Inhaled medications: Inhaled medications, such as bronchodilators and corticosteroids, are the mainstay of treatment for asthma. These medications help to relax the muscles around the airways and reduce inflammation, making it easier to breathe.
Long-term control medications: These medications are taken daily to help prevent asthma symptoms and flare-ups. Long-term control medications include inhaled corticosteroids and leukotriene inhibitors.
Quick-relief medications: These medications, also known as rescue inhalers, are taken as needed to provide fast relief from asthma symptoms. Quick-relief medications include short-acting bronchodilators.
Allergy shots (immunotherapy): For people with asthma triggered by allergies, allergy shots may be an effective treatment option. Allergy shots involve receiving injections of small amounts of the allergens that trigger the person’s asthma over time, gradually building up immunity to them.
Lifestyle changes: Making certain lifestyle changes can also help to manage asthma symptoms and prevent flare-ups. These may include avoiding known triggers, such as tobacco smoke and air pollution, and maintaining good indoor air quality.
Other treatments
Other treatments, such as injections or surgery, are rarely needed, but may be recommended if all other treatments are not helping.
Injections: For some people with severe asthma, injections of medicines called biologic therapies are given every few weeks. These can help to control the symptoms.
They are not suitable for everyone with asthma and can only be prescribed by an asthma specialist.
The main side effect is discomfort where the injection is given.
Surgery: A procedure called bronchial thermoplasty may be offered as a treatment for severe asthma. It works well and there are no serious concerns about its safety. You will be sedated or put to sleep using a general anaesthetic during a bronchial thermoplasty.
It involves passing a thin, flexible tube down your throat and into your lungs. Heat is then used on the muscles around the airways to help stop them narrowing and causing asthma symptoms.
Complementary therapies
Several complementary therapies have been suggested as possible treatments for asthma, including:
- breathing exercises – such as techniques called the Papworth method and the Buteyko method
- traditional Chinese herbal medicine
- acupuncture
- ionisers – devices that use an electric current to charge molecules of air
- manual therapies – such as chiropractic
- homeopathy
- dietary supplements
There’s little evidence to suggest many of these treatments help.
There’s some evidence that breathing exercises can improve symptoms and reduce the need for reliever medicines in some people, but they should not be used instead of your medicine.
It is important for people with asthma to work with a healthcare provider to develop an individualized treatment plan that is tailored to their specific needs. This may involve adjusting medications and treatment approaches over time to ensure optimal control of asthma symptoms.