Why do most people need at least two different asthma medications?
Asthma affects the airways in two different ways: in one, it constricts or narrows the airways so that less air can pass through. When airway narrowing occurs, it happens rapidly, over the course of minutes to hours. It is this narrowing that causes an asthma attack or flare. Medications that treat the narrowing must act quickly to relax the airway muscles and return breathing to normal. Asthma medications that relax airways are sometimes referred to as “quick-acting” asthma drugs. The second effect that asthma has on the airways is to cause chronic inflammation and irritation. When airways are highly inflamed, they are more irritable and more likely to constrict, which can result in asthma attacks. The type of asthma medications that reduce airway inflammation are called “long-acting” asthma drugs; they work over days to weeks to decrease airway inflammation, rather than over minutes to hours like the quick-acting asthma drugs. Because their effects take time, long-acting medications
