Treating asthma began some time ago, as a preventive to further unwanted attacks and many different remedies tried were to prevent the next asthma attack. However in more modern days one of the earliest asthma medications used for the symptoms of asthma was adrenaline which is an outside source of the epinephrine the normal body manufactures naturally. The adrenaline does work rapidly to open the bronchi airways, but it also carries a side effect with it as well and that is rapid heart rate, nausea, headache, and vomiting.
Treating asthma by way of an asthma inhaler does seem to work more quickly and is the preferred choice by many medical physicians over the ingestion of tables or any liquid medication. Perhaps it is because the asthma inhaler takes a more direct route and disperses more rapidly than the ingestion of pills or liquid medication. The other important factor to soothing and calming the asthma attack is with an inhaler there are little to now side effects, which is a direct plus.
Adrenaline still works best for asthma treatment so the medical community did their best to find a way to synthesize it for mass production which they have accomplished successfully. Little to no side effects is the main reason why the focus on adrenaline was so intense. Some of the inhaled medications are beta-2 agonists, anticholinergics, corticosteroids, and cromolyn sodium. On the other side of the spectrum there are the physically ingested allergy medication such as aminophylline, leukotriene antagonists, beta-2 agonists, and corticosteroid tablets. The physically ingested medications do carry with them the side effects that the medical physician will watch and log.
Asthma suffers must understand that it is of vital importance to avoid allergens and other irritants that can be harmful, as difficult as this might be. In patients who are not able to avoid allergens either because of living or working proximity there are other forms of medication to desensitize the situation in the hopes of preventing an asthma attack from materializing. Inoculation for the prevention of asthma attacks due to allergens is through injection to children with sensitivity to house dust mites, pollens and some animal dander.
Individuals who are not able to avoid allergens or those individuals whose symptoms of asthma are uncontrollable there are beta-2 agonists, but they also have side effects that the individual needs to be aware of. Some of these side effects as a cause and effect of beta-2 agonists are fast heart rate, anxiety, tremors, palpitations, and lowering of blood potassium, which is correctable by eating a banana once a day to replenish the lost potassium.
Symptoms of asthma are sometimes difficult to control with beta-2 agonists, and in these cases corticosteroids are an addition. Corticosteroids can improve lung function and reduce the airway obstruction over a shorter period of time. To decrease the deposition of medications on the throat from asthma inhalers, and increase the amount reaching the airways, spacers can be a helpful aid. These spacers are tube like chambers attached to the outlet of the MDI inhaler canister.
Symptoms of asthma also include the combination inhaler therapy which is new on the market today. The medications included with this combination inhaler are Advair and Symbicort which is a big improvement in the release of certain chemicals in the lungs like the family of histamine. This is with the additive of cromolyn sodium which works to prevent asthma attacks but has a very limited effect once acute asthma begins.
Related Posts
Related Articles