Allergic asthma is a type of asthma that is triggered by allergies. It is estimated that more than half (50%) of the 20 million people with asthma also have allergies^[1]. Allergic asthma (also called “extrinsic asthma”) is characterized by symptoms that are triggered by an allergic reaction to an airborne allergen that it breathed into the lungs. Allergic asthma is airway obstruction and inflammation that is partially reversible with medication. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, many of the symptoms of allergic and non-allergic asthma are the same (coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or rapid breathing, and chest tightness) ^[2]. However, allergic asthma is triggered by inhaled allergens such as dust mite allergen, pet dander, pollen, mold, etc. resulting in asthma symptoms. This article needs cleanup. ... An allergen is any substance (antigen), most often eaten or inhaled, that is recognized by the immune system and causes an allergic reaction. ... The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for and controlling asthma and allergies, and educating the public about these diseases. ...

See also

• Allergic inflammation
• Allergy
• Asthma
• COPD
• Eczema

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... An allergy can refer to several kinds of immune reactions including Type I hypersensitivity in which a persons body is hypersensitised and develops IgE type antibodies to typical proteins. ... Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term for a group of respiratory tract diseases that are characterized by airflow obstruction or limitation. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Asthma medication

...is designed to reverse the constriction of bronchi that causes the difficulty breathing in asthmatics. A bronchus (plural bronchi, adjective bronchial) is a caliber of airways in the the respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs. ... For the play Breath by Samuel Beckett, see Breath (play). ... Asthma is an immunological disease which causes difficulty in breathing. ...

So called "anti-asthmatic drugs" can be categorised as: relievers, symptom controllers and preventers, depending on their method of action and duration.

Relievers

Asthma relievers such as salbutamol (Ventolin) or terbutaline are designed to quickly dilate the smooth muscle of the bronchi, enabling air to flow more freely. They normally come in a blue inhaler. Salbutamol (INN) or albuterol (USAN) is a short-acting β2-adrenergic receptor agonist used for the relief of bronchospasm in conditions such as asthma and COPD. The name Albuterol comes from Salbutamol aerosol. ... The drug Terbutaline (trade names Brethine, Bricanyl, or Brethaire) is a β2-adrenergic receptor agonist, used as a fast-acting bronchodilator and off-label to delay premature labour as a tocolytic. ... Smooth muscle is a type of non-striated muscle, found within the walls of hollow organs; such as blood vessels, the bladder, the uterus, and the gastrointestinal tract. ... A bronchus (plural bronchi, adjective bronchial) is a caliber of airways in the the respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs. ...

They are selective β2 agonists, working on adrenergic receptors mostly in the lungs. (These are the same receptors adrenaline works on, except adrenaline has more effects on other tissues such as the heart.) The adrenergic receptors (or adrenoceptors) are a class of G-protein coupled receptors that is the target of catecholamines. ... The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ... Epinephrine (INN) or adrenaline (BAN) is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ...

Many of the side effects of β2 agonists are caused by their actions on other tissues, and can potentially cause tremors and tachycardia (fast heart rate). This is because the drugs have a small actions on other receptors, and also because there are a few β2 receptors in the heart.

These are inhaled if breathing becomes difficult. The best way to take them is to have one puff, then wait a minute, and then have another puff. Doing this allows the larger airways to dilate, letting the drug get through to the smaller airways on the second puff.

With chronic use, the airways of the lungs get slightly desensitised to the actions of these preventers.

Symptom controllers

Symptom controllers are long acting β2 agonists. They are similar in structure to the relievers, but have much longer sidechains. Examples include salmeterol, formoterol and bambuterol. Salmeterol is a long-acting beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist drug that is currently prescribed for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD. It is currently available in both dry-powder inhalers (DPIs) and pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs). ... Formoterol belongs to the family of prescription-only medicines known as beta 2-agonists. ...

Preventers

Asthma preventers are the corticosteroids, that can be inhaled or taken orally, and work by altering the production of chemicals that cause the asthmatic response. In physiology, corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. ...

There are many corticosteroids around, such as beclomethasone, fluticasone, dexamethasone and prednisolone. They are often in brown-coloured inhalers, and are marketed with names such as Becotide, Flixotide and Pulmicort. Beclometasone dipropionate is a corticosteroid drug. ... Fluticasone proprionate is a glucocorticoid often prescribed as treatment for asthma and allergic rhinitis. ... Dexamethasone is a synthetic member of the glucocorticoid class of hormones. ... {stub} ...

Long-term use of corticosteroids can have many side effects. Corticosteroids can cause a redistribution of fat, increased appetite, blood glucose problems, and weight gain. They also cause thinning of the skin, osteoporosis and decreased immunity and slower healing. The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. ... Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is one of the most important carbohydrates in biology. ... Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in which bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone microarchitecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone is changed. ... In a medical sense, immunity is a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. ... Healing is the process whereby the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area. ...

Because of these side effects, the dose of corticosteroid should be minimised. For this reason inhaled steroids should be used for prevention, as they are more targetted to the lungs than oral preparations.

When using inhaled corticosteroids, (or anything drug from an inhaler), even with the best technique, most gets deposited in the mouth and does not reach the lungs. The corticosteroids can then cause a hoarse voice or oral thrush (due to decreased immunity). The chance of these side effects can be minimised by rinsing the mouth with water after inhaler use, as well as by using a spacer which increases the amount of drug that reaches the lungs. Lisp may mean: Lisp programming language Lisp (speech) This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Oral thrush is an infection of yeast fungus, Candida albicans, in the mucous membranes of the mouth. ... A spacer is generally something used to create a space between two objects, often to properly position them. ...

The frequency of use should be minimised. For example, four puffs twice a day is better than two puffs four times a day.

Other medicines

Medicine for chest infections as chest infection can be contemperory with the asthma attack

External links

• Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
• Sleep-Work-Play - nonprofit resources for allergic asthma patients.
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Sources

• "Asthma at a Glance," National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), U.S. CDC, 1999
• Weiss, KB, Sullivan, SD, Lyttle, CS (2000). Trends in the cost of illness for asthma in the United Stats, 1985-1994. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 106, (3), 493-499.

References