Medications and Treatments

There are many medications available now to help control asthma and minimize attacks when they happen. Corticosteroids are the primary treatment for Asthma4 (personally, I take Dulera and Spiriva). These steroids allow for long-term suppression of asthma symptoms but take weeks of continued usage to build up within your body. Bronchodilators are used for immediate relief when an asthma attack is happening. It helps relieve the airway restrictions.

Long-term asthma control medications

Quick-relief (rescue) medications

  • Inhaled corticosteroids. These medications include fluticasone propionate (Flovent HFA, Flovent Diskus, Xhance), budesonide (Pulmicort Flexhaler, Pulmicort Respules, Rhinocort), ciclesonide (Alvesco), beclomethasone (Qvar Redihaler), mometasone (Asmanex HFA, Asmanex Twisthaler) and fluticasone furoate (Arnuity Ellipta).
  • Leukotriene modifiers. These oral medications — including montelukast (Singulair), zafirlukast (Accolate) and zileuton (Zyflo) — help relieve asthma symptoms.
  • Combination inhalers. These medications — such as fluticasone-salmeterol (Advair HFA, Airduo Digihaler, others), budesonide-formoterol (Symbicort), formoterol-mometasone (Dulera) and fluticasone furoate-vilanterol (Breo Ellipta) — contain a long-acting beta agonist along with a corticosteroid.
  • Theophylline. Theophylline (Theo-24, Elixophyllin, Theochron) is a daily pill that helps keep the airways open by relaxing the muscles around the airways. It’s not used as often as other asthma medications and requires regular blood tests.
  • Short-acting beta agonists. These inhaled, quick-relief bronchodilators act within minutes to rapidly ease symptoms during an asthma attack. They include albuterol (ProAir HFA, Ventolin HFA, others) and levalbuterol (Xopenex, Xopenex HFA).Short-acting beta agonists can be taken using a portable, hand-held inhaler or a nebulizer, a machine that converts asthma medications to a fine mist. They’re inhaled through a face mask or mouthpiece.
  • Anticholinergic agents. Like other bronchodilators, ipratropium (Atrovent HFA) and tiotropium (Spiriva, Spiriva Respimat) act quickly to immediately relax your airways, making it easier to breathe. They’re mostly used for emphysema and chronic bronchitis, but can be used to treat asthma.
  • Oral and intravenous corticosteroids. These medications — which include prednisone (Prednisone Intensol, Rayos) and methylprednisolone (Medrol, Depo-Medrol, Solu-Medrol) — relieve airway inflammation caused by severe asthma. They can cause serious side effects when used long term, so these drugs are used only on a short-term basis to treat severe asthma symptoms.

Allergy medications

  • Allergy shots (immunotherapy). Over time, allergy shots gradually reduce your immune system reaction to specific allergens. You generally receive shots once a week for a few months, then once a month for a period of three to five years.
  • Biologics. These medications — which include omalizumab (Xolair), mepolizumab (Nucala), dupilumab (Dupixent), reslizumab (Cinqair) and benralizumab (Fasenra) — are specifically for people who have severe asthma.

(List of Medications all come from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20369660)

There is no cure for asthma as of yet. However, I did come across an article that states they have formulated a potential vaccine for asthma that seems to be effective in mice. In cases where corticosteroids are not enough, the use of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies that target IgE or the IL-4 and IL-13 pathways is then required. “To overcome this problem, researchers from Inserm, Institut Pasteur, and the company NEOVACS, have developed a conjugate vaccine, called a kinoid, by coupling the recombinant cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 with a carrier protein called CRM197 (a non-pathogenic mutated form of the diphtheria toxin, used in many conjugate vaccines)”5. They are seeing after one year, 60% of the mice still had the antibodies. I think this is fascinating and look forward to the possibilities this can create for people with severe asthma.

Allergies & Asthma
Why The Climb?

References:

4mayoclinic (2020) Retrieved from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20369660

5pasteur (2021) Retrieved from: https://www.pasteur.fr/en/home/press-area/press-documents/asthma-vaccine-effective-mice