Appropriate
drugs, home care and avoiding allergens is a way to
prevent serious asthma from occurring. But
prevention is not enough. Treatment has to take
place in order to keep the disease under control.
When asthma goes on without any treatment, serious lung
diseases will be the result. A lot of people
are not aware that treatment and prevention are not the same
and both need to take place in order to truly control
asthma.
There
is a big difference between the drugs that prevent an
attack and the ones that provide relief. The
main drugs that control inflammation are corticosteroids
(any of various adrenal-cortex steroids (as
corticosterone, cortisone, and aldosterone) used
medically especially as anti-inflammatory agents),
leukotriene-antagonists (any of a group of *eicosanoids
that participate in allergic responses
)(*eicosanoids:
any of a class of compounds (as the prostaglandins)
derived from polyunsaturated acids (as arachidonic acid)
and involved in cellular activity), and cromolyn.
There are three different types of cromolyn; inhalation,
nasal and oral, as per WebMD, When
used regularly, cromolyn lessens the number and severity
of asthma attacks by reducing inflammation in the
lungs. Beta2 agonist (bronchodialator) is one of
the main treatments used in hospitals to bring an asthma
attack under control. Oxygen is also given to the
patient to keep her/him breathing.
While
in the hospital, bronchodialators are given to the
patient through nebulizers, along with oxygen and
possibly steroids. However, recently it has been
discovered that 1 out of 4 teenagers that suffer from
asthma do not respond to steroids. That does not
mean that children and adults are also insensitive to
steroids. It only means that teenagers are resistant to
steroids.
There
are two different types of maintenance. One is to
start the patient with a small doses of drugs and
increase it. The other one is start with a big
amount of medication and then reduce it gradually.
There is no conclusive information on which one of these
treatments is the best for the patient, therefore, more
studies need to be conducted on this area to determine
which one yields the best results.
In
the mean time, keep up your preventive drugs and keep
handy your treatment drugs. Do not forget to take
your medication. Breathing is one of the most
important functions your body has, and if your
body cannot do it all on its own, you need to help it by
giving it the tools it needs to keep those lungs going.
