condition, that will take therapy one way versus if he is getting infections based on his compromised immune function.
I am going to give you some information only assuming that your father is having bronchitis problems due to his compromised immune system. If he has COPD, the therapy would be different...
There are medical guidelines available to healthcare professionals regarding the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections for patients infected with HIV.
Bacterial respiratory diseases; including , bronchitis are almost definitively among the most common infectious complications in patients with HIV infection. There are 3 parts to helping fight against bacterial respiratory disease: Diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is key into selecting appropriate treatment. It is much easier to fight off disease if the causative organism is known. Your fathers doctor will be able to order and run the appropriate tests.
Prevention
It is increasingly difficult to prevent exposure to the pathogens that cause bronchitis since they are so prevalent in the community. Due to this, many vaccinations are recommended if the situation is appropriate. The pneumonia vaccine and the influenza vaccine are generally recommended. Depending on the person, sometimes prophylactic antibiotic therapy is warranted.
Treatment
If your father is suffering from bronchitis due to a pathogen, antibiotic therapy is absolutely warranted and your doctor would find the most appropriate choice.
Now we get into treatment for the breathing issues that come along with bronchitis. In addition to antibiotics, steroids are often added to therapy to assist in breathing.
Symbicort is a combination of a steroid and what is known as a long acting beta agonist. You said there are issues when the medication is removed or he is out. Does that mean he has issue between doses, or if he is out and doesn't use it he has issues? It is important to use the Symbicort everyday, have his dose optimized to the correct strength and dosage frequency. If he is using the medication appropriately and it is not working as expected, there are other steroid combination he could try. His physician would be aware of the other combinations out there that may give a better result.
I typically steer away from homeopathic medications are there is no evidence for benefit, are not included in guidelines and may have unknown drug interactions with anti-viral therapy.
I may be able to give better recommendations if I knew more about your fathers medical history and his medication history. Let me know if you would like any other information from me!
