Is Spiriva a corticosteroid?
Spiriva is not a steroid. It is from a drug class known as parasympatholytics. These are moderately strong bronchodilators that act on the smooth muscle in your airways to relax them. Spiriva is taken once a day, usually in the morning. It should NEVER be used as a rescue medication. Spiriva is for people who have COPD or sometimes asthma who need more than Albuterol/Salbutamol or a long-acting bronchodilator from the same class as Albuterol/Salbutamol can do. It compliments your rescue inhaler and the Serevent in Advair or Foradil in Symbicort. Spiriva should be used in combination with an inhaled steroid because the person taking it must be having some serious trouble breathing for it to be prescribed. If your asthma or COPD is normally bad without medication, an inhaled steroid with rescue inhaler would be the first choices for treatment. Spiriva compliments them to help ease shortness of breath further and all day long. Spiriva is going to be used a lot more now because Combivent w
