Along with avoiding asthma triggers and staying generally healthy, asthma medications are crucial for you to gain control over your condition.
As we all know, asthma is a chronic disease that mainly involves inflammation of the airways. With decreased airflow, cough and mucus production, you can really face lot of discomfort with asthma.
Asthma medications work effectively by reducing the inflammation present in your airways.
Many types of asthma medications and devices are used to control asthma, including long-term relievers, symptom controllers, quick relief medications, etc.
so, depending on the severity of the disease, your doctor will recommend different options for you. Some of the most common asthma medications include:
Inhaled corticosteroids
If you have persistent asthma, long-term medications is critical. Inhaled corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory drugs recommended for long-term use. These drugs reduce the inflammation in your airways and also prevent blood vessels from leaking the fluid into your airway tissues.
These specific inhaled asthma medications act directly on inflamed airways and air muscles. The influence of the medications on the rest of your body is minimal. Therefore, side-effects of using inhaled medications are very few.
Oral corticosteroids
Oral corticosteroids are prescribed for acute asthma attacks. But be careful, these oral corticosteroids can cause irritating short-term side effects. If you use them for long periods, they can cause more serious side-effects.
Quick relief medications
When you are in the initial stages of asthma or when you begin to have symptoms of asthma such as short of breath, coughing, wheezing, it is recommended you take quick relief medications. Short acting bronchodilators are commonly used for the treatment of mild asthma symptoms.
Your doctor may also prescribe Ipratropium, a short acting bronchodilator usually prescribed for chronic bronchitis, to get immediate relief from your asthma symptoms.
Quick relief medicines may attack when you stop using them? Often you think you are getting relief from asthma, but actually, the airways are getting more and more swollen. If this happens, you are in danger of having very bad asthma. So, be aware of all these side-effects and take necessary preventative measures to avoid severe asthma attacks.
