Home Doctor: Practical Medicine for Every Household
The best way to diagnose and follow the evolution of an asthma attack at home is with a device that helps us measure the patient’s lung capacity. In other words, we need to know what percentage of the lungs is working. This can be measured with a peak flow spirometer. The small spirometer measures one of the parameters included in the general test, specifically the airflow through the bronchi and thus the degree of obstruction in the airways. Currently these types of home devices have a special technology that measures value through special applications that help make the value more accurate. Thanks to this, you can know not only if the person is having an asthma attack, but also their response to treatment and its progression over time. Obviously, it’s ideal to have a complete pulmonary evaluation with a more accurate pneumological evaluation. But in some cases, that is not possible, and this device can save lives. Remember, an asthma attack cannot wait.
Treatment For the treatment of asthma, there are two types of inhaled medications, slow-acting and fast-acting. Slow-acting ones are those used in patients diagnosed with asthma who are keeping their inflammatory hypersensitivity under control. It is used as recommended by the treating physician, either daily or every two or three days. It will always depend on the number of attacks the patient has had and the symptoms he or she presents in his or her daily life. On the other hand, fast-acting treatments are the ones used in acute asthma attacks. These are medicines that are in charge of relaxing the bronchial muscles and decreasing the inflammatory response, eliminating the blockage and improving breathing immediately. The principal ingredients in fast-acting medication are albuterol (ProAir HFA, Proventil HFA, Ventolin HFA) and levalbuterol (Xopenex HFA), which you can use every 12 hours for a maximum of two days. Give yourself two puffs with the inhaler, keeping the medication in for ten seconds before exhaling it. These kinds of inhalers are prescribed medicines. OTC options are limited but effective. Although they should not be used as an ongoing treatment, they are very useful in the case of asthma attacks, especially when they occur sporadically and the person does not have a fast-acting medication on hand. Ephedrine or epinephrine are the active ingredients in these medications, and they come in vials for inhalation or in tablet or syrup form. Another medicine widely used in asthma attacks is an expectorant called guaifenesin. It helps to fluidize the phlegm that forms inside the airways. This makes it possible to expel this mucus when coughing, leaving the bronchi free to breathe. 95
