Asthma
Medication Controls Asthma Symptoms
After being diagnosed
with asthma, all you want to do is find a way to control your symptoms.
The coughing, wheezing, sleepless nights, chest tightness and shortness
of breath are not only uncomfortable but frightening. Finding the
right asthma medication is of utmost importance and once your doctor
has pinpointed which type of asthma you have, she’ll be able
to prescribe you the right asthma medication for you.
Asthma is a chronic disease that causes your airways to inflame
and decrease the flow of air to your lungs. Your doctor will prescribe
you an asthma medication depending on your type of asthma—cough-variant,
allergic, exercise-induced or nocturnal. Although there isn’t
a cure for asthma, medication helps control the symptoms that make
asthma difficult to live with, plus it is great for treating asthma
attacks when they occur and avoiding asthma triggers. There are
two types of asthma medication on the market, one of which gives
you long-term control and the other quick-relief of symptoms.
Asthma medication studies have found that treatments must both reduce
and prevent airway inflammation in order to prevent asthma sufferers
from having attacks, landing in the hospital, or even dying. Long
term control asthma medication is taken on a daily basis and they
work to manage asthma that causes attacks more than twice a week.
This medication stops airway inflammation.
Long term control asthma medication options include:
- Corticosteroids—this is inhaled, and
it’s the preferred asthma medication for many sufferers.
- Mast Cell Stabilizers—these are anti-inflammatory
drugs.
- Long Acting Beta-Agonists---these are also
anti-inflammatory drugs used in conjunction with inhalers.
- Theophylline—this anti-inflammatory
asthma medication used with an inhaler is used to prevent nighttime
symptoms.
- Xolair—for people with moderate to
severe asthma with allergies that have used inhalers that haven’t
worked to control their symptoms. This is an injectable asthma
medication.
Quick-relief asthma medication
options include:
- Short Acting Beta-Agonists—these are
the preferred drug to control relieve asthma attacks and lessen
the chance of exercise-induced asthma symptoms from arising.
- Anticholinergics—these are used as
an alternative to short acting beta-agonists when needed.
- Systemic corticosteroids—used in an
emergency to get fast relief of symptoms while starting other
treatments. This asthma medication also helps quicken recovery
time.
Consult your physician if you think you
may have asthma. Your doctor will conduct various tests, as well
as ask you questions about your symptoms, family history and medical
background to accurately diagnose you. Once diagnosed, she will
determine which type of asthma you may have and then prescribe you
the correct asthma medication for you.
|
