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Asthma is a chronic disease of the respiratory tract. To control and minimize asthma attacks, a number of medications are needed. Asthma medications include medications to relieve asthma attacks and medications to prevent asthma attacks from occurring.
1. Asthma Overview
Asthma is a chronic lung disease, caused by an overreaction of the airways to a certain agent, causing the airways to become inflamed and constricted, making it difficult for the patient to breathe. Asthma that is not well controlled or is severe can make it difficult to talk or do activities of daily living.
Currently, there is no cure for asthma completely, but if used correctly, it can help improve quality of life.
Asthma causes acute bronchial asthma with manifestations such as:
Prodromal: When newly exposed to substances that irritate the airways, the patient may have symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, and itchy throat. , have a runny nose. When an asthma attack occurs, the patient will have typical symptoms such as: Shortness of breath, severe wheezing, cough that does not stop, chest pain, tightness in the respiratory muscles, difficulty talking, anxiety, panic attacks. fear, sweat a lot, cyanosis. An asthma attack can end with coughing up a lot of sputum, which in some cases can quickly progress to severe respiratory failure. Triggers that can cause asthma: Asthma is a condition in which the airways overreact to triggers that may be harmless to most people. Each person can be a different cause of the disease. Asthma triggers include:
Substances that can cause allergies such as pollen, mold, pet dander, house mites, smoke, dust. Substances that can cause irritation such as perfumes, cleaning solutions. Exposure to contaminated air. Exposure to tobacco smoke. Sudden cold air or weather changes, sudden changes in air humidity. Have gastroesophageal reflux disease. Strong emotions such as sadness, anxiety, stress... Respiratory tract infections such as sinusitis, colds, flu. Food preservatives are found in foods such as shrimp, pickles, beer and wine, some dried fruits and lemonade, bottled lemons, etc. Certain medications can also trigger an asthma attack. . Some people have a higher risk of developing asthma if they have the following risk factors:
Genetics: If a parent or sibling has asthma, you are more likely to develop it than you are. with other people. History of viral infections: People with a history of severe viral infections during childhood such as RSV may be more likely to develop the disease in the future. Boys are more likely to have asthma than girls. In adolescents and adults, it is more common than in women.
2. What medicine do people with asthma take?
When you have bronchial asthma that needs to be treated. Measures to treat bronchial asthma are aimed at stopping acute asthma attacks and preventing the risk of asthma recurrence. So knowing what asthma medication to take is very important.
Treatment of bronchial asthma patients need to take medicine during an asthma attack and take medicine outside of an asthma attack. However, these treatments all require a doctor's prescription. You should not buy and use it on your own because it may be used incorrectly, the wrong dosage can cause more side effects or not guarantee effective treatment.
2.1 Medications for acute asthma attacks When an asthma attack occurs, the patient or caregiver needs to recognize an asthma attack early for optimal medication use. Medications used during an acute asthma attack include:
Bronchodilators: These are medicines used to relax the constricted muscles around the bronchi. Medications are usually given as a nebulizer or metered dose spray. The most commonly used bronchodilators in acute asthma attacks are short-acting beta agonists that act within minutes to immediately relieve shortness of breath, such as salbutamol; Fenoterol; Terbutaline or a rapid-acting anticholinergic such as ipratropium. Spray according to the prescribed dose and monitor if after 20 minutes the asthma has not improved, then continue to spray the second dose, if the patient is severe, spray the medicine and then go to the emergency room. Oral or injectable corticosteroids: Usually used if severe asthma attacks do not respond to bronchodilators. Note when using asthma relievers, that is, do not abuse and use too many times. If asthma attacks occur continuously, then the level of asthma control is not good. It is important to re-evaluate, reassess, and raise the level of asthma control medication.
2.2 Asthma Controllers These are medications that patients need to take continuously for a long time, aimed at controlling asthma attacks, helping to limit the occurrence of acute asthma attacks.
These drugs include;
Long-acting bronchodilators: long-acting beta 2 agonists such as Ciclesonide, formoterol, salmeterol... ; long-acting anticholinergics such as tiotropium; theophylline. Usually used in oral form to prevent asthma attacks. Inhaled corticosteroids: These are used to treat inflammation of the airways and keep the airways open. Some commonly used drugs include: beclomethasone, budesonide, ciclesonide, flunisolide, fluticasone, mometasone. Leukotriene antagonists: Another long-term treatment for asthma, these drugs block Leukotrienes, factors in the body that can trigger asthma attacks or bronchospasm. You need to take them once a day. Common Leukotriene antagonists include Montelukast, Zafirlukast... Biologics: If you have severe asthma that doesn't respond to your properly used controller, you may be able to get your asthma treated with a trial of a drug. biologics such as Omalizumab for allergen asthma. You can take this medication as an injection every 2 to 4 weeks. Other biologics can also stop your immune cells from making things that cause inflammation. Long-term asthma control medications, taken daily, help reduce the number and severity of asthma symptoms, but they do not control the immediate symptoms of an exacerbation. If you have an asthma attack, you need to take asthma medication. Distinguishing these two drugs is very important, you need to carefully read the instructions and take notes if you accidentally forget or the caregiver is not clear.
Not all patients take all of these asthma control medications. It should be used depending on the level, if mild, the patient only needs to take long-term bronchodilators, if the asthma is not controlled, continue to combine or increase the dose. This requires regular visits to get an assessment of your asthma control, from which your doctor will prescribe the right medication for you.
3. Measures to prevent an asthma attack
In addition to needing to know what medication asthmatics take, you also need to know some non-pharmacological measures that can control asthma attacks.
Need to avoid triggers that cause asthma attacks such as dust, polluted environment, irritants, cigarette smoke ... Regular exercise to improve health and improve respiratory system with exercises breathe . Maintain a healthy weight, avoid foods that cause irritation or allergies. Some people use additional treatments that can also be effective, such as yoga, acupuncture, vitamin supplements... Need to recognize asthma attacks early to treat early to reduce the risk of severe. Routine visit: This is also important because it helps to assess how well your friend's asthma is under control. From there, the right drugs are available. Hopefully through the drug you have known what asthma patients take. All medications are prescribed by your doctor, and you should not use them on your own to minimize the risk of side effects and poor asthma control.
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