Is Asthma curable?

Asthma is a disease that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and chest tightness.

Asthma is caused by inflammation in the airways. When a patient has an asthma attack the muscles surrounding the airways become tight and the lining of the air passages swells. This reduces the amount of air that can pass by which makes it difficult for the patient to breathe.

Asthma is an ancient disease. Since Egyptian times, people have been trying to find relief from the symptoms caused by Asthma. We have come a long way since then and with the progress in medicine, today asthma can be fully controlled with proper monitoring and care.

Different asthma patients have different severity and types of symptoms. This makes it very difficult to name one treatment that satisfies all asthma patients. Because of this your doctor is the best consultant who can help you manage your Asthma and you need to follow his advice properly in order to get relief from Asthma symptoms. It helps to know what the available treatments are so you can be an informed patient.

Asthma medications are of many kinds. There are medications that reduce inflammation that lead to asthma symptoms and also medications that relax the muscles around the airways to help relieve airway tightening. Some medicines are taken as needed to provide quick relief for sudden, severe asthma symptoms or during the times when your asthma is worsening while some medicines are taken daily on a long term basis for as long as your doctor thinks you need it. Most healthcare providers usually prescribe at least one daily and one quick-relief medication to help you manage your asthma and its symptoms. 

The Quick relief medications should be carried with you anywhere you go, always. Quick-relief medications for Asthma are bronchodilators. They relax the muscles around the airways to the lungs which helps air to flow more freely through the lungs. They work within minutes to relieve sudden asthma symptoms. This type of medicines is usually delivered through an inhaler. An example of Quick relief medicines is short-acting beta2-agonists (SABAS).

Most of the long term asthma medicines consist of anti-inflammatories, which reduces inflammation of the lungs and have to be taken daily. Unlike quick relief medicines which are used to relieve symptoms, the long term medicines help to prevent symptoms. The different types of anti-inflammatories used for asthma medicine are;

• Inhaled contecosteriods (ICSs) – They are inhaled and go directly to the airways to help reduce swelling.
• Leukoyriene receptor antafonists (LTRAs) – This medication blocks the action of leukotrienes, which are chemicals that can increase inflammation in your lungs during an asthma attack.
• Mast cell Stabilizers – For some asthma patients, exposure to certain allergens causes inflammatory cells called mast cells in the airways of the lungs to release substance that cause inflammation that leads to worsening of asthma symptoms. If treated regularly with a mast cell stabilizer, like cromolyn sodium, this action is blocked which in turn reduces inflammation and asthma symptoms
• IgE Inhibitors – Immunoglobulin E or IgE is an antibody of the immune system. When exposed to certain allergens an asthma patient’s body launches an immune response, producing Ige antibodies that can cause inflammation and a worsening of asthma symptoms. Medicines called IgE block this action which helps in preventing asthma symptoms before they occur.

Other long term medicines consist of Bronchodilators like Theophyline that opens and relaxes air passages in the lungs making it easier to breathe. It is usually taken by mouth.

At times asthma may be treated with a combination of more than one medication at a time delivered together in one inhaler device. For example Inhaled corticosteroids are sometimes combined with long-acting beta2-agonists to treat the inflammation and bronchoconstriction that can cause asthma symptoms.

There are different type of inhalers like metered dose inhalers, dry powder inhalers, spacers and nebulizers that you can use for your asthma medicines.

In order to monitor your asthma you have peak flow meters and spirometry test.

There are allergy testing, allergy shots, flu shots and alternative medicines that you could try and may be suggested by your doctor to control asthma. Please keep your doctor informed of any other medicines you would take for your asthma. You and your doctor need to design a personal Asthma action plan which should consist of instructions for medication, a list of asthma triggers, responses to worsening symptoms, and benchmarks to indicate the level of your asthma control

According to the National Heart, Lung and blood Institute - Scientific evidence clearly shows that most people could control their asthma by following current asthma clinical practice guidelines. With proper care, people who have asthma can stay active, sleep through the night, and avoid having their lives disrupted by asthma attacks.

While researching on this topic, I came about few websites and stories that talk about people who have had their Asthma cured. Some people have taken medicines to destroy a bacteria thus eliminating the symptoms, others have controlled their food habits, while some have tried water therapy or learning the right breathing techniques While this stories bring hope to our hearts and I would suggest everyone to try other options for themselves to find comfort from the disease, the sad truth about Asthma, as announced by the medical society, is that though Asthma symptoms can be controlled and a person can live a normal life, asthma is a long term disease and a person might never be fully cured of it.

Source: www.nhlbi.nih.gov