Asthma is not curable and so treatment aims for prevention and long term control with the ultimate goal of stopping asthma attacks before they start.
Long-Term Asthma Control Medication
These are generally taken every day in order to keep asthma under control on a daily basis and make it much less likely to have an asthma attack.
- Inhaled corticosteroids — these work as an anti-inflammatory including fluticasone (Flonases, etc), budesonide (Rhinocort, etc), flunisolide (Aerospan HFA). It might be that you will find no effect for the first couple of weeks or day until they start to take effect.
- Leukotriene modifiers — these relieve the asthma symptoms you might be exhibiting for up to twenty-four hours. They include montelukast (Singulair), zafirlukast (Accolate) and zileuton (Zyflo).
- Long-acting beta agonists — these worked to open the airways by inhalation and include salmeterol (Serevent) and formoterol (Foradil, etc). Don’t use these for acute asthma attacks and always use with a corticosteroid inhaler.
- Combination inhaler — these have long-acting beta agonist alongside a corticosteroid and include fluticasone-salmeterol (Advir Diskus), budesonide-formoterol (Symbicort) and formoterol-mometasone (Dulera).
- Theophylline — (Theo-24, Elixophyllin) which is a pill to take daily and relaxes the muscle around the airways in order to open the airways.
Quick Relief Medications
For rapid action and relief these medications are used during an asthma attack.
- Short-acting beta agonists — these bronchodilators act within minutes after being inhaled and give quick relief and ease symptoms of an asthma attack. They include alubterol (ProAir HFA, Ventolin HFA, etc.) and levalbuterol (Xopenex).
- Ipratroppium (Atrovent) — these work like bronchodilators as it acts quickly and relaxes your airways so it’s easier to breath but is mainly used for chronic bronchitis and only sometimes used for asthma attacks.
- Oral and intravenous corticosteroids — these relieve the inflammation in the airways after a serious asthma attack. They include prednisone and methylprednisolone.
Allergy Medication
Sometimes you might find that your asthma is cause by allergies and so it’s a good idea to take allergy medication.
- Shots (Immunotherapy) — you will receive a shot every week for a few months and then once a month for three to five years. They will reduce the reaction your immune system has to specific allergens.
- Omalizumab (Xolair) — this is given as an injection once every two to four weeks and is for people who have both allergies and a severe form of asthma. It alters the immune system.