According to a recently concluded research by British scientists, rarely prescribed asthma pills made by drug makers such as AstraZeneca and Merck are easier to use and just as potent as conventional inhaler treatments.

The involved researchers tracked 650 patients with chronic asthma for two years and found the tablets managed the disease as well as steroid inhalers, as per a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. The scientists were of the view that asthma patients taking the pills were more likely to stick to their medication. It was remarked by researchers led by David Price at University of Aberdeen and University of East Anglia (UEA) that asthma pills have proved less fashionable than inhalers, and were considered by some to be less effective. Price said, “We hope these findings will increase the options for healthcare professionals when prescribing for this common but disruptive disease.”

Asthma is a chronic condition that is characterized by airway inflammation causing wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath besides significantly harming the quality of life. It is an increasing problem that affects around 300 million people worldwide, including around eight percent of Britain’s adult population and about 25 million Americans.

Stanley Musgrave of the UEA, who also worked on the research, said LTRAs that are sold under the brand names Accolate by AstraZeneca and Singulair by Merck are easy to use and can help patients control their asthma effectively and improve their quality of life.

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Controlling asthma is not an easy job. But with utmost care, you can have a big control over it. Everyone having asthma suffers from inflammation and airway constriction. But the symptoms may vary from person to person and can change over time.
Just have a keen observation on the symptoms. Maintain an asthma symptom diary. During each visit, have a detailed talk with the doctor about how severe the symptoms are and if there has been a recorded changes since the last appointment.

Check the lung function. The lung function tests can assess the breathing problems.

Based on the symptoms and lung function tests, the doctor could suggest if any changes are required in the treatment.

Always maintain an everyday track of the asthma symptoms so that the doctor can review them at each appointment and adjust the treatment.

Increased shortness of breath or wheezing, disturbed sleep caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing and Chest tightness or pain has to be recorded regularly, which will help in deciding the treatment. There is a need to use a quick-relief inhaler containing a short-acting bronchodilator, which will help in opening the airways by relaxing the surrounding muscles. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program have brought out guidelines for grading asthma severity, which has certain guidelines for the medication of asthma. You along with the doctor can use these guidelines for effective results.

By evaluating these symptoms and measuring the lung function, the doctor could effectively decide on the treatment. He could suggest new treatment if, the current medications are not capable of controlling the asthma or if the medications are causing troublesome side effects. In the case of persistent asthma, whether it’s mild, moderate or severe, long-term control medications are needed. These medications, if used effectively, can reduce or eliminate the need of a quick-relief inhaler.