Did you ever have an asthma attack and you didn’t have a prescription to buy your medicine? If you are looking for something you can buy over the counter asthma medicines, you may find your choices pretty slim.
Bronchodilators: Medicine that opens up your airways
Bronchodilators such as salbutamol, salmeterol, and formoterol, are the mainstay and first line medications for control and prevention of asthma attacks. These medicines are usually given through an inhaler or a nebulizer. These medicines can cause you to have palpitations, high blood pressure, and tremors. Unfortunately, in the Philippines these medicines need a prescription to be purchased, and are NOT over the counter.
Steroids: Medicine that controls inflammation.
When your airways are inflamed, they become narrower and makes it hard for you to breath. Steroids such as Fluticasone, and Budesonide are commonly added to inhaled bronchodilators to help reduce this inflammation. Tablets and even injectable versions are available too. This medicine can shut down your adrenals and weaken your immune system. Unfortunately, in the Philippines, these medicines need a prescription to be purchased, and are NOT over the counter.
Antihistamine: Medicine that controls allergies
Since asthma most often happen side-by-side with allergies, antihistamines such as Loratadine and cetirizine, are commonly employed to help those with asthma. These can be combined with Montelukast as well which further improves their anti-allergy effects. Antihistamines are often associated with drowsiness so we don’t recommend them if you are driving or operating machinery. Montelukast on the other hand is suspected of cause depression, so also be careful with this one. Most antihistamines can be purchased over the counter.
Antacids: Medicine that can neutralize your stomach acids.
Asthma can often be triggered by too much acids in your stomach. In this condition called GERD, the acid in your stomach splashes up on your throat, tickling it and causing you to cough. When this happens repeatedly, you will frequently cough and can cause you an asthma attack. Antacids such as Magnesium Hydroxide with Aluminum Hydroxide, or Calcium Carbonate are over the counter.
Antitussives: Medicines that stop the cough reflex
Antitussives are medicines that can help you stop coughing. These medicines are not recommended for use with asthma mainly because they don’t address the cause of the asthma attack. These medicines include dextromethorphan and lagundi. These medicines are over the counter.
Conclusion:
Unfortunately, when it comes to asthma, the only medicines recommended for asthma are all over the counter. Many of them are even banned or restricted for sports. If you would like to know more about how these medicines work, you can visit my youtube video here:
https://youtu.be/5m0UlIMbG2U?si=HhjEpczoVjCDA4uy
The good news is that there is a way for you to control your asthma while at the same time reduce your medicine use. I personally benefited from this technique and this is why I teach it to my patients. This technique has allowed my patients to be able to control their asthma attacks in 5 minutes without having to buy any medicines. My patients who used to rely heavily on medication no longer buy medicines for the past 10 years or more.
You too can learn and benefit from this technique in my BEAT ASTHMA masterclass. To learn more about this masterclass, click on this link: https://breathingexpert.com/beat-asthma/
