Is it Necessary to Use Medication Long-term for Asthma?
- Monday, September 21, 2009, 9:01
- Asthma
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- Gina:
- The goal for a parent often seems to be, in any kind of medical issue, to not have to do any medication. With asthma, is there any reason to avoid medication if it’s working, and is it really necessary to stay on it long-term?
- Dr. Redding:
- The hardest concept that people and families deal with is the fact that asthma is chronic and that it has to be controlled, that there is no cure for asthma as we know right now. Hopefully, that will change in the future, but right now asthma has to be prevented, and it has to be controlled. In order for it to be controlled, someone usually needs to be on medicine at least daily. That’s a very tall order, particularly when a child or a person feels well. They may not be normal in terms of lung function, but they feel well. They’re able to function daily as they would expect to do. In that circumstance, they tend not to take their medicines, so it’s very common for us to prescribe medicines and even more common for people to forget them.
- Gina:
- And it’s important — I think we discussed this. You need to be very honest with your doctor about whether you’ve been taking the medicine or not so the doctor doesn’t have to over-prescribe?
- Dr. Redding:
- The goal of asthma management should be doable to the family. There are families that are truly challenged by the chaos in their lives, the disruptions in their lives, the number of children they have, their income. A whole number of things go into how families survive daily life and its challenges. To add on top of that the layer of a chronic illness in a child that requires daily monitoring or daily therapy is a large order. Part of that is convincing people that indeed the therapy does improve the clinical condition of their child. Part of it is trying to develop a daily routine that allows for asthma management thatisn’t terribly inconvenient, isn’t terribly complex, and is very effective.
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