Side effects of asthma medicines
Side effects of reliever medicines
Relievers are a safe and effective medicine and have very few side effects. You cannot overdose on reliever medicine. Some relievers can temporarily increase your heartbeat or give you mild muscle shakes. These effects are more common when taking high doses. However they generally wear off within a few minutes or a few hours at most.
How to prevent asthma
1)Identify and minimize contact with your asthma triggers. Avoiding your triggers is the best way to reduce your need for medication and to prevent asthma episodes. But first, you have to learn what those triggers are. Any time you have an asthma episode, think about where you were and what you were doing in the past day or so.
Take your medications as prescribed. Asthma medicines are usually inhaled through a machine called a nebulizer, through a small device called a metered dose inhaler (also called an inhaler, puffer, or MDI) or through a dry powder inhaler (DPI). For inhalers to work well, you must use them correctly.
There are two main types of asthma treatment medicines:
* Long-Term Control Medicines: also called preventers, are taken daily, usually over long periods of time, to control chronic symptoms and to prevent asthma episodes or attacks. The effects of these medicines are generally felt after taking them for a few weeks. Long-term control medicines are necessary for people with persistent asthma.
Long-term control medications include :
* Long-acting beta-agonists are one kind of long-term control medication. They are bronchodilators, not anti-inflammatory drugs. These medicines are used to aid in controlling moderate to severe asthma as well as in preventing night-time symptoms. Long-acting beta-agonists are taken in conjunction with an inhaled corticosteroid medicine.
The main prevention drugs that are taken are;
Long-acting beta-agonists - This class of drug is very similar to that of adrenaline. This drug is usually inhaled. After taking this medication you may become a bit shaky and disorientated. They are used to keep the breathing passages open for up to around 12 hours.
Side effects of preventer medicines
General Potential Side Effects: nausea, vomiting, headaches, nervousness, restlessness, insomnia. Side effects are especially prevalent in children and the elderly, who are more sensitive to medication side effects.
Specific Side Effects of Beta-Agonists: jitters, tremors, flushing, headaches, rapid and/or irregular heart rate, overuse can cause air tubes to spasm.
