Things to Know About Asthma

By editor | April 12, 2008

One must be curious to know that is there a method to cure asthma? The answer is “yes” asthma is diagnosed clinically, this means that the clinician knows that one is suffering from asthma by coming across the symptoms (history) and by having a deep chest examination. If the diagnosis is uncertain, a peak flow meter is required for further examination.

Another query that arises is that “can asthma be treated”? In most of the case the symptoms can be prevented through treatment. Thus one can get on soon with a normal living.

Inhalers are used for treating most of the asthma sufferers. An inhalers is designed to deliver medications directly into the airways, thus the side-effects of the medications are kept to the minimum possible level. Today many types of inhalers are available in the market.

Reliever is taken to ease symptoms. An immediate effect of the medicine is seen. It relaxes the muscles of the airway and thereby allowing air to reach the lungs easily. A common medicine used in the reliever is ventolin (salbutamol).

If the reliever is not able to control the symptoms, long term bronchodilator is used. It works up to 12 hours after each dose. The most common medicine used in long-term bronchodilator is known as salmeterol.

Tablets are rarely used for controlling asthmatic attacks. . The most common tablet used for the treatment of asthma is steroid tablet. Some people hesitate to use steroids because of their known side effects. But, if steroids are used for short term periods and used properly, they hardly lead to side effects. On long term basis steroids lead to diseases like diabetes, heart problems etc.


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Topics: Asthma |

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