Asthma products are used to treat people suffering from asthma. Some devices, like inhalers and spacers are used for immediate treatment during life-threatening asthma attacks. Asthma medication like pills and drugs help relieve the intensity of the attacks and improve the body’s responses.
Asthma is a life-long lung disease which often causes difficulty in breathing, agitation, wheezing, and high pulse rates. The degree of severity varies greatly in patients and sometimes depends on other health conditions. Some people may experience these symptoms during strenuous physical exercise, while patients with more severe cases can be affected even when resting. An asthma attack, or an acute exacerbation of asthma, often affects a patient suddenly and causes shortness of breath and chest tightness.
An asthma inhaler is a device that is applied directly to the mouth and delivers medication straight to the lungs. The medication in the inhaler helps to open the patient’s respiratory airways, and allows him to breathe normally. Metered dose inhalers (MDIs) are typically small, hand-held canisters that a patient depresses to blow liquid medication into his mouth and lungs. Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) usually respond slower to asthma attacks because they require a person to slowly inhale medicine in the form of dry powder.
Asthma spacers are used to improve the effectiveness of inhalers and can be manually attached to them. These asthma products increase the distance between an inhaler’s mouthpiece and the patient’s mouth and are commonly used by patients who have trouble operating regular inhalers. A benefit of using one is that it better controls the release of medication and allows it to stream directly into the lungs instead of hitting the back of the throat, which wastes a portion of the dose.
Peak flow meters are also used by many patients. These asthma products are usually portable devices that measure a patient’s air flow, or his ability to push out air from the lungs. A high peak flow reading, or score, usually means that a patient is well, while a low reading generally signifies that there is some airway obstruction. Scores can also vary depending on a person’s age, sex, or body mass.
Asthma products can also come in the form of medications, such as anti-inflammatory drugs, which are often used to prevent asthma attacks. These can clear a patient’s airways by reducing mucus and swelling. Bronchodilators are drugs used to relax the muscle bands that tighten the airway, clear mucus and allow more air to enter the lungs. These drugs work to control asthma symptoms throughout the day as well the night, when many patients suffer from increased coughing and breathlessness.