Asthma refers to a pulmonary disorder in which the patients experience breathing trouble after the airways leading to the lungs get inflamed and narrowed. In most cases, patients complain of chest tightness, wheezing, shortness of breath and coughing early in the morning or late at night. Although most asthma-affected patients acquire the condition during their early childhood, some may develop the condition later in life. A report indicates that around 24.6 million people in the country, out of which 7 million are children, have been seeking chronic asthma medication.

Once asthma affects someone, they cannot be cured, which is why it is called a chronic disease.

However, with proper diagnosis, treatment, and medications, asthma can be controlled to a significant extent to the point that chronic asthma can be avoided if caught early. Therefore, it is always recommended to get a proper diagnosis of asthma and start chronic asthma treatment from the very onset of the condition.

Diagnosis of chronic asthma
Asthma is often diagnosed on the basis of the family history of the patient. However, that does not mean anyone who does not have this condition in their genes will not be affected by it. To detect asthma and prescribe severe and chronic asthma medication, doctors often conduct a few physical examinations and investigate different symptoms.

Conducting physical examinations help in ruling out the risks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or respiratory infection. Although physical examinations are important before prescribing severe asthma medications, those are not all. Tests are also performed for measuring the function of lungs. Depending on the condition of the patient, doctors may recommend x-ray imaging, spirometry, or peak flow measurements and prescribe severe asthma treatment on the basis of the findings. If required, doctors may also opt for methacholine challenge, nitric oxide test, allergy testing, or sputum eosinophils tests before starting chronic asthma treatments.

Chronic asthma medications and treatment
Treatments for severe asthma may vary on basis of age, health condition, and the symptoms experienced by the patient. Contrary to allergic asthma, chronic asthma patients use long-term medications for controlling the disease. Some of the choices for medications for various treatments for severe asthma are as follows:

• Inhaled corticosteroids
  Pulmicort, Flovent HFA, Asmanex Twisthaler, Alvesco, Qvar and Aerospan HFA
• Leukotriene modifiers
  Accolate, Singulair, and Zyflo
• Bronchodilators or Long-acting beta-agonists
  Theophylline, Serevent, Perforomist, and Foradil.
• Combination inhalers
  Advair Diskus, Symbicort, Breo, and Dulera.

If taken under medical supervision, asthma-controlling drugs will seldom interfere with your normal lifestyle. It will instead control the symptoms and help you live better. However, in the initial stages, patients may complain of side-effects like drowsiness, daytime sleeping, dizziness, headache, vomiting and even nausea. Contact your doctor if the side-effects are experienced even after a week or fortnight. Also, you should keep quick relievers handy and comfort yourself during a sudden trigger of asthma.