Asthma Treatment Plan

Choosing the Right Asthma Treatment Plan:
It is important to research and learn more about asthma. This will give you the tools that are specific to your symptoms and this information will help you to control your asthma symptoms. Asthma can be treated and managed as long as the proper medications are given. The most important thing to remember about asthma is that its medication is not universal; meaning, what may be an effective medication for one asthmatic may not be as effective for another. So it is best to know what suits your own asthma symptoms.

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are considered as one of the most effective medications to reduce airway inflammation. This drug when used as inhaled medicines provides better asthma control and reduces the need for hospitalization. It decreases the hypersensitivity of the lungs and consequently the overreaction to Asthma triggers. Although this type of drug can be taken orally, the inhaled version is preferred to reduce possible side effect. The most frequently used inhaled corticosteroids include Aerobid, Alvesco, Azmacort, Flovent, Pulmicort, and Qvar. The advantages of inhaled medication are that they reach the lungs faster, require a smaller dosage, and have a decreased risk of potential side effects.

Metered-Dose Inhalers - MDI
These are hand-held devices that make use of propellants to deliver appropriately measured inhaled doses to the lungs of asthmatic patients. Also known as MDIs, these devices are very important to the health of asthmatics. If you use an inhaler to treat your asthma, remember that it's not a breath freshener. You must deeply inhale the medication into your lungs and hold it for three to five seconds before exhaling slowly.

Dry Powder Inhalers - DPI
A dry powder inhaler (DPI) is a slightly more complicated device and delivers a measured dose of medicated powder to an asthmatic’s lungs. The medication is usually kept in a small container within the inhaler. Once the inhaler dose is loaded, the patient takes breathes deep and inhales the medication. Most DPIs are dependent upon the force of the lungs of a person to breathe in the powder from the device. It takes a certain amount of lung capacity to breathe in the small amount of powder that is released from the inhaler capsule. Consequently this device is not recommended for the very young or very old who tend to have weaker lungs.

Source: www.cdc.gov