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Warning For Asthma Patients Regarding Inhalers

Warning for asthma patients regarding inhalers - CBS Chicago

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Doctors warn asthma patients about a major change coming to inhalers. Starting January 1, the inhaler Flovent made by GSK will no longer be on pharmacy shelves. Physicians say an authorized generic version takes its place.

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Understanding The Terms 'Acute' And 'Chronic' When It Comes To Asthma

Asthma is considered a chronic condition. However, its symptoms may be considered acute when they temporarily become more severe, like during an asthma attack.

Asthma is a respiratory condition marked by inflammation and narrowing of the airways. This can result in a range of recurring symptoms, including:

wheezing

coughing

shortness of breath

chest tightness

Asthma is a chronic condition, meaning it's a long-term condition that requires ongoing management. However, asthma exacerbation — also known as an asthma attack — can be acute. These periods of severe symptoms tend to come on suddenly and require quick treatment.

Here's a closer look at acute asthma exacerbation, some common triggers for it, and tips for managing asthma.

Acute asthma exacerbation is a sudden and severe worsening of your asthma symptoms.

During acute asthma exacerbation, the airways in your lungs become inflamed and narrow, making breathing difficult. Other asthma symptoms — like wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath — can also worsen.

You may also notice that your usual medications, like your inhaler, provide less relief during these moments.

Read more about acute asthma exacerbation.

Acute asthma exacerbation usually has a specific trigger, such as:

exposure to allergens, like pollen, pet dander, or mold

respiratory infections, such as colds or the flu

exposure to environmental irritants, like smoke, strong odors, or air pollution

not taking your prescribed asthma medications as directed

ignoring or not recognizing early symptoms of worsening asthma

strenuous exercise

emotional stress or anxiety

Asthma triggers can vary a lot from person to person. If you aren't sure what yours are, consider keeping a symptom journal to track whether certain foods, activities, or environments tend to coincide with acute exacerbation of your symptoms.

Asthma is typically a lifelong condition, but your symptoms can go through cycles of improving and worsening. In some cases, the overall severity of your symptoms might decrease, though your airways will likely remain sensitive to certain triggers.

Keeping up with the treatment plan that your healthcare professional prescribed, even during periods of minimal symptoms, can help prevent acute exacerbation.

Like many other chronic conditions, asthma requires ongoing management. Depending on your symptoms and their severity, this will likely involve a combination of medical treatment, lifestyle changes, and monitoring.

Medical treatment

The medical treatment of asthma may include:

Bronchodilators: Short-acting bronchodilators, like albuterol, provide quick relief by relaxing the muscles around the airways, allowing them to open up and improve airflow. These are helpful during acute symptoms or before exercise.

Long-acting bronchodilators: You may need these regularly to keep your airways open over time. They're often combined with inhaled corticosteroids in one inhaler (combination inhalers) to provide both bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory effects.

Inhaled corticosteroids: These anti-inflammatory medications help reduce airway inflammation. They're useful as a preventive measure to reduce the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms.

Leukotriene modifiers: These medications block the action of leukotrienes, which lead to inflammation and constriction of the airways.

Biologic therapies: For severe asthma, you may need biologic therapies to target specific immune responses involved in acute asthma exacerbation.

Lifestyle adjustments

Healthy diet: Eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins can support your overall health and improve asthma symptoms.

Regular exercise: Getting physical activity can help improve your overall fitness and lung function. Just be sure to talk with your care team before starting a new exercise regimen.

Stress management: Practicing stress reduction techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can be helpful if stress tends to trigger your asthma.

Trigger management: Identifying and avoiding your asthma triggers — such as allergens, smoke, strong odors, cold air, or exercise — can help prevent asthma attacks.

Monitoring

Monitor peak flow: Using peak flow meters to monitor your lung function regularly can help you identify worsening symptoms earlier.

Regular doctors' visits: It's best to schedule regular follow-up appointments with a healthcare professional to assess your asthma control, adjust medications if necessary, and address any other concerns.

Asthma is a chronic condition that requires long-term management. However, you may experience acute asthma exacerbation, meaning a sudden worsening of symptoms.

For most people with asthma, the condition will never go away completely, but the symptoms can improve over time.

Warning Over Asthma Inhalers

Excessive use of reliever inhalers for asthma is linked to a significantly increased risk of dying from the disease, a new study revealed today.

Researchers found that over-use of short acting reliever drugs known as beta agonists is associated with a higher risk of death from asthma.

But regular use of inhaled steroids, known as longer acting preventer drugs, was linked with a decreased risk of asthma death.

They discovered that people prescribed more than one reliever inhaler a month cut their risk of death by 60% if they also regularly used a preventer inhaler.

The study was based on more than 96,000 patients in the UK diagnosed with asthma who were entered onto the General Practice Research Database between 1994 and 1998.

Of these, 43 had died from asthma, with 35 of the deaths in people aged 50 and above.

The research team from Connecticut, USA, calculated the relative risk of dying from asthma for people using the preventer and reliever drugs, taking into account factors such as the patients' age, sex, weight, smoking habits and frequency of GP visits.

They found that between seven and 12 prescriptions of reliever inhalers in the previous year increased the risk 16-fold and 13 or more prescriptions increased it by more than 50-fold.

The authors, writing in the journal Thorax today, state that asthma death is a rare outcome for which the rates have been declining.

But they say: "Despite the variety of respiratory medications available, inhaled steroids constituted the only class of respiratory drug in this study which was consistently related to a decreased risk of asthma death."

The British Thoracic Society said that reliever inhalers have their place in the management of asthma.

Dr John Harvey of the BTS said: "This research clearly demonstrates just how important it is for asthma patients to use both reliever and preventer medicines if they are prescribed by their GP.

"Both can have their place in managing mild and severe asthma correctly."

Preventer medication, which is usually in a brown, red or orange inhaler, helps to control swelling and inflammation in the airways for the long term.

Reliever inhalers, which are typically blue, are taken as required to relieve symptoms by relaxing muscles in narrowed airways.

The BTS said overwhelming research showed both forms of medication are safe and effective.

It is advising anyone concerned about using reliever inhalers to talk to their GP or asthma nurse.

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