There are a variety of asthma medications currently available to relieve or prevent asthma attacks, depending on the severity, frequency and type of asthma. Some are more commonly prescribed by physicians than others. Asthma medications are generally divided into three groups:

• Long-term control medications. Medications taken regularly on a long-term basis to treat chronic asthma symptoms and prevent asthma attacks. This type of treatment allows patients to maintain control of their asthma over an extended period of time. Long-term control medications include:
  
  
• • Inhaled corticosteroids. Inhaled form of medication that decreases inflammation in nasal passages and lungs during an asthmatic reaction, reducing or avoiding asthma symptoms. This medication also decreases the amount of mucus in the lungs. This is the most effective medication used in the treatment of asthma. Corticosteroids mimic the behavior of cortisol, a hormone in the body that aids proper body function during stressful situations. This extra boost helps the body fight inflammation. This form of the drug is usually taken through an inhaler (to reduce inflammation in the lungs) or a nasal spray (to reduce inflammation in the nasal passages and sinuses).

• • Long-acting beta2 agonists. A type of bronchodilator that helps open constricted airways. The effects can last for over 12 hours, making these drugs useful to control moderate to severe asthma symptoms. They can be used to prevent overnight symptoms and asthma triggered by exercise. This type of medicine is inhaled. Beta agonists carry a black box warning from the FDA about the risk of death when used for monodrug therapy.
    
    
  • Leukotriene modifiers. Medications capable of preventing the airway inflammation that often leads to an asthma attack. They also decrease the amount of mucus in the lungs. Some studies have indicated that these prescription drugs may be more effective when combined with antihistamines, thereby shutting down two major chemicals involved in airway constriction, histamines and leukotrienes. It should be noted that leukotriene modifiers are not as effective as inhaled corticosteroids. This drug is taken orally as a tablet.
    
    
  • Theophylline. A bronchodilator primarily used to relieve nighttime asthma symptoms. It works by relaxing the lung muscles and making the airway passages more resistant to irritants. Unfortunately, side effects are common with the drug (e.g., nausea, vomiting, irregular heartbeat), and it is rarely prescribed in the United States. It has a very narrow safety range so its use requires monitoring. The drug is taken orally.
    
    
• Quick-relief medications. Medications designed to work quickly to provide an individual with short-term relief of symptoms and generally make breathing easier. These medications usually provide relief from symptoms immediately or within minutes and can last up to six hours.
  
  Some types of quick-relief medications (e.g., short-acting beta2 agonists) tend to lose their effectiveness or cause additional side effects when taken too often. Overusing this type of medication and quickly discontinuing use can lead to increased sensitivity to irritants in the airways. Generally, an individual should not take a quick-relief medication more than twice a week.
  
  
• • Oral and intravenous corticosteroids. Anti-inflammatory medications that work very effectively for severe asthma. Long-term use of these medications can result in severe side effects (e.g., cataracts, osteoporosis), making them appropriate only for infrequent short-term relief. Intravenous corticosteroids are usually given only in the emergency room to treat severe asthma attacks. This form of corticosteroid is systemic, meaning its effects are felt throughout the body.
    
    
  • Short-acting beta2 agonists. Bronchodilators that relieve symptoms within minutes and last up to six hours. However, the drugs cannot keep symptoms from returning. This drug is inhaled.
    
    
  • Inhaled anticholinergics. Bronchodilators that open breathing passageways as well as clear mucus out of the airways. Because these drugs take an hour or more to work, they are usually not a physician’s first choice for quick-relief medication. This type of drug is often combined with inhaled short-acting beta2 agonists for a greater effect.
    
    
• Anti-IgE antibodies. Preventative medications capable of blocking the IgE antibodies usually responsible for triggering an allergic or asthmatic response. By blocking the allergic cascade from starting, this medication prevents dangerous inflammation (a common trigger for asthmatics) from occurring. Anti-IgE antibodies are injected by a physician.

Metered dose inhalers (MDIs) that use chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) to administer the drug albuterol (a type of bronchodilator) are phased out of the U.S. market. The FDA ordered their removal from the market by 2008 because CFCs are an environmentally-dangerous propellant. Alternative types of inhalers capable of administering aerosol without using CFCs are now available in the U.S. market for albuterol and levalbuterol.

Patients with asthma may also take allergy medications, because allergies are often responsible for triggering asthma attacks. Allergy treatments commonly used by asthma patients include:

• Antihistamines. A controller and reliever that blocks the work of histamine, a chemical released during allergic reactions. Histamine contributes to symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes – and is often responsible for triggering asthma attacks.  Antihistamines can be taken as pills, nasal sprays, eye drops, skin creams and sprays.
  
  
• Allergy shots. Immunotherapy treatment involves regular injections given over time to lower the body’s sensitivity to a specific allergen. This can help prevent or reduce the allergic reactions that often trigger asthma attacks. Some individuals are more responsive to allergy shots than others. Typically, this type of therapy is recommended after the use of other medications has failed to tame symptoms, or to prevent cases of reactions involving more than one body system (anaphylaxis).

Asthma medications are best used with an asthma action plan, which is a comprehensive written guide to managing an asthma condition. Each guide, which is developed by an individual and their physician, offers detailed information on when asthma medications should be taken, what types should be used, what dosages are best and what to do in the event of a severe reaction.