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Asthma Medication
A number of medications are used to prevent and control the symptoms of asthma and to reduce the frequency and severity of episodes. Asthma medications are categorized into three main types: anti-inflammatory agents; bronchodilators, which relax smooth muscle constriction and open the airways; and leukotriene modifiers, which interrupt the chemical signaling within the body that leads to constriction and inflammation. These medications may be taken on a long-term daily basis to maintain and control persistent asthma (long-term control medications), or they may be used to provide rapid relief from constriction of airways (quick-relief medications). Long-term control medications include corticosteroids, which are the most potent and effective anti-inflammatory medications available, and cromolyn sodium and nedocromil, other anti-inflammatory medications that are prescribed for children; bronchodilators, such as long-acting beta2-agonists and methylxanthines (e.g., theophylline; and leukotriene modifiers, such as zileuton and zafirlukast. Quick-relief medications include bronchodilators, such as short-acting beta2-agonists and ipratropium bromide, and systemic corticosteroids. A prolonged asthma attack that does not respond to medication is called status asthmaticus; a person with this condition must be hospitalized to receive oxygen and other treatment.
Pventation of Asthma
In addition to managing asthma with medications, persons who suffer from the disease are advised to minimize their exposure to the substances that trigger asthma. The ability to recognize the early warning signs of an impending episode is important, and individuals can monitor the level of airflow obstruction in their lungs by using a pocket-size device called a peak-flow meter.
In developed countries, and especially in urban areas, the number of asthma cases has increased steadily, and asthma now affects about 5 percent of the population. Reasons for this dramatic surge in asthma cases, particularly among children, are not entirely clear. Air pollution, crowded living conditions, smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, and even cockroaches have been blamed for the increase.
Ironically, advances in medicine may have contributed to rising rates of asthma. The incidence of allergies and asthma tends to rise in countries where childhood immunization rates are high. Theoretically this occurs because vaccines, though lifesaving, may disturb the normal development of the immune system. Certain naturally acquired childhood infections, like measles, are thought to trigger protective immune reactions. When children are vaccinated and thereby protected from infection, they may become hyperresponsive to normally harmless substances in the environment. Antibiotics may also interfere with immune development. Children who are given broad-spectrum antibiotics (effective against multiple microorganisms) before two years of age are three times more likely to develop asthma than are children who are not given such antibiotics.
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