What’s a bronchodilator, anyway?
How can antihistamines help asthma symptoms?
Here’s another addition to the Asthma Mom Glossary, definitions for all the asthma and asthma-related meds I can think of. Did I leave one out? Just let me know.
Antibiotic – destroys or stops the growth of bacteria that causes an infection. Antibiotics will not heal viral illnesses like the flu or a cold. Narrow-spectrum antibiotics treat a specific type of bacteria, like that causing strep throat, while broad-spectrum antibiotics treat a variety of bacteria or a drug-resistant strain of one. Recent research suggests broad-spectrum antibiotic use in a baby’s first year increases the risk of developing asthma.
Example: Amoxicillin
Anticholinergic – long-acting maintenance bronchodilator that will help prevent flares but not stop them once started. Anticholinergic inhalers work by stopping the parasympathetic nerve impulse from starting the smooth muscle spasms around the airways.
Example: Atrovent
Antihistamine – blocks the effects of histamine, the compound in an allergic reaction that causes symptoms like irritated eyes, itchiness, swelling, runny nose, and post-nasal drip. Antihistamines are available orally or in a spray.
Example: Loratadine (Clarityn)
Beta 2-agonist – bronchodilator available in short-acting form for emergency/quick relief or long-acting form for prevention. Asthma patients use short-acting beta 2-agonist inhalers as their main relief medications during flares. Beta 2-agonists work by binding to the adrenergic receptor to relax the smooth muscles around the bronchioles, preventing spasms.
Example: Ventolin (Albuterol)
Bronchodilator – any medicine that opens the bronchioles (airways) by relaxing the smooth muscles around them and clearing excess mucus. During an asthma flare, the smooth muscles spasm and the bronchioles produce more mucus, restricting airflow. Types of bronchodilators include anticholinergics, beta 2-agonists, and theophylline.
Corticosteroid – reduces lung inflammation and swelling in the lungs. A corticosteroid inhaler works as a preventative medicine because an asthma trigger will not affect healthy lung tissue as severely as inflamed tissue. In a pill or liquid suspension, corticosteroids are used to rapidly reduce inflammation during a severe flare. Often simply called steroid.
Example, inhaled steroid: Fluticasone propionate (Flovent)
Example, oral steroid: Prednisone
Decongestant – oral medicine that shrinks swollen mucus membranes in the nose, reducing congestion and runny noses. Many asthmatics have problems with excess mucus in the nose as well as in the lungs.
Example: Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)
Epinephrine – another name for adrenaline, a hormone. Epinephrine suppressed the immune system and can also act as a bronchodilator. Used to treat anaphylaxis and, less commonly, severe asthma flares during an emergency or when the flare doesn’t respond to other bronchodilators.
Leukotriene modifier – blocks leukotrienes, a chemical in the body that produces too much mucus and constricts airways. Some patients with mild asthma successfully use leukotriene modifiers, an oral medicine, rather than inhaled corticosteroids for maintenance.
Example: Montelukast (Singulair)
Mast cell stabilizers – preventative inhalers that work by inhibiting mast cells from releasing inflammatory compounds. They work mostly for mild asthmatics, since they are not as effective as corticosteroids in preventing inflammation.
Example: Cromolyn sodium (Intal)
Preventative medicines – used to maintain good lung health and prevent or lessen the severity of asthma flares. Some work as anti-inflammatories, and others are long-acting bronchodilators. No preventative medication will stop an asthma flare once it starts. Leukotriene modifiers, anticholinergics, mast cell stabilizers, and inhaled corticosteroids are preventative asthma medications.
Quick-relief medicines – those medicines that rapidly force the airways open during an asthma flare. Also called relief, emergency, or reliever medicines. Short-acting beta 2-agonist inhalers are the main reliever medicines.
Theophylline – a long-acting bronchodilator used as a preventative. Theophylline is related to caffeine and has more serious severe effects than other bronchodilators. Dosage must be monitored very carefully to avoid toxic overdose. Doctors usually prescribe theophylline to enhance other preventatives in severe cases, when other bronchodilators do not work, or when a patient needs to take an oral medicine instead of an inhaled one. Available as a pill or liquid.
Example: Elixophyllin
ABOUT THIS POST
This is part of the asthma glossary which I compiled for myself and originally published as BellaOnline’s asthma editor. Because the entire list is so long, I arranged the definitions into mini-glossaries by subject, and I’ll post each section over the next few weeks. When I’m done, you’ll be able to read the entire glossary through the tab above or find the mini-sections through the Asthma Glossaries category in the right sidebar.
I hesitate to use the word comprehensive here. That’s a pretty big word. What I’ll say, instead, is this glossary feels comprehensive to me. As with everything else I write on this blog, I don’t claim expert knowledge so much as I pass along what helped me, in case it might help you.
Related Posts:
Asthma Mom’s Glossary of Lung Terms
Asthma Mom’s Glossary of Symptom Terms
Hi Amy, Thanks for reading my stuff. Most of my non-asthmatic readers probably have no idea what Im talking about.
Im gonna be writing more about the recovery phase of a severe exacerbation ( at least from my perspective) in the near future.
As far as home care, I’ve had many discussions about that with my doctors. The fact of the matter is, I already do more self care at home then most asthmatics. I have neb machines, O2, Pulse oxs, even a BiPap machine. The problem is, once I get sick, I deteriorate so rapidly, the fear is I would die at home before seeking hospital medical care. There is only so much I can do at home. I can’t self -admisitered IV steroids , I cant intubate or ventilate myself.
Of course, its ultimately up to me weather or not I keep going to the hospital when I get sick, but at this point in my life I haven t made the decision to change my code status to a DNR.
( DO NOT RECUSCITATE)
Keep up the great work! I think you have one of the best asthma blogs on the web!
Thanks, Steve–I think your perspective is pretty valuable for people like me, especially–parents who don’t know what their children are feeling/experiencing. So I’m looking forward to reading more about the recovery.