Emergency treatment of bronchial asthma
Emergency treatment is successful with medication that has a quick and short-term effect against acute shortness of breath. Bronchodilators, which belong to the group of beta-2 sympathomimetics, are helpful for this. Substances of this type, which take effect within a few minutes, include salbutamol or terbutaline. They are inhaled during an asthmatic crisis, relax the respiratory muscles and their effects wear off after a few hours. If this is not enough to get the shortness of breath under control again, a visit to us may be necessary. Further medication is administered here, such as corticosteroids and oxygen via a nasal tube.
Long-term treatment of bronchial asthma
The aim of long-term treatment of bronchial asthma is for the person affected to remain symptom-free. There are various drug therapy approaches for this. The therapy scheme for this is based on a step-by-step plan of the GINA guideline(Global INitiativefor Asthma).
Medication for bronchial asthma
For the long-term treatment of bronchial asthma, we administer anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator medication. The effect of bronchodilator medication – for example formoterol or salmeterol – can last up to twelve hours. They are combined with anti-inflammatory corticosteroids to control swelling and mucus formation in the airways. Such inhaled corticosteroids include budesonide, fluticasone and mometasone. Alternatively, we can also prescribe leukotriene antagonists, such as the substance montelukast. These active ingredients neutralize messenger substances that worsen the inflammation of the airways. An additional therapy for severe allergic bronchial asthma is so-called antibody therapy with omalizumab. We inject the product once or twice a month. Other antibody therapies are available for severe eosinophilic asthma.
