Asthma treatment

Albuterol: An asthma medication (see short-acting beta-agonist).  Patients who feel their asthma is getting worse should see their clinicians as soon as possible.  The FDA has issued a Public Health Advisory for the long-acting beta agonists that these agents may increase risk of severe, potentially life-threatening asthma flares in some patients.  These drugs are primarily used to help gain control in patients with mild persistent asthma and in combination with inhaled corticosteroids in more moderate to severe disease.  Asthma often runs in families and you can inherit the susceptibility to asthma, which is then triggered by certain factors in the environment.  Asthma isn’t contagious, so you can’t catch it from someone who has it.  Asthma (say: az-muh) is a condition that affects a person’s airways, which are also called breathing tubes or bronchial (say: brong-kee-ul) tubes.  The classic symptoms of an asthma attack include:Wheezing when breathing out is nearly always present during an attack.  Women with asthma should be exceptionally careful to reduce their risk of osteoporosis.  Preventing the development of asthma There are several possible risk factors for developing asthma and not all can be completely proven or avoided.

Airways

“Controller” medications: The disease process underlying the symptoms of allergies and asthma includes swelling and mucous production in the lining of the nose and airways, caused by inflammation.  Certain substances in the air, such as chalk dust or smoke, can trigger asthma because they irritate the airways.  With more room in the airways, the air has an easier time getting in and out.  Steroid tablets are good at reducing the inflammation in the airways.  When they are exposed to certain triggers, their airways narrow, making it hard for them to breathe.  People with asthma have symptoms when the airways are narrowed (bronchospasm), swollen (inflamed), or filled with mucus.

Allergy

Allergy testing, either by skin testing or by measuring antibodies in the blood, sometimes is performed to determine if the asthma is allergy induced, and if so, what specific allergens are involved.  Allergy testing may be helpful in identifying allergens in patients with persistent asthma.  The following information is intended to help asthma and allergy sufferers better understand the most commonly used types of medications.  By preventing the action of histamine the symptoms of the allergy can be reduced.  Your allergist/immunologist can provide you with more information on asthma and allergy medications and overall measures to help control these diseases.