If a person with asthma has arthritis, tremors, or muscle coordination problems, he or she may need to find an alternative to the commonly used hand-activated inhaler, which delivers an aerosol medication to the respiratory tract. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved all asthma medications for use by young children. Most new anti-inflammatory agents are intended for persons age 12 and older, although a few are approved for children as young as 4. The mainstay of anti-inflammatory therapy for asthma is treatment with corticosteroids, medications that are inhaled in aerosol form by means of an inhaler. Asthma patients who experience moderate to severe asthma may take these drugs daily to prevent attacks.
Preventive doses are much smaller than the doses needed to treat an attack.
Corticosteroids may also be administered by means of a nasal spray. Intranasal steroids help relieve the stuffy nose and other discomforts of allergies. For very severe asthma, a doctor may prescribe steroids in pill form. Corticosteroids reduce the number of inflammatory cells in the airways, prevent blood vessels from leaking fluid into airway tissues, improve lung function, and reduce the frequency of attacks. A 1997 study of almost 17,000 people with asthma found that the use of inhaled steroids decreased hospitalization for asthma by 50 percent.