Asthma Medications

Asthma medications are perhaps the most important part of current medical treatment. The medication used for asthma include both long-term medications and quick-relief medications, they both serve you at some stage of your asthma. Besides these two main types, you may also be in need of allergy-treatment medication. Since symptoms vary from person to person, you’ll need to find the best medication that works for you.

Long-Term Asthma Medications

Patients in most cases need a daily dose of these medications that include:

Lukotriene modifiers. These need to be inhaled and will help you opening your airways, reducing inflammation and lowering the production of mucus.

Inhaled corticosteroids. These medications are the most common-used. They will help you reducing airway inflammation. Unlike oral corticosteroids, these medications are considered low-risk in the long-term.

Cromolyn and Nedocromil. These medications are helpful because they decrease allergic reactions. They are considered an alternative to inhaled corticosteroids.

Long-acting beta-2 agonists. Also called long-acting bronchodilators, they open the airway and reduce inflammation. They are sometimes used along with inhaled corticosteroids.

Quick-Relief Asthma Medications

These types of medications are used to find quick relief during an asthma attack or before exercising. The use of these medications must be controlled, you shouldn’t be using them too often, and if that is the case your doctor may need to consider adjusting your long-term medicine. They include:

Short-acting beta-2 agonists. They relax the airway muscles quickly and their effect last up to 5-6 hours.
Ipratoprium. This inhaled anticholinergic also relaxes the airways.

Oral and intravenous corticosteroids. These are used to treat severe asthma attacks. They help you by relieving airway inflammation.

Allergy-Induce Asthma Medications

If your asthma is triggered by allergy, you’ll need treatment to decrease sensitivity to allergens or keep yourself away from these allergens. These treatments include immunotherapy and the use of Anti-IgE monoclonal antibodies.