Asthma Control and Treatment Essay

Total Length: 699 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

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Long-term and Quick Relief Treatment Options

Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammation of someone’s bronchial tubes (Szefler, Holguin, & Wechsler, 2017). Inflammation of respiratory airways leads to narrowing and swelling of the bronchi resulting in difficult breathing. Some of the symptoms of asthma are coughing and wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest pain/tightness (Szefler, Holguin, & Wechsler, 2017). There are various treatments for bronchial inflammation. Some are long-term, and some are quick-acting.

Long-term options are inhaled corticosteroids. Such a prescription is often the most common option in the form of Budesonide, beclomethasone, fluticasone, and flunisolide that act on chronic inflammation. Another option is a long-acting beta agonist like salmeterol and formoterol. Quick relief medications can be oral/intravenous corticosteroids like Prednisone that immediately reduce inflammation and relax the airways. Another option are short-acting beta antagonists like albuterol and levalbuterol.

Impact of Asthma Drugs

Corticosteroids have a list of side effects that can affect asthma patients. For example, inhaled corticosteroids can increase the likelihood of oral candidiasis and dysphonia (Chanez, 2012). Asthma patients may also experience a broncospasm or reflex cough making exhalation noisy and hard. Long-term use of corticosteroids can also lead to easy bruising, glaucoma and cataracts, adrenal glad suppression, and decreased bone density (Chanez, 2012).


Other treatment options like long acting beta agonists (LABA) have their own side effects like worsening of asthma symptoms and a potential for heart attack. LABAS should not be used as a single treatment option, but in conjunction with other treatment options. Leukotriene modifiers may cause stomach upset, rash, headaches, and liver test abnormalities among other symptoms. Thus, demonstrating the potential impact of asthma drugs on human health.

Stepwise Approach to Asthma Treatment and Management

The first step is to minimize impairment. One can do this by preventing troublesome and chronic symptoms like breathlessness or coughing during the daytime. Next is the requirement of infrequently using SABA, around 2 days a week, for fast relief of symptoms (Parthasarathy, Bhave, Borker, & Nair, 2013). The next step is maintenance of normal pulmonary function. This can be done through maintenance of normal activity levels like going to school, exercising, and so forth. The next step are expectations of families and patients regarding satisfaction of asthma care. The other step is detailed below:

Reducing risk

· Prevent recurrent exacerbations of asthma, and minimize the need for ED visits….....

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