Bayonne resident Catherine Long, here with her dog Cougar, no longer needs to take steroids for her asthma.
BREATHING BETTER WITH ASTHMA NEW DRUGS AND SELF-CARE CAN HELP PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA HAVE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE.
F
or the majority of people with asthma, common treatments, such as corticosteroid inhalers, work just fine to help them keep healthy and active. However, five to 10 percent of people with asthma need types of
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steroids that are much stronger and can have significant side effects. “For quite some time, strong oral steroids—taken by mouth—were the only choice for some patients,” says Alan Burghauser, MD, a pulmonologist (lung specialist) who practices at RWJBarnabas ALAN BURGHAUSER, MD Health Medical
Group in Bayonne. In contrast to inhaled steroids, which go directly into the lungs, oral steroids are digested and flow through the bloodstream to affect the entire body. Side effects can range from brittle bone disease (osteoporosis) to cataracts, weight gain, infections and even diabetes. Now, a new and promising class of medicines for asthma is making a dramatic difference for the better in patients’ lives. Known as biologics,
Winter 2021
12/9/20 4:18 PM
