Asthma

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the small airways in your lungs. This inflammation is always present, even if you have no symptoms. With asthma, your lungs are extra sensitive to stimuli, such as smoke, pets or air pollution. This can cause shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing when breathing. Sometimes it can get so bad that you have an asthma attack.

How does asthma feel?

If you have asthma, you probably recognize moments of stuffiness or wheezing when breathing. This is especially common with stimuli to which you are sensitive, such as smoke, cold air or allergies. During an asthma attack, your airways become narrower through a combination of swollen mucous membranes and tightening of the muscles around the airways. This makes breathing more difficult and can be frightening, but it is usually not directly dangerous.

Can you be cured of asthma?

Asthma is a disease that does not go away, but you can have long periods without symptoms. However, the inflammation in your lungs always remains. Sometimes you may not notice anything for weeks or months, but the symptoms can come back, such as from colds or changes in the weather. With proper treatment and medication, you can keep your asthma well under control.

What can you do to reduce asthma?

No smoking: Smoking or second-hand smoke significantly worsens asthma. It damages your lungs and makes them more sensitive to stimuli. Quitting smoking can reduce your asthma symptoms and make your medications work better.
Exercise: Regular exercise is important, even if you sometimes get stuffy while exercising. Try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day, such as walking, cycling or swimming. This helps keep your lungs healthy.
Avoid stimuli: Do you know what stimuli you are sensitive to, such as dust mites or pets? Then try to avoid these stimuli as much as possible, both at home and at work. Sometimes allergy treatment can help, which can also reduce your asthma.
Healthy weight: Being overweight makes treating asthma more difficult. Losing weight can help reduce your symptoms.

When should you get in touch?

Contact your doctor if your symptoms don't lessen or if you have trouble taking your medication. Call urgently if you are experiencing a severe lung attack, such as if you are breathing very fast, your heart is beating rapidly or you can no longer utter complete sentences.

With proper treatment, you can keep asthma well under control. Don't keep walking around with symptoms and follow the advice to minimize the inconvenience of your asthma.

Medication for asthma

Asthma is treatable with medications, but they do not cure the disease.

Airway dilators to inhale
Airway dilators are medications that cause the cramping in your airways to ease. This allows you to breathe more easily again. You inhale these medications through a puffer.
- Short-acting airway dilators work within minutes and remain active for a few hours. They are designed to provide quick relief from an asthma attack. Examples of these medications are ipratropium, salbutamol and terbutaline.
- Long-acting airway dilators start working after about 15 minutes and remain active for about half a day. You use these medications if you have frequent asthma attacks to prevent them. Examples include formoterol, salmeterol and tiotropium.
Airway protectors to inhale
Airway protectors are anti-inflammatory medications that you also inhale through a puffer. They protect your airways from stimuli that cause asthma. This reduces the inflammation in your lungs and makes you less likely to get shortness of breath. Examples include beclomethasone, budesonide and fluticasone.
- Adrenal bark hormones (corticosteroids)
Adrenal bark hormones, also called corticosteroids, are sometimes given in tablet form as a "shock treatment." You use this for a short period of time, from a few days to two weeks, when your asthma temporarily gets worse. Examples include prednisone and dexamethasone.
- Montelukast
Montelukast is a medication that protects your lungs from stimuli that cause asthma. This medicine reduces inflammation and shortness of breath. It is prescribed when airway protectors and bronchodilators do not help enough.
- Omalizumab
Omalizumab is a medication that prevents the release of substances that cause your airways to contract. This drug makes you less likely to have an asthma attack. This can reduce the number of attacks of shortness of breath.
- Interleukin inhibitors (injections)
Interleukin inhibitors are used in a non-allergic form of asthma, also called eosinophilic asthma. In this form, you have too many certain white blood cells (eosinophils) in your blood and lungs, which makes the inflammation worse. This medication lowers the number of eosinophils, which reduces the inflammation and makes you less likely to have an asthma attack. Examples include benralizumab and mepolizumab.
- Dupilumab
Dupilumab is also used for eosinophilic asthma, when other medications don't work enough. This drug blocks inflammatory cells, reducing inflammation and making you less prone to asthma attacks.
- Acetylcysteine
Acetylcysteine makes mucus in your lungs thinner, making it easier to cough up. This makes you feel less stuffy.
- Cromone-type anti-allergy drugs
These drugs reduce the release of substances in the airways that cause stuffiness. They are used in people with an allergic form of asthma when airway protectants such as corticosteroids are not possible. An example is cromoglicic acid.
- Anti-allergy drugs (antihistamines)
Antihistamines block the action of histamine, a substance released during an allergic reaction. This makes you suffer less from an allergy and can prevent asthma attacks. These drugs are not commonly used. An example is ketotifen.
- Theophylline
Theophylline is a respiratory remover that is not inhaled, but comes in tablet form. This drug is almost not used for asthma these days.

Inhalation is quite tricky

We see quite often in the pharmacy that inhalation is not done properly. And that's not surprising, because it's also pretty tricky. Medications come in all sorts of different inhalers. Airway dilators are drugs that eliminate cramping in the airways, so you can breathe easier again.Some puffers must be used every day to work properly, while others are used only "as needed,". You can find helpful instructional videos on inhaleruse.com. We list them for you: