People who will always breathe readily never really understand asthma. Unless and until you’ve undergone that slow tightening of the chest, the reality of the fear and distress it causes never strikes home. At least, that should be panic and distress in the beginning. Individuals who have it should learn to live with it. Not for them the freedom to squirt relieving chemicals into their lungs. Today, we see children and their parents living in the shadow of asthma as if it’s any kind of death sentence. Yesterday, we had athletes and sporting personalities because our role models – people who had conquered asthma and reached the highest levels of functionality. Now kids aren’t allowed to leave home with no inhalers plus copy. And schools are trained to deal with asthma attacks. The planet is walking around anticipating the worst. This shift in civilization has been engineered by the pharmaceutical industry.

It has convinced everybody that the victims can only live by using these magical products. This is not totally dishonest. There are instances when the attack is severe and the drugs relieve what could have become a serious threat to health. However, that doesn’t justify employing these drugs routinely. For the more severe cases, it’s become customary to rely on steroids like an anti-inflammatory. Since inflammation of the airways and lungs is not limited to asthma, these medications are actually used for almost all diseases of the lungs. Indeed, the practice is to pump considerable quantities of steroids into you through an intravenous line if you present at an emergency area. The most common of the oral medication is Prednisone. Because of the danger of side effects, this isn’t utilized unless the asthma is severe or has been hard to control over a long period of time. This can prevent the need to visit hospital.

There are two strategies. Another is a very low dose required for a relatively long time period. Prednisone is safe and effective provided that it’s used correctly. If you find the asthma proceeds in severity or recurs, this may suggest a different problem. Prednisone will almost always decrease inflammation and alleviate breathing, if not on the first usage, then definitely on the next. If the asthma continues or recurs, it indicates a constant supply of disease that ought to be diagnosed, or you have an allergy. Should you opt for the long term, low-dose strategy, track your body carefully. If you discover you’re putting on fat or fat is being redistributed, or that you will find swelling around the joints indicating fluid retention, this is the opportunity to gradually stop taking the drugs. No matter how bad the asthma, the unwanted effects of steroids are worse. So, as with everything linked with medication, you balance costs against benefits.