Take your Asthma medications on time and properly

This may seem like a silly thing to say,

but it is amazing how many people don’t take their medications on time to control their asthma. Because of this, they regularly suffer with the distressing symptoms when they really don’t need to.

In very simple terms, there are two main types of inhaler – preventers and relievers. From their names you can see that preventers stop the majority of asthmatic symptoms from becoming apparent and relievers reduce any symptoms that occur even after taking the preventer. Mild asthmatics may only have a reliever inhaler, but people with severe asthma will almost certainly have both types.

Preventer inhalers need to be taken regularly; normally twice a day - once in the morning and again in the evening. You should always keep in mind that missing a dose can have a big effect on your asthma. Reliever inhalers, however, can be taken at any time when the need arises and will have instant results if taken properly.

It is important that you take your inhaler properly as well as on time. To get the maximum effect you need to breathe in deeply as you inhale the contents of the inhaler and hold your breath for around 5 seconds before breathing out.

Many people use their inhaler while rushing around and think that simply breathing in the powder will have an effect. This undoubtedly will have an effect, however in many cases the medication is breathed out again before it can have a significant effect.

People who have lived with asthma for many years often forget how to use their inhalers properly and end up either suffering more than they need to or using their inhaler a lot more than is necessary.

Proper treatment can stop around 90% of all asthmatic episodes, so taking a few seconds to inhale and hold will more often than not prevent a potential asthma attack.