Bronchial Asthma Treatment: How Can You Control Severe Asthma?
The common type of asthma, if one really needs to be technical, is called bronchial asthma. It is characterized by the airways getting reversibly narrowed, and the symptoms that accompany it – most commonly coughing, shortness of breath. Wheezing, which is the crackling or whistling noise accompanying breathing, is a common symptom of asthma as well. But sometimes the asthma is so severe that no wheezing can even be heard.
The most common medication for bronchial asthma is bronchodilator-containing inhalers. Bronchodilators are substances that target the lungs and the bronchi to provide relief from symptoms of asthma. These come in two categories. The first is the long-acting, long-term, or controller inhalers. It contains bronchodilators specifically designed to prevent or at the very least reduce asthma attack occurrences. They are usually used with anti-inflammatory medications to maintain the open airways.
The second category is the quick-acting or rescue medications. These are bronchodilators that provide quick-relief from bronchoconstriction. They are designed for temporary relief from asthma attacks while their long-term counterparts take care of preventing them.
Sometimes, controller medications don't work. Asthma attacks may have no noticeable reduction in occurrence even with higher dosage. For severe asthma that is difficult to control, a bronchodilator called theophylline is sometimes administered. Theophylline is a drug used primarily for respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and asthma.
Theophylline is naturally extracted from tea leaves and its structure is pharmacologically similar to that of caffeine. Like many medications, it has side-effects. These include, but are not limited to, diarrhea, vomiting, nervousness, headaches, nausea, and hyperactivity. Since dosage is a maximum of four times daily, theophylline treatment is usually prescribed only for serious asthma cases and is rarely used clinically. Theophylline is a bronchodilator that only needs to be taken upon doctor’s orders and only doctors have a say if you need this treatment.
Johnson Star was an asthma sufferer for 20 years. For more detailed instructions and the latest bronchial asthma treatment, be sure to visit http://www.17minasthmaandallergysecrets.com/, and get your FREE 10-day mini-ecourse right now.