The ability to breathe effortlessly on a daily basis is indeed a blessing in disguise and is often taken for granted. Millions of people around the world experience breathlessness due to many factors ranging from respiratory and heart diseases to psychological factors. The fact that a person is able to breathe every day without the need of medical interventions is certainly a privilege. Breathlessness such as asthma can be treated with medications such as SERETIDE 50. Asthma is always associated with wheezing. How can you stop wheezing?
What exactly is wheezing? Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling sound that occurs when a person has breathing problems. Specifically, wheezing is most obvious when a person exhales or breathes air. Apart from asthma, many other diseases affecting the respiratory system such as bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may have wheezing as its symptoms. Diseases not related to the breathing issues such as acid reflux disease may also cause wheezing.
Before answering that, it is best to understand more about asthma first as it is the most common disease for wheezing. Asthma is defined as a chronic or a long-term disease characterised by the inflammation of the airway and narrowing of the airways passage. Asthma is part of disease caused by inflammation response due to the body’s immune system. People with asthma will experience coughing especially at night or early morning, shortness of breath and feeling tight in the chest. In a severe asthma attack, a person may appear confused, have a rapid heartbeat and bluish lips or skin. A special sound exhibited by asthmatic people is a wheezing sound, a sound resembling whistling. Asthma is usually caused by genetic factors such as having a close member with asthma but it may also be caused by previous allergy reaction such as asthma, prolonged exposure to allergen and irritant in the air and babies born with low birth weight or premature baby. Asthma attacks can be triggered by many things such as allergens, infections, cold weather, emotional stress and medications.
By now, you should get rough ideas on wheezing being part of asthma. The fastest way to stop wheezing is to use a short-acting bronchodilator. A short-acting bronchodilator provides immediate relief to asthma attacks. It is also known as a quick-relief drug for asthma. Examples of short-acting bronchodilators are albuterol, levalbuterol and pirbuterol. It works by causing the airway muscle to relax and airways expended. It is known as a rescue medication as the bronchodilators work within 5 to 10 minutes to provide relief. The effect of this bronchodilator can last up to 2 to 4 hours.
Short-acting bronchodilators can also be used just before exercise to prevent wheezing symptoms that could be triggered by exercise. As the name implies, a short-acting bronchodilator acts as a rescue medication, meaning it is not supposed to be used for many times at once. If you are using this medicine twice a week or more to control asthma symptoms, you might need to talk to a doctor to get better asthma control therapy as overuse of short-acting bronchodilators is a sign of uncontrolled asthma.
Just as with many other medicines, this medicine does come with potential side effects. Common side effects include headaches, increased heart rate, trembling, muscle cramps and anxiety. These side effects should improve within a few days or weeks after using bronchodilator and disappear completely eventually. However, if these side effects persist or get worse, it is alright to talk to a doctor so that dosage adjustment can be made. Serious side effects such as heart attack or low level of blood potassium characterised by severe muscle cramp, sudden muscle weakness and fast irregular heartbeat should mean an urgent visit to the emergency room.
In essence, the best way to stop wheezing is to use short-acting bronchodilators. This medicine works immediately to relieve symptoms of asthma attack and in anticipation of exercise-induced asthma. A person with asthma may be provided with more than just one medicine. For example, they may be prescribed with short-acting bronchodilators and long-acting bronchodilators. Patients may be thinking it is the same kind of inhaler but the differences of the bronchodilator types mean it works differently. Thus, it is important for patients to ensure they do understand how to use the inhaler at the right time for the right purpose. In short, short-acting bronchodilators are used for quick relief whereas long-acting bronchodilators are used as controllers. It is necessary to use long-acting bronchodilators regularly to maximise the effects as the drug takes time to react in the body. Never use long-acting bronchodilators during asthma attacks as it does not help provide any relief.
