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Successful asthma management and the proper use of medication go hand-in-hand. Asthma medicines have the important job of keeping your airways open. There are two groups of asthma medicines: 1) Bronchodilators are medicines that help to stop asthma attacks after they’ve started and can help prevent expected attacks; and 2) Anti-inflammatories are medicines that help to control the airway inflammation and prevent asthma attacks from starting. Bronchodilators give you relief during an asthma attack. These medicines work to relax the muscles in your airways. As this happens, your airways open up, making it easier for you to breathe. Anti-inflammatories, on the other hand, work to keep your airways open all of the time so that you don’t have an asthma attack in the first place. These medicines reduce the swelling in your airways and decrease the mucus. Another example of asthma medication is corticosteroids. When you hear the word “steroid” you might think of the steroids used by athletes. However, corticosteroids are not the steroids used by athletes. Those steroids are called “anabolic steroids.” Remember that corticosteroids are used to help prevent asthma attacks from starting. When you take this medicine in a spray form, the risk of serious side effects is small. The chance of serious side effects increases when these medicines are taken in a pill or liquid form over a long period. In that case, you need to get regular check-ups by a doctor to make sure that the medicine works the best way for you. Work closely with your doctor because every kind of medicine, even aspirin, can have some side effects. When it comes to asthma medicines, it is important to check regularly with a doctor to make sure that the medicines you are taking are helping you. The purpose of asthma medicines is to help you feel better and control your asthma so that you and your family can live a full and healthy life with asthma. For more information, please call 800.LUNG.USA or call your local American Lung Association branch at 714. 835.5864, Ext. 105.m – The Orange County American Lung Association |
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