Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Asthma: life-style choices?

I gave a lecture to the local hospital family practice residents this morning about asthma.  Some thoughts come to mind. It's a shame that most asthma medications are not in the $4 or $10 prescription plans.  If we were still recommending theophylline, they probably still would be. So with the cost so high it's really important to ensure that our patients are really using their medications. There are always choices, so I want to be able to help patients by advising which triggers to manage - whether allergic or physical e.g cold air or exercise.  Then provide medication choice and schedule that is realistic. We have some new diagnostic and management tools that help keep asthma under control, and can minimize the amount of drugs that are needed when possible. Also, smoking and asthma definitely do not mix.

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