Combination therapy for asthma Antony and Cleopatra, Laverne and Shirley, peanut butter and jelly - sometimes two are better than one. This philosophy holds true in the treatment of asthma, as well. If you're having trouble controlling your asthma symptoms with one medication, taking two types of medication might help. Understanding what combinations are available and how they work can help you better communicate with your doctor to keep your asthma under control. Why combine? Although a number inhaled for asthma inhaled for asthma of different drugs are available to treat asthma, not all of them will work as well for you as you'd like. With some of them, you might still have trouble with symptoms, have problems sleeping at night or have to avoid certain activities in which you would like to participate. If one drug isn't keeping your asthma in check, your options generally are either to increase the amount (dosage) of that medication or to take an additional medication of asthma toys inhaled for asthma a different type. In June 2002, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) issued updated asthma- treatment guidelines recommending inhaled corticosteroids as a safe, effective and preferred first-line therapy for both children and adults who have persistent asthma. The NAEPP, supported and coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, also found that an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) plus a long-acting inhaled bronchodilator often work better than inhaled corticosteroids alone for some people natural asthma treatments inhaled for asthma with moderate, persistent asthma. The updated guidelines continue to recommend a stepwise approach in which your doctor adjusts the type and the dosage of your medications up or down based upon either improvement or worsening of symptoms over time. "Research indicates that ICSs are the single most effective medicine for the daily treatment of asthma," explains James Li, M.D., an asthma and allergy specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. "But at the same time, some research indicates that they may carry 2002 asthma guidelines inhaled for asthma a small risk of
