Allergy Asthma Treatment

Following on from the last post where we looked at Asthma in the UK, here we take a look at some standard methods of allergy asthma treatment.

Nowadays, there are some very good types of allergy asthma treatment available to help you control your allergy asthma. The most effective way of taking most allergy asthma treatments is to inhale the medicine to enable it to get straight into your lungs. There are a large variety of inhalers available to do this and it is important that you use a device that you’re comfortable with and can use properly. Your doctor can advise you on the most appropriate allergy asthma treatment inhaler device and should demonstrate how to use it properly.

There are two main types of asthma medicine available – relievers and preventers:

• Reliever inhalers are usually blue. You take them to relieve symptoms. They work very quickly by relaxing the muscles that surround your narrowed airways. relievers are essential for treating allergy asthma attacks. If you need to use your reliever inhaler as often as three to four times a week, you should go to your doctor regularly to have your symptoms reviewed so that they can be better kept under control.
• Preventers usually come in brown, orange or red inhalers. Preventers work by controlling the swelling and inflammation in the airways, reducing their sensitivity and thereby reducing the risk of severe attacks. Their benefits build up over a period of time so they should be taken every day in the morning and evening, even when you’re feeling well. Most preventers contain steroid medicine. It’s important to understand however that it’s not the same as the anabolic steroids used by athletes to improve their performance.

There are several other types of asthma treatment and medicines that can be added to your reliever and/or preventer inhaler if needed. These include preventer tablets and long-acting relievers. For more information about new medicines that may be more effective for you, you should consult your doctor.

Allergy Asthma

Here we ask the pertinent question, are steroids safe to take?

Many people who suffer from allergy asthma use a preventer inhaler that contains a low dose of inhaled steroid. Here are some facts about inhaler steroids:

• The steroids used to treat allergy asthma are called corticosteroids. These mimic the steroids that are produced naturally in your body.
• Inhaler steroids are completely different to the dangerous anabolic steroids used by bodybuilders and athletes.
• Inhaled steroids go directly down to the airways, so very little gets absorbed into the rest of the body.
• Your doctor will always prescribe the lowest possible dose of inhaler steroids.
• Children who take inhaler steroids for allergy asthma should be monitored closely, especially for growth.

On occasion, should your allergy asthma symptoms become severe, your doctor may give you a short course of allergy asthma treatment steroid tablets. These work quickly and powerfully to help to relax your inflamed airways. Short courses of these tablets, anything from 3–14 days are safe and will not produce any long-term side effects.

It is worth noting that steroid tablets can lower the body’s resistance to chickenpox. If this a concern, you should contact your doctor if you’re taking steroid tablets and you come into contact with someone with chickenpox.

Allergy Asthma