Asthma recovery
There is no cure for asthma at present. The condition must be managed by medication or changes to lifestyle.
What are the treatments for asthma?
While a cure for asthma remains elusive, there are effective ways to treat and control the severity and regularity of attacks. Make sure a doctor or nurse has shown you how to use your medicine properly, and if you use an inhaler, carry it with you at all times. You must know how to take your medicine properly.
If you are not sure how to take your medicine, or if you feel your medicine isn't working, you must go and see your doctor.
Common asthma treatments:
Reliever inhalers
If you have been diagnosed with asthma you will be prescribed a reliever inhaler.
Reliever inhalers are usually blue and contain medicines that are taken immediately to relieve asthma symptoms. They work by relaxing the muscles surrounding the narrowed airways. This makes the airways open up wider, which makes it easier to breathe.
Asthma UK recommends that asthma patients should take a dose of reliever inhaler when asthma symptoms occur.
Asthma UK adds that if you are using your reliever inhaler three or more times a week, your asthma may not be well controlled and you should go back to your doctor or asthma nurse and have your symptoms reviewed.
Preventer inhalers
Preventer inhalers control the swelling and inflammation in the airways and reducing the risk of severe attacks. Not everyone with asthma will be prescribed preventer medicine (1).
The protective effect of the preventer asthma drug builds up over a period of time. This means that you should take them every day even when you do not experience asthma symptoms, according to Asthma UK.
Preventers reduce long-term inflammation, but do not provide quick relief. Preventer inhalers usually contain a low dose of steroid medicine.
Steroids
If you have had a severe asthma attack (which usually involves hospitalisation), then you may be prescribed steroids. These reduce the inflammation of your lungs and help you recover from the severity of your attack.
Nebulisers
It is rare for people to be given a nebuliser for the home, as they are really larger forms of an inhaler. However, your doctor or hospital may recommend you use one at the surgery or in hospital.
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) monitoring
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) monitoring measures the patient's maximum ability to exhale, or peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR or PEF).
Peak PEFR readings will be higher when patients feel well and lower when the airways are constricted. From changes in recorded values, both patients and doctors can see how well the lungs are working, what the severity of asthma symptoms are and what treatment options are appropriate.
The best of three readings is used as the recorded value of the PEFR. It may be plotted out on graph paper charts together with a record of symptoms or using peak flow charting software on a computer. This allows patients to self-monitor and pass information back to their doctor or nurse.
Measurement of PEFR requires training to correctly use a meter and the normal expected value depends on a patient's sex, age and height. PEFR measurements can alert patients and doctors if a patient is experiencing difficulty with their breathing before they are even aware of the change.
By making regular measurements at times when the patient is feeling well, both doctor and patient will have identified their personal best PEFR value. Then, if PEFR falls significantly from a personal best PEFR, the patient and their doctor will then know that something must be done in order to bring their breathing function back toward its target value.
Infolinks:
References:
- Asthma UK | Preventer inhalers | Page last updated Nov 23 2007 | Accessed Apr 7 2009
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