The main goals of having an asthma treatment plan are not only treating your asthma before, during, and after an attack but also to help prevent asthma attacks in the future. Many people suffer from asthma which is an inflammatory condition. When a person has asthma they have an inflammation in their airway passage and their lungs. When this happens it can lead to the constriction of your bronchioles causing the pathway that is used for air to pass through to become narrower. When this happens your alveoli and lungs do not get the air that they need causing breathing and wheezing problems.
There are many things that can set off an asthma attack such as dust, pollen, exercise, and more. This is where your first level of treatment comes into play. When it has been established what is causing your asthma it is time to formulate your asthma treatment plan level one. Usually this involves giving medications that will give an asthma sufferer to experience immediate relief when you are actually having an attack. One medication used is short acting beta agonists, which when inhaled let to bronchodilation. This is when your tightened muscles around your bronchial tubes relax and your passages open allowing you to take in air. This type of medication will give a person suffering from an asthma attach quick relief. This type of medicine is fast acting and can last for several hours.
Your physician may also prescribe corticosteroids which can be taken intravenously or orally. The treatment may help your asthma by mitigating inflammation airway symptoms. This medication is normally used for people who have asthma attacks that are not only severe but also happen on a regular basis. This is a steroid medication and because they have many side effects if taken if taken for a long period of time physicians try to avoid using it extensively
The second level of treatment involves what you should do to prevent having an asthma attack. This also involves taking medication such as a long acting beta agonists which are inhaled to help reduce the inflammation that asthma causes and to bring on bronchodilation. They are not solely for treating the symptoms of an asthma attack and are to be used strictly in combination with steroidal medications. There are also inhalation corticosteroids which are used as long term medications. This medication is taken to help curb how often asthma attacks occur. Because you inhale this medication the potential of having side effects is much lower than the medication that you take intravenously or orally. One medication that you can take that last all day is called leukotriene modifiers.
These are two levels of an asthma treatment plan which should be discussed with your physician to see which medication, if any that they want to put you on for your asthma. What medication depends a lot on how bad and how frequent your asthma attacks are. Every person is different because each one has different triggers as to what causes them to have an asthma attack. Sometimes it takes trying several medications before finding one that works for you.