What are bronchodilators?
Bronchodilators are by their very term medications that dilate, relax or widen the airways. Bronchodilators come in many different forms and formulations. Bronchodilators come by injection, they come by syrup, they come by tablet, and they’re most commonly used in inhaled form. There are inhaled bronchodilators that are short-acting and there are inhaled bronchodilators that are long-acting. The type of bronchodilator that you use and the formulation that you use should be tailored to your particular condition and should be appropriate for the type of problem that you had. That can be only achieved by discussing the medication with your doctor and using it as prescribed. Overusing bronchodilators is unfortunately a common reason why people end up in the emergency room in the hospital, so don’t be one of those patients.
Bronchodilators are medications that dilate (open up) the bronchial tubes to permit easier breathing and relieve symptoms. There are short-acting bronchodilators that are used for quick relief of asthma symptoms (e.g., albuterol, metaproterenol, and trade names including Ventolin™, Proventil HFA™, Primatene™, and Alupent™). Most doctors instruct patients to use them as needed – the moment that asthma symptoms arise. In children, bronchodilators are sometimes used on a regular basis, because kids may not let their parents know when they are having symptoms. Long-acting bronchodilators (Serevent™, Foradil™) keep the bronchial tubes dilated over many hours. Important to know, however, is that these medications may take a while (maybe an hour or so) to start working. They should never be used for quick relief of asthma symptoms. That is, they are prescribed as maintenance medications – they are taken daily without regard for the symptoms the patient is having at that particular moment. Thi
