In the therapy of bronchial asthma, a distinction is made between preventive basic therapy (permanent medication) and acute therapy for asthma attacks (on-demand medication). While preventive basic therapy is characterized by continuous medication, acute therapy for asthma attacks is characterized by on-demand medication.
Asthma: goals of therapy
General goals-regardless of the form of therapy-are as follows in the treatment of bronchial asthma:
- Reduce symptoms or, at best, cause them to disappear
- Reduce acute seizures, or at best prevent them altogether
- Keep chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract in check or reduce it.
- Keep lung function stable or improve
- Maintain quality of life and reduce or completely avoid restrictions in everyday life due to asthma
- Enable children and young people a normal physical and mental development
During therapy, a balance must be found between the effectiveness of the medication and its side effects.
Therapy: medication for asthma
Almost always, treatment is composed of on-demand and preventive medications. It is important to take especially the preventive therapy seriously – it is more beneficial to health to take the permanent medication consistently and regularly than to always react only when an acute attack occurs. If the preventive therapy is well adjusted, medication on demand is only rarely necessary (in the best case not at all). Most medications are inhaled during therapy – so they get to the site quickly. In an emergency, for example, infusions are also given to treat bronchial asthma.
The medications for a therapy are individually composed by the doctor depending on the severity of the asthma and may have to be adjusted again and again in the course of a therapy to the current situation of the person affected by asthma. In principle, a distinction is made in the therapy of bronchial asthma between anticonvulsants (betamimetics such as salbutamol, terbutaline, formoterol), anti-inflammatory drugs (cortisone, leukotriene inhibitors) and airway dilators (theophylline). Some of these medications are now also offered as combination preparations for the treatment of asthma.
Alternative treatment for bronchial asthma
Alternative medicine procedures can be used adjunctively. They can reduce the symptoms associated with bronchial asthma, the frequency of asthma attacks, and thus the use of medications. These include methods to strengthen the immune system (water therapy, microbiological therapy), acupuncture or homeopathic constitutional therapy.