Asthma-Lung Information
Keep a record of how often you wheeze,cough,feel short of breath and/or use your “rescue” inhaler .This record helps guide your physician in making key treatment decisions.
Certain medications may worsen your asthma.These may include common pain relievers such as aspirin,ibuprofen,naproxen and beta blockers,commonly used to treat high blood pressure and migraine headaches.
Inhaled medications are the cornerstone of asthma treatment. Learning to use your inhaler correctly is essential to a successful treatment plan.
A yearly flu shot is recommended for all asthmatics.
Treatments
Since asthma is a chronic disease, it requires continuous management and appropriate treatment. According to the national Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, there are six general goals for the effective management of asthma:
* Prevent chronic and troublesome symptoms
* Maintain (near) "normal" breathing
* Maintain normal activity levels, including exercise
* Prevent recurrent asthma flare-ups, and minimize the need for emergency room visits or hospitalizations
* Provide optimal medication therapy with no or minimal adverse effects
* Meet patients' and families' expectations of satisfactory asthma care
Each person with asthma has her/his specific goals. Share these so your physician can focus on helping you attain them. Chances are once your specific goals are met, the general goals listed above will also be met.
You and your physician can work together on these goals to ensure that your asthma is well-managed. Having asthma should not stop you from participating in normal activities.
Medication treatment
Asthma management includes using proper medications to prevent and control asthma symptoms and to reduce airway inflammation. Asthma medications are thus categorized into two general classes, quick-relief and long-term control medications. Quick-relief medications that are used to provide temporary relief of symptoms include:
* Bronchodilators, generally used as "rescue medications," open up the bronchial tubes so that more air can flow through. Bronchodilators include beta-agonists and anticholinergics, and come in inhaled, tablet, liquid or injectable forms.
* Corticosteroids are administered for short-term use orally or by injection to speed up the resolution of airway inflammation.
Long-term control medications are taken daily to control the airway inflammation in persistent asthma. This class includes:
* Inhaled corticosteroids are the most effective long-term therapy available for persistent asthma. They are generally well tolerated and safe at recommended dosages.
* Cromolyn or Nedocromil stop the development of inflammation in the lungs, as well as help to prevent it. Response to these two are less predictable than the response to inhaled corticosteroids. These medications are very safe.
* Leukotriene modifiers fight potent chemicals called leukotrienes (lu-ko-try-eens), which contribute to the airway inflammation. They are generally safe, but lack the ability to control inflammation to the same degree as inhaled corticosteroids.
* Inhaled long-acting beta 2-agonists exert effects for 8-12 hours and are long-acting and beneficial when added to inhaled corticosteroids.
* Methylxanthines provide mild to moderate dilation of the airways and may have a mild anti-inflammatory effect. Theophylline is the most frequently used methylxanthine.
* Omalizumab was approved in 2003 as a new class of therapy, known as anti-IgE, for patients with moderate to severe persistent allergic asthma. IgE is an antibody that we all have and it is responsible for causing allergic problems in some people. It may reduce allergic reactions by causing free IgE to disappear from the body so that the IgE cannot attach to allergens such as dust mites, mold, animal dander and pollen.
Combination therapy, with the addition of a long-acting beta2-agonist to low-to-medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids, results in improvement in asthma control. Adding a leukotriene modifier or theophylline to inhaled corticosteroids may also improve asthma control but the evidence is not as substantial.
Make sure you follow your physician's instruction on the appropriate use and dosage of your prescribed medications.
The better informed you are about your asthma triggers and management, the less asthma symptoms will interfere with your activities. It is important to avoid your triggers, work with your physician on a management plan and take appropriate medications as prescribed. Together, you and your allergist/immunologist can work to ensure that asthma does not interfere with your optimal quality of life.
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