Home  Asthma Questions and answers about asthma Side effects
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| Can my asthma in itself cause “side effects”? | | Many patients focus on thinking about side effects from the treatment so much that they forget that poorly-treated asthma can also cause “side effects”. Apart from the risk of dying from asthma, there is also a risk that lung function will deteriorate over the years and that you will become disabled by chronic asthma as you age. Children with poorly treated asthma do not grow properly and pregnant women with poorly controlled asthma have a higher risk of complications, for example poor growth or death of the foetus. |
| Can tiredness and forgetfulness depend on my asthma medication? | No, this may be due to you not sleeping well if you have poorly treated asthma. There are a group of asthma medications called “theophyllines” that can adversely affect your sleep and therefore indirectly make you feel tired. If you suspect something like this, discuss it with the doctor who treats your asthma.
Certain allergy medications can make you feel tired and drowsy. If you are allergic to pollen, it is possible that this causes you to feel tired during the pollen season. If you are allergic to pollen and feel (extra) tired at the end of the spring, there may be a medical explanation. Talk to your doctor to find out what medication is best for you. |
| Do inhaled corticosteroids cause any long-term side effects? |
International studies have shown that inhaled corticosteroids are an effective way of managing asthma. However, as with most medications, there may be some side effects. You should discuss any concerns with your doctor. |
| Can it be good for me to always use inhaled corticosteroids? |
Yes, absolutely! These inflammation-inhibiting medications are currently the most effective asthma treatment since they affect the cause of an asthma attack instead of just suppressing the symptoms. Long-term treatment normalises the mucus membranes in the airways without causing any negative effects on the airways.
The question instead should be reversed: is it reasonable to stop treatment? Early treatment with inhaled corticosteroids seems to work against the development of the disease. This can help to prevent the need for cortisone tablets at a later stage of the disease.
Some patients can get local side effects, but these are harmless and temporary. The most common is a fungal infection in the mouth (oral candidiasis). This can be prevented by rinsing the mouth after inhalation or sometimes by changing your inhalation technique. Inhaled corticosteroids cannot cause fungal infection in the lungs. Examinations of the airways of asthma patients who have been treated with inhaled corticosteroids over a long period of time period have proven this.
Some patients can get a husky voice from inhaled corticosteroid. It usually passes when the dose is lowered, but the hoarseness can sometimes prevent further treatment. |
| Can I become addicted to the corticosteroids in asthma medications? | | No. |
| Can I really use inhaled corticosteroids for many years, but cortisone salve for only a short period? | | The skin is very sensitive to the side effects of cortisone. The skin and the superficial blood vessels contain connective tissue that is easily affected by cortisone. The skin becomes fragile and rupturing blood vessels makes bruising common. Doctors treating asthma patients have put a lot of thought into whether this effect could be the same for the airways. Scientists have therefore very carefully investigated the airways of asthma patients that have been treated with corticosteroids over a long period of time. None of the study results have shown any signs of damage to the airways. It therefore seems likely that the lining of the airways is much stronger than the skin. |
| Do I need to rinse out my mouth after inhaling cortisone? | | Inhaling cortisone means a slight risk of fungal infection in the mouth. Although this affects very few people, it doesn't hurt to rinse your mouth after inhaling cortisone, whenever convenient (e.g. at home in the morning or evening). When inhaling cortisone while you're out during the day, it's OK not to rinse, as the risk is very small. |
| If I can't remember whether I actually took my daily maintenance dose of inhaled corticosteriod, is it better to risk taking a double dose or none at all? | | There is no risk in taking a double dose on a single occasion. |
| What can I do to prevent osteoporosis? | | Physical activity will help your skeleton grow stronger and is probably the most important factor in preventing osteoporosis. Inactivity, e.g. due to chronically low lung function or fear of getting an asthma attack, makes osteoporosis worse. Effective asthma treatment that makes it possible to lead an active life is therefore very important. Oestrogen for menopausal women can reduce osteoporosis. Extra calcium intake for middle-aged and older women who risk insufficient calcium intake through their ordinary food may also reduce osteoporosis. In a few years we’ll probably know more about preventing osteoporosis. |
| What is CFC-free medication? |
CFC-free medication does not contain chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons that are known to be harmful to the UV-protecting ozone layer of the earth’s upper atmosphere. Some common asthma aerosol inhalers use CFC gases in the device that delivers medication to the lungs, but these will be phased out by 2005 and replaced with CFC-free gases.
New CFC-free inhalers are already on the market and these are very safe, effective and do not harm the ozone. Breath-activated devices have never used CFCs. |
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