Reliever medications
The first are the reliever medications, the most common of which is albuterol (a.k.a. Proventil or Ventolin). Others include pirbuterol (Maxair) and Atrovent (a.k.a. ipratropium). Patients breathe these medications into their lungs by using special devices called inhalers (described below). The purpose of these drugs is to reverse the narrowing of the airways that occurs during an attack. However, since these medications are all very short acting and do not do anything to reverse the underlying problem in asthma, they should be used in conjunction with other medications (except in very mild cases). A general rule of thumb is that if you need to use your reliever medication more than twice a week during the day or twice a month at night, you need a controller for your asthma. Most experts now agree that reliever medications should only be taken when needed, and not on a regular basis.
There are two important issues to keep in mind if you use a reliever:
Your body tends to get used to these medicines so that their effect may be diminished over time. People who use their reliever medications frequently also tend to underestimate the severity of their disease, which could lead to problems down the road because of a false sense of security.
