Managing Asthma – The Steps

Once asthma has been diagnosed, there are several steps to managing it. Well managed asthma should cause no problems, although getting the right control regime may take a while.

Many people develop asthma as a child and live with it throughout their lives. Some have asthma as children but then grow out of it, and some people develop it later in life. There are theories that allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever go in seven year cycles and will start to improve after seven years. That hasn’t been borne out in research so may be more myth than fact. It is the case, though that some asthma improves with very little medical intervention.

Most people control their asthma by working out what triggers it and then avoiding those triggers. Obviously that isn’t always possible, but it should be tried as a first step. Alongside this many people are prescribed reliever medications. These are given to people with mild or occasional asthma. They are known as short acting beta2-agonists and are often in inhaler form. These work by preventing the muscles around the air tubes from narrowing, they reduce any swelling and also the amount of phlegm produced. In this way the symptoms of wheezing and coughing are reduced.

If you need to use a short acting beta2-agonist more than a couple of times a week, you may be given the next step medicine, which is known as a preventer. This is an inhaler containing corticosteroids. They should be taken twice a day, and the other reliever inhaler used when symptoms get worse. Regular use of corticosteroids dramatically reduces the incidence of asthma attacks. Be aware that smoking reduces the effect of the preventer medications.

The third step of treatment, if your asthma is not kept under control, is an add-on preventer therapy. Usually this is another inhaler known as a long acting beta2-antagonist.

If your asthma is still poorly controlled then the dosages of the medicines may be increased. There are also other drugs which can be prescribed such as slow release beta2-agonist tablets, which are used to control night-time attacks; Leukotriene receptor antagonists which are tablets that work by preventing inflammation, and Theophyllines which can have side effects but act to make the airways wider by relaxing muscles.

As a fifth step, oral steroids may be prescribed but the incidence of this being required is low. There are risks associated with oral steroids so doctors prefer to exhaust other options first.

Asthma is common and treatable so if you find yourself diagnosed with it, don’t panic. Your doctor and healthcare team will be able to find a therapy solution that works for you.

Copyright 2009