This medicine relieves cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, and troubled breathing. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.
Theophylline is used to treat asthma in pregnant women.
Although there are no studies on birth defects in humans, problems have not been reported. However, some studies in animals have shown that theophylline can cause birth defects when given in doses many times the human dose. Because your ability to clear theophylline from your body may decrease later in pregnancy, your doctor may want to take blood samples during your pregnancy to measure the amount of medicine in the blood. This will help your doctor decide whether the dose of this medicine should be changed. Phenobarbital taken during pregnancy has been shown to increase the chance of birth defects in humans.