Preventers

know your medicine

your most important asthma medication

When you have asthma, your airway walls become leaky, and harmful triggers can get through and cause swelling. Preventer medicines help to seal up your airway walls. This helps break the cycle of swelling and mucus production, and makes room for air to flow freely.

Preventer medicines work slowly and it may take you up to three months of regular use (generally twice a day) to notice the full benefit of the medicine. It can be dangerous to skip a few doses or stop your preventer when you feel well, as your asthma will often get worse.

Preventer inhalers are usually brown, orange or dark red. Examples of preventer medicines are Beclazone, Flixotide, Respocort, Vicrom and Pulmicort.

corticosteroid preventers

Most preventer medicines are steroids, which mimic the steroid we produce naturally in our bodies every day. An enormous body of research demonstrates that they are safe and effective for long term use.  

Like all drugs, there can be side effects, which are less common in moderate doses. Side effects may include a husky voice, a sore throat or fungal growth in the mouth (thrush.) The risk of side effects can usually be easily minimised by:

  • using a spacer (for people who use a Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI)); and 
  • rinsing the mouth after inhaler use

More general side effects occur infrequently. These are due to tiny amounts of the drug being absorbed into the blood stream. The liver will clean up most of this but if very high doses of inhaled steroids are used there may be some side effects which include:

  • thinning of the bones called osteoporosis
  • thinning of the skin giving rise to easy bruising
  • a reduction in the body's ability to respond to a severe medical illness.

For children, an additional problem can be minor growth suppression. This is unlikely when moderate doses are used.

Most experts agree that the risk of poorly treated asthma is far greater than the risk of serious side effect from inhaled corticosteroids. Anyone who is concerned about possible side effects from their medication should discuss the matter with their doctor.

non-steroidal preventers

Non-steroidal preventer medicines can be useful in mild asthma, especially in children. An extra dose can be taken before exercise if needed to prevent cough and wheeze. They are free of most side effects, apart from throat irritation. Examples are: Intal and Vicrom.

can i reduce my medication dosage?

If you have been well for 3-6 months, your doctor may suggest you try this as part of your Self Management Plan. It is always best to keep a small supply of your asthma medicine, just in case something triggers your asthma.