Asthma

Treatment

Asthma is a chronic condition that requires long-term care to control the inflammation in your airways. Your doctor will help you learn ways to deal with your asthma and manage flare-ups, including medication use, asthma symptom and trigger control, and symptom and lung function monitoring.

Asthma medications

Your doctor may prescribe medications that you inhale, take in pill form or receive through a device that converts medication to a fine mist (nebulizer). Usually, you'll take some medications to provide quick relief during an asthma attack and others regularly to reduce airway inflammation. If you also have diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), heart failure, osteoporosis or arthritis, taking all your medications may be complicated. Your doctor will determine the appropriate medications for you, and you'll learn how to take all your medications correctly.

Other treatments

Your doctor may recommend other treatments.

• Allergy shots (allergen immunotherapy, hyposensitization or desensitization). Regular injections can lessen your sensitivity to allergens that cause inflammation of your airway.
• Experimental treatments. Mayo Clinic doctors and researchers continually develop and test new treatments for asthma. Your doctor will discuss clinical trials or experimental treatments that may be appropriate with you.

Controlling asthma

By managing your asthma, you can relieve your symptoms and minimize the side effects from asthma medication. Aside from medication, you should consider:

• Elements of your environment that can trigger or enhance your asthma symptoms. Your health care team can help you identify the allergens and irritants that trigger your asthma symptoms so that you can avoid them or reduce your exposure.
• Indoor air. Your doctor can advise you how to improve your air quality.
• Immunization for influenza and pneumonia. Staying current with immunizations can prevent flu and pneumonia from triggering asthma flare-ups.

Monitoring asthma

When you monitor your asthma, you're taking an important first step in effectively managing it. Your doctor may suggest that you:

• Keep a daily diary. Recording the events and environmental factors that bring on asthma symptoms or make them worse can help you better manage your asthma.
• Measure your airflow. You may use a peak flow meter to measure the changes in your airway by measuring the flow of air. Understanding symptoms and the peak flow reading let you know if your treatment is working.

Read more about asthma medications at MayoClinic.com.