Essentials of asthma medication
Broadly speaking, asthma medication is of two types: relief medication and preventive medication. The former is used to provide relief from distressing asthma symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, etc. The latter is meant to prevent asthma attacks or at least, reduce their frequency and severity.
Relief medication
In most cases, bronchodilators are used to achieve quick results in providing symptomatic relief. It is usually delivered through inhalers. Inhalers are pocket-sized devices called metered-dose inhalers or MDIs.
An inhaler delivers a specific dose of medication when a pump attached to it is depressed. Of course, the medication has to be inhaled as soon as it is dispensed from the device, or else it will disperse in the air. That means the patient must breathe in the asthma medication as soon as the pump on the inhaler is pressed. Further, they must hold their breath in for a few seconds so that the medication can take effect in the airways.
In cases where the patient has difficulty inhaling the entire medication as soon as it is released, using a spacer can help. A spacer mixes the medication with air and allows the patient to inhale the drug in smaller quantities.
Bronchodilators relax the smooth muscles around the airways and thus help the air flow easily. In general, asthmatics have more difficulty breathing out than breathing in; bronchodilators make it easier to breathe out.
Asthma medication used to provide symptomatic relief include terbutaline, levalbuterol, bitolterol and salbutamol, among others.
Tremors used to be a widely observed side effect produced by preventive asthma medication. This was so when the medication was either injected or taken orally. Tremors have greatly reduced now that medication is delivered by inhalation most of the time. Inhaled medication acts directly on the lungs - injected or oral medication spreads throughout the body and is not limited to the lungs.
Preventive asthma medication
If the asthma symptoms are severe or if they occur frequently - say, more than
twice a week - doctors usually recommend taking preventive medication.
Preventive drugs are important both because they help avoid asthma attacks and
also because they help avoid overuse of relief medication. Minimizing use of
relief drugs is important because overuse produces several side effects.
If asthma symptoms continue despite use of preventive drugs, the doctor may
prescribe additional preventive medication to get rid of symptoms completely.
One of the problems concerning preventive drug use is that patients often stop
taking medication when they are symptom-free for a short while. This often
results in additional attacks and no real long term benefit.
Like relief medication, preventive drugs are also inhaled. A class of drugs
called glucocorticoids is the most commonly used asthma medication for attack
prevention. Some of the common drugs used include beclomethasone, ciclesonide,
fluticasone and budesonide.
Mast cell stabilizers are also used as preventives. They include nedocromil and
cromoglicate. Leukotriene modifiers like zafirlukast, montelukast and pranlukast
are used as well.
Asthma may be triggered by allergic reactions. Therefore antihistamines are
prescribed by doctors to prevent attacks in some cases. In case of severe
allergies, so-called allergy shots, or hyposensitisation may be recommended.
There is a wide range of effective asthma medication available today. Your
doctor will be able to prescribe a combination that's right for your condition.