Once your condition has been diagnosed and confirmed by your GP, your health will be checked regularly to ensure the treatment you’re receiving is most effective – this is generally done in the form of an asthma management plan, which takes into account the cause and severity of your asthma, the triggers that set off the symptoms and any other risk factors, such as workplace environment or general health.
Inhalers are the main treatment for asthma. The condition itself is caused by inflamed airways and so the inhaler, portable and easy to use, contains medication that goes directly to the airways to relieve the inflammation and reduce the swelling that is causing you to struggle for a breath. Inhalers act more quickly than oral medication and are the preferred prescribed choice for most sufferers.
As there is no cure for a chronic condition such as asthma, treatment takes a twin-pronged approach – relief and prevention. Each individual will react differently to medication and so your GP will work with you to identify the most effective form of treatment for your particular form of asthma, using the asthma management plan to reduce the potential for further attacks.
Inhalers contain one of three types of drugs to deal with the symptoms of asthma: relievers, preventers and long-acting bronchodilators. Each is colour coded to demonstrate the medication they contain and you should become familiar with how to use the inhaler you have been prescribed correctly and most effectively.
Relievers containing bronchodilator drugs that deal with symptoms such as breathlessness, tightness in the chest and wheezing by relaxing the muscles of the airways so they open wider. The steroids inside preventer inhalers aim to stop symptoms from developing by reducing inflammation that narrows the airways.
Long-acting bronchodilator inhalers are designed to give longer relief from symptoms, up to 12 hours in most cases, and work in the same way as relievers.