Gamot sa Asthma: The Best Medicine for Asthma Attack

When you have asthma and you’re fighting to breathe, your medicine for asthma attack is your lifeline. But not all asthmatics have the same meds. Some medicines are for prevention, while others specifically treat asthma attacks. Other medicines can even be taken in different ways. What are the medicines for asthma attacks that you need to know about? Ano nga ba ang mabisang gamot sa asthma?

All About Asthma and Asthma Attacks

Asthma is a chronic condition that causes inflammation and narrowing in the airways of the lungs. This can lead to wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing¹.

Asthma commonly has triggers such as exposure to allergens or environmental factors like pollution or changes in the weather. When exposure to a trigger happens, it can lead to constriction of the bronchial tubes and severe difficulties in breathing. These terrifying symptoms are known as asthma attacks, and they can last for minutes to hours or even days. Medicine for asthma attacks can help to relieve most symptoms². 

Gamot sa Asthma: Types of Delivery

Most asthma medicines are delivered straight to your lungs through an inhaler or a nebulizer. There are also some uncommon asthma medicines, such as injections or oral medications.

Inhaler

There are four kinds of inhalers³:

1. Breath actuated inhalers have a medicine in powder or aerosol form. Like dry powder inhalers, the medicine is also inhaled when you breathe in. It does not spray out of the inhaler.
2. Dry powder inhalers contain no propellant. The medicine is inhaled when you breathe in.
3. Metered dose inhalers release a measured dose of medicine plus a propellant in a short burst.
4. Soft mist inhalers spray the medicine out of the inhaler. They do not contain propellant.

Inhalers are portable and easy to use; however, it is also easy to make mistakes in their operation. To ensure effectiveness, some people (such as children) use a device called a spacer.

Nebulizer

Nebulizers turn liquid medicine for asthma into a fine mist. With a face mask over your nose and mouth, you can then simply inhale the mist by breathing normally.

Nebulizers are simple to use and effective, but most machines are bulky and require power. There are portable nebulizers, but these are often costly.

Gamot sa Asthma

The goal of asthma treatment is to minimize symptoms and eliminate asthma attacks so that normal lung function can be restored⁴. Typically, this involves three kinds of treatments: 1) identifying and avoiding triggers 2) preventive medicine and 3) medicine for asthma attacks.

1. Gamot sa Asthma: Medicine for Asthma Attack

Starting with the most urgent, the first kind of treatment for asthma is medicine for when asthma attacks occur. For this purpose, doctors prescribe bronchodilators, a kind of medicine that opens your airways to help you breathe.

There are two kinds of bronchodilators: short-acting bronchodilators for quick relief and long-acting bronchodilators which can keep the airways open for 12-24 hours, depending on the type³.

2. Gamot sa Asthma: Preventive Medicine

To prevent asthma attacks from occurring in the first place, and to control asthma symptoms, your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory steroids. These include inhaled corticosteroids or oral corticosteroids (sometimes used when individuals don’t respond to other asthma medicines)³.

3. Avoiding Triggers

Identifying and avoiding triggers is an integral part of asthma treatment. Together with your doctor, you can identify what your asthma triggers are, such as allergens (pollen, dust mites, mold), irritants in the air (smoke, pollution), medication or weather conditions⁵. Knowing your triggers, you can then avoid or eliminate them, or make lifestyle changes if needed.

Learn more about Asthma here.