Asthma bronchiale: The most frequent chronic respiratory disease
Asthma bronchiale affects about 5 to 7 percent of adults in Germany and up to 10 percent of children. It is a chronic and endogenous disease of respiratory tracts, which leads to ingenious breathing, coughing, whistling breath and a narrow throat in the chest.
The disease is not curable, but can be controlled very well with the correct treatment. Most asthma patients can lead to a largely weightless life with an adapted therapy, drive sports and are hardly affected in everyday life.
The asthma therapy is central to inhalers (asthma sprays), which bring the drugs directly into the airways. It is differentiated between emergency inhalers (reliever) and permanent drugs (controllers) that play different roles in the treatment.
Emergency spray vs. permanent medication: The difference
Emergency inhalers (Reliever): Shortly effective beta-2-sympathomimetics such as salbutamol extend the cramped bronchi within minutes. They are used in acute breathing and should always be ready to handle. If the emergency spray is rated more than twice a week, the continuous medication is probably not optimally adjusted.
Continuous Media (Controller): Inhalative corticosteroids (ICS) such as Budesonid or Fluticason have received chronic degeneration in the respiratory tract and are the remnant of asthma therapy. They are applied regularly (actually) even if there are no complaints. The effect builds up over days to weeks.
Combination inhalers: Praeparates such as Budesonid/Formoterol or Fluticason/Salmeterol combine an inhalative corticosteroid with a long-acting bronchodilatator in a kerate. They simplify therapy and improve compliance, as only an inhaler is denounced.
MART concept: Some combination inhalers (Budesonid/Formoterol) can be used both as a permanent medication and as an emergency spray (Maintenance and Reliever Therapy). This concept further simplifies therapy and reduces the number of severe asthma attacks.
