Treating an athma attack

Treatment of an attack involves stopping airway blockage and mucus buildup that has already occurred. Because the airway obstruction and breathing difficulty are often serious, treatment may at times require that the person go to the hospital to receive 1) breathing treatments to reopen the bronchioles and 2) intravenous steroids to decrease the inflammation. Some people have to stay in the hospital after asthma attacks. If an attack is very severe, the person may need to be hooked up to a breathing machine until air once again flows freely in and out of the lungs.

A less serious asthma attack usually can be brought under control without hospital treatment. The person may make greater use of treatment-type bronchodilators, which act much more quickly than the ones used to prevent an attack, usually opening the bronchioles within a few minutes. As many as 8-10 puffs a day may be used until the attack improves.

Once an asthma attack is under control, the person may need to take steroid pills, usually for about a week, to decrease the intense bronchiole inflammation. (Using steroids for short periods doesn't carry the same risk of side effects as long-term steroid use does.) If a bacterial infection is part of the cause of the attack, the doctor may prescribe an antibiotic as well.

Important: During an asthma attack, the person should continue to take regularly prescribed medications unless the doctor instructs otherwise