Daily Inhaler Use May Make Asthma Symptoms Worse in Some Children


As far as the long-acting bronchodilators with combination steroids go, “make sure that it is benefiting your child’s asthma,” Dr. Farber says. “If your child’s asthma is well-controlled with inhaled steroids alone and you don’t have day-to-day symptoms, you don’t need these combination medications.”


The most important message is that well-managed asthma does not require very much short- or long-acting bronchodilators, stresses William J. Calhoun, MD, a professor of medicine and the vice chair of the department of medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, in Galveston.


“If your child’s asthma is well-managed with a good controller, their use of these drugs will be minimal to begin with,” he says. “[Generally] good asthma control is measured by the need for albuterol twice a week or less.”


If your child is using it more frequently, that is a red flag that he or she needs to see a doctor, according to Dr. Calhoun.



“If your child is using a lot of their rescue medication, they need to get their asthma management reviewed,” agrees Stanley Szefler, MD, the head of pediatric clinical pharmacology at National Jewish Health, in Denver. “Tell your doctor if your child is using their short-acting once a day or more,” he suggests.


This article also begs the question of whether adults and children with asthma should be tested for this gene, he says. “This article would push you in the direction of yes,” he says.


It may be a chicken-or-egg situation. “Maybe this gene is associated with a worse form of asthma, so people with it are taking their medications more frequently,” he says.

“It would not surprise me if within 5 or 10 years we are routinely checking to see if people with asthma have this gene,” Dr. Farber adds.